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Fr. 50.90
Carla Gambescia
La Dolce Vita University - An Unconventional Guide to Italian Culture from A to Z
English · Hardback
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Description
Like a box of Italian sweets, La Dolce Vita University (LDVU) is the perfect sampler for anyone curious about (or already in amore with) Italy and its remarkably rich cultural gifts. The 165 mini-essays, arranged alphabetically and accompanied by charming illustrations throughout, treat specific topics in one or more of the following subject areas: the Italian character; the visual arts (art, artists, architects); the performing arts (music, theater, cinema); history and antiquity; language and literature; cuisine and agriculture; wine and spirits; traditions and festivals; style and applied arts; unique places. La Dolce Vita University is more than a reference book: it's a must-read for every Italophile (in the U.S., U.K. and the world over!) a perfect gift book, a compendium, a gallimaufry, a unique companion guide to Italy.
List of contents
A
Arlecchino ¿ Arrangiarsi, the Art of Making Do ¿ Arte ¿ Artemisia's Revenge ¿ Anacapri, the Other Capri ¿ Aperitivi to Digestivi ¿ Amaretti, Amaretto, Amarone ¿ Amorini, The Flying Bambini
B
Barbells and Bikinis ¿ Bellini ¿ Bernini's Angels ¿ Beatrice, Love at First Sight ¿ Botticelli's Venus ¿ Bonfire of the Vanities ¿ Burano's Candy-Colored Casas ¿ Bolognese . . . Sauce or Dog?
C
Carnevale ¿ Carpaccio ¿ Caterina's Carciofi ¿ Casanova, So Misunderstood ¿ Centenarians of Sardinia ¿ Carpet Slippers ¿ Cosimo, Caesar of the Renaissance ¿ Canticle of the Creatures ¿ Cave Canem ¿ The Castrati
D
The Davids ¿ Dante's Commedia ¿ Dome-estic Pride ¿ Duomo, Not a Dome but a Home ¿ Dolomiti and the Via Ferrata ¿ Il Doge and His Palace ¿ Divorce Italian Style ¿ Dog Days of Summer
E
Empire ¿ The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa ¿ Explosion of the Cart ¿ The Exclamation Point! ¿ Ebru, the Art of Marbled Paper ¿ Espresso, Cappuccino, and Italian Coffee Culture ¿ The Enormous Emperor
F
Ferro ¿ Farro ¿ Fichi Fantastiche ¿ Flowering in Fiorenza ¿ "Florence Syndrome" ¿ Firewater ¿ Fra Angelico and Frangelico ¿ Felliniesque
G
Graffiti ¿ The Grand Tour ¿ Gelato, Ambrosia of the Boot ¿ Gianduia, Grown-up Nutella ¿ The Greek Soul of Sicily ¿ Giotto, Master of Emotion ¿ Girasole
H
Human Chess Game ¿ Hand Gestures ¿ High Heels ¿ The Harry Behind Harry's Bar ¿ The Four Horses of the Basilica ¿ Hall of the Hunt ¿ Head of the Moor
I
Inner Italian ¿ Illusionist Magic ¿ Isabella D ¿ Ippolito's Golden Apple ¿ Ignudi, not a Gnudi
J ~ K
Jazz ¿ Jeans of Genoa ¿ Sangiovese by Jove ¿ Jewel Box of the Adriatic ¿ Kabbalah and the Pope's Ceiling
L
Leone ¿ The Laocoon ¿ Latin ¿ La Bella Lingua ¿ La Bella Figura ¿ Limone ¿ Livia's Painted Garden ¿ Le Vite ¿ La Dolce Vita
M
Mapping Eternity ¿ Magi Chapel ¿ Mezzogiorno ¿ Margherita, Queen of Pearls and Pizza ¿ Marinara ¿ Murano, Island of Glass ¿ The Many Faces of Venice ¿ Marcello
N
Nutella ¿ Nativity Scenes ¿ The Italian Navy ¿ Norman Arab Sicily ¿ Nepotism's Legacy ¿ Nero's Golden House
O
Viva Oliva! ¿ Ovid's Transformations ¿ Gli Occhiali de Sole ¿ Oculus, Gateway to Heaven ¿ Orphans of the Ospedale
P
Primavera Springs Eternal ¿ Paparazzi ¿ Patron Saint of Chefs and ... Comedians? ¿ This Little Piggy came from Parma ¿ Pecorino, Cheese and Wine ¿ Peggy's Palazzo ¿ Ponte Vecchio's Surprise Savior ¿ Plague Doctor ¿ Pliny the Elder, Storyteller of the World
