Libri: Recommended Books

There are so many great novels out there full of interesting facts about Italy, especially the Italian Renaissance. I am completely obsessed with the Renaissance period and find it soooo interesting learning about the Medici legacy; how their rivals were the Pazzi family; the conspiracies between Church and State to overthrow the Medici's, etc, etc. When I traveled to Tuscany a few years ago and I came face to face with the Pitti Palace; the Palazzo Vecchio; the Ponte Vecchio; and the Pazzi home (where the conspiracy to overthrow the Medici's was born) I was in awe with all around me. Here I was reading novel after novel and I was finally in the presence of "Italian Royalty", or at least the buildings and arwork they left behind.  
       Here are a few of my fav novels dealing with the Renaissance:
      1. Juliet by Anne Fortier ( So far this is my absolute favorite, esp. for those like me who love Siena)
      2. I Mona Lisa by Jeanne Kalogridis
      3. The Ruby Ring by Dianne Haeger
      4. The Daughter of Siena by Marina Fiorato
      5. The Glassblower of Murano by Marina Fiorato
      6. The Botticelli Secret by Marina Fiorato

Then there are the other novels I hold dear because they deal with the Italian-American way of life.  I can relate to these books because they remind me of my big, crazy, Italian family.  You know the type that wants to tear eachother's hair out one minute and then the next minute they are laughing and kidding around, no this isn't being bipolar, it's just being Italian ;o)
    1. Basically all the novels by Adriana Trigiani (she's a genious): Very Valentine; Brava Valentine; the Big Stone Gap series; The Shoemaker's Wife.  Keep a box of tissues near you while you read these books because you will either be so touched that you'll shed a few tears OR at some point you'll be literally lol'ing so  hard that it'll bring tears to your eyes. Her characters are a riot and I think we can all identify to someone in the books.                             
    2. The author Santa Montefiore also has written some lovely novels: The Mermaid Garden; Last Voyage of the Valentina