A Small Place in Italy
by Eric Newby
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This book is a lush and beautiful memoir of a very special house and a superb recreation of a bygone era. In 1967, veteran travel writer Eric Newby and his heroic wife Wanda fulfiled their dream of a return to life in the Italian hills where they first met during World War II. But this fulfilment would not come easy. The dream materialised in the form of I Castagni ('The Chestnuts'), a small, decrepit farmhouse with no roof, an abandoned septic tank and its own indigenous wildlife reluctant show more to give up their home. But in the foothills of the Apuan Alps on the border of Liguria and Northern Tuscany, this ramshackle house would soon become a hub of love, friendship and activity. Whether recounting dangerous expeditions through Afghanistan or everyday life in a country house, Newby's talent shines through as one of the foremost writers of the comic travel genre. Full of Newby's sharp wit and good humour, 'A Small Place' in Italy returns, twenty years later, to the life of Newby's much-cherished classic, Love and War in the Apennines. It lovingly recounts the quickly disappearing lifestyle of the idiosyncratic locals, and the enduring friendships they forge, whether sharing in growing their first wine harvest as novices or frying poisonous mushrooms for a feast. show lessTags
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John_Vaughan Returning to the same region many years later Eric and Wanda buy and restore an old farm.
Member Reviews
I suspect that this will be my favorite re-reading book from this author.
The title made me a little cautious as I have read some of the sometimes rather twee books about someone buying a wreck in Tuscany and converting it to a charming rose-covered cottage. In essence though, this is precisely what Eric and the ever indomitable Wanda did – however, the actual book also turns out to be charming.
Interlaced with recalls of Eric’s wartime experiences in the region – he was sheltered by many of the characters in the book and region when on the run as an escaped POW, (Love and War in the Apennines) the work includes many of the author's wonderful descriptions and flashes of pure wit. Wanda, as usual, plows through the expected show more difficulties that arise from realizing their joint dream of resurrecting (as the building required far more than remodeling!) an ancient farm and creating a home for both themselves and a somehow acquired resident friend and local guide. There are several instances when poor Eric get the reminder many of us married men need from time to time - that no man is a hero to his wife or secretary!
The sadness described in the final chapter his other work On the Shores of the Mediterranean of about eventually having to part with I Castagni, the farm, becomes readily explained in this adventurous and engaging yarn. show less
The title made me a little cautious as I have read some of the sometimes rather twee books about someone buying a wreck in Tuscany and converting it to a charming rose-covered cottage. In essence though, this is precisely what Eric and the ever indomitable Wanda did – however, the actual book also turns out to be charming.
Interlaced with recalls of Eric’s wartime experiences in the region – he was sheltered by many of the characters in the book and region when on the run as an escaped POW, (Love and War in the Apennines) the work includes many of the author's wonderful descriptions and flashes of pure wit. Wanda, as usual, plows through the expected show more difficulties that arise from realizing their joint dream of resurrecting (as the building required far more than remodeling!) an ancient farm and creating a home for both themselves and a somehow acquired resident friend and local guide. There are several instances when poor Eric get the reminder many of us married men need from time to time - that no man is a hero to his wife or secretary!
The sadness described in the final chapter his other work On the Shores of the Mediterranean of about eventually having to part with I Castagni, the farm, becomes readily explained in this adventurous and engaging yarn. show less
Beautifully written travel memoir, Buy a house in Italy, do it up and describe the goings on. A period piece too, as it was a pre-mobile, internet, mass mechanisation age...
Funny, sad, warm travel through buying a home and living the rural life in Italy.
read 5/2024
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Author Information
28+ Works 6,350 Members
Eric Newby is the author of many books. As a boy, his interest in travel was piqued by the book Children's Colour Book of Lands and People, with its photos and descriptions of exotic places to which he dreamed of traveling one day. When not traveling, he makes his home in Dorset, England, with his wife, Wanda
Series
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Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1994
- Important places
- Italy
- Epigraph
- My dear little house
you were not there before
but in a short time you have grown
like a flower.
I beg you to remain beautiful
and not to lose your colour.
I am about to go
because I have
a call from ... (show all)far away
but I will carry you
in my heart
for eternity.
Goodbye my little house.
Goodbye happiness.
--Giuseppe Tarsiero, 1981 - Dedication
- To all our friends at I Castagni
whom we will never forget - First words
- In August 1942, whilst serving with the SBS, I was captured during a raid on a German airfield in Sicily, a year before the Allied landing took place.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)It has taken us a long time even to begin to realize that we aren't part of the life of I Castagni any more, and I don't think we ever will realize it completely as long as we live.
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- Members
- 341
- Popularity
- 93,105
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (3.88)
- Languages
- Dutch, English, German
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 16
- ASINs
- 5
