This memoir, by Hungarian author Ferenc Mate, written in 1998 is based on the experience of living in Tuscany, buying a home with his wife & settling down after having lived on a sailboat for 2 years.  The subtitle is "A New Life in an Old Land".  I picked up this book at the library donation table, having also collected 2 other true memoirs on Tuscany and the south of France.  I  want to live these lives vicariously and secretly have a desire to one day make a home "under the Tuscan sun" even though I still haven't traveled to Italy, but will one day soon.  Having recently returned from a trip down the Amazon with my husband, I am still in "travel mode" and enjoy reading about others' experiences regarding same, especially when one is so daring as to move out of their country into foreign lands and make a completely new life for oneself.

Ferenc's wife is an artist and says "I want to settle down; a tiny house, some fruit trees, a vege garden", not implying that she wants to necessarily leave the country.  He suggests "how 'bout here" (as they were vacationing in Tuscany at the time) and she is shocked, but obviously goes along w/the idea.  So we dive into their glorious story of searching for the perfect home outside Montepulciano, shopping for antique furniture and making new friends along the way with their pastoral neighbors.  Of course, no proper memoir of Italy would be complete without discussion of food and wine and my mouth watered reading about the pastas, cheeses, olives, etc. of the surrounding area.  It was simply a dream to read this book and I now, more than ever, want to take that trip to Italy, especially Tuscany and Umbria.

This read is for true Italophiles and anyone who likes a good Italian memoir.  It covers the local landscape in great detail, paying special attention to the botanical surroundings, weather, nature, flavors of the local people and tantalizing Tuscan food.  Yummy.  It nourishes the soul both mentally and physically.  I envy people who can uproot their lives and be daring enough to fulfill their dream.  As the saying goes, the question is not "why?" but "Why Not??"

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