Primavera is a thrilling story about a girl who is coming-of-age in the midst of the Italian Renaissance. She belongs to the Pazzi family who is fighting for power against the Medici. This book takes place in all of the places that we visited like the Bargello Museum (it was a prison in the 1400's), the Duomo, and the Piazza della Signoria. We also saw the painting La Primavera in the Uffizzi which inspired this book. There were important historical figures in the book too: Botticelli, Giuliano de Medici, Lorenzo de Medici (Il Magnifico), and Jacopo Pazzi. We thoroughly enjoyed this book, and we hope you do too.   ~ N. & G. Egan

The Monster of Florence
Grand Central Publishing (2008)
$25.99

This is the incredible true story of a mystery writer who moves to Italy with his family (on a lark) to write a mystery novel. In the course of doing research for his book, he gets sucked into an actual police investigation of the search for a serial killer who murdered 8 couples in the hills outside Florence while they were making love in their cars or tents (over a time span of 20 years). The author gets to know Mario Spezi (who was responsible for the investigation for many years), and together they end up exposing corruption in the investigation at the highest levels. As a consequence, Preston is thrown out of the country and Spezi is put in jail. A campaign of free press advocates get involved and their unfair treatment is exposed in the press around the world. It's very well-written, a real page turner, and completely true!  ~ E. Howell

The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall
Harper Perennial (1999)
$16.00

This is a well-written (if somewhat dense) detailed history of the Medici family who governed Florence during the Renaissance. It describes each of the critical individuals who created much of the wealth, art, literature, and buildings of that period. The narrative begins with the wealthy banker, Cosimo, born in the late 14th century, to the last family member, Anna Maria, who died in 1743. The saga has plenty of drama, including numerous bloody wars, Medici Popes begetting children, and the grusome tortures all too characteristic of the period. The book prepares you well for a trip to Florence, since much of the art and many of the buildings are mentioned in the book. It is especially rewarding to go to the Ufizzi Gallery and see portraits of many of the people in the book.  ~ E. Howell

• Europe
• Dublin, Ireland
• Italy
• Italy, Florence
• Italy, Rome
• Italy, Tuscany
• Italy, Venice
• Paris, France