Q ~ R
The Queen Who Refined the French ¿ Renaissance Man ¿ Rock Star of the Renaissance ¿ Rocks of Capo Testa ¿ Relics, Rest in Pieces ¿ Rocco, Patron Saint of Dogs and More ¿ Running of the Saints ¿ Rome's Decorator ¿ Ridotto "Royale"
S
Sympathy for the Borgia ¿ Strangled Priest ¿ Sins of the Father ¿ Shakespeare in Amore ¿ La Serenissma ¿ The Salute ¿ Snow in August ¿ The First Snowball Fight ¿ Scent of a Truffle
T
Trulli, Hobbit Houses of Puglia ¿ Trevi ¿ Tiberius's Swimming Pool ¿ Terrace of Infinity ¿ Tears of Christ ¿ Tempest in a Tiramisu Cup ¿ Torri Saracene ¿ Tuscan Tarot Fantasy
U
Ugly but Good ¿ Uccello's Battle ¿ UNESCO Bonanza ¿ Unswept Away
V
Venus' Navel ¿ Venice's Venus ¿ Little Venice & Vespucci ¿ The Vespa ¿ Vesuvius ¿ Vitruvius, the Man ¿ Vin Santo e Biscotti ¿ Volare
W
Where the Wild Boar Roam ¿ The Wolf Whisperer ¿ Word-Playing with Your Food ¿ Windmills of Sicily ¿ The Wonder of the World
X ~ Z
You Say Xitomati and I Say Xitomatho ¿ Za'Faran, From Persia with Love ¿ Zin's Twin? ¿ Zecchino ¿ Zucarri Mostri Mashup ¿ The Zanni
About the author
Carla Gambescia's passion for Italy began early-with her mother's love of the Renaissance masters and her father's discourses on Italian geniuses of every calling. In the ensuing decades she has toured every region of Italy (often by bicycle) and immersed herself in its astonishing array of cultural treasures. In recent years Carla has combined her passion as an Italophile and writer with her skills as a career marketer and branding expert, acting as a consultant to and a collaborator with boutique tour operators. She conceived and co-led the Giro del Gelato bicycle tour, winner of Outside magazine's "Best Trip in Western Europe." In 2008 Carla founded Via Vanti! Restaurant & Gelateria, in Mount Kisco, New York, with the ambition of creating a unique environment and dining experience that would enable guests to feel as though they had stepped right into Italy. Via Vanti! quickly won plaudits not just for its innovative Italian cuisine, extraordinary gelato (named "Best Gelato Shop in New York") and dazzling jewel box interior but also, under Carla's direction, for its active program of culinary and cultural events. It is Carla's conviction that all of us, regardless of our inherited ethnicities, share an "inner Italian"-that part of our nature which is most expressive, festive, spontaneous and fun-just waiting to be unlocked.
La Dolce Vita University: An Unconventional Guide to Italian Culture from A to Z is the natural outgrowth of Carla's work and play in both the restaurant and boutique travel industries, as well as a lifelong love affair with the land of her ancestors.
Summary
La Dolce Vita University (LDVU) is the perfect sampler for anyone curious about (or already in amore with) Italy and its remarkably rich cultural gifts, both past and present. True to its lighthearted name, La Dolce Vita “U” is all about pleasurable learning, or what we prefer to call “edu-tainment.” Its dozens of entertaining yet authoritative mini-essays on a wide assortment of intriguing topics encourage random dipping at the reader’s pleasure. Even the most erudite Italophile will discover fun new facts and fascinating new insights in the pages of La Dolce Vita U.
Mini-essays treat specific topics in one or more of the following subject areas: the Italian character; the visual arts (art, artists, architects); the performing arts (music, theater, cinema); history and antiquity; language and literature; cuisine and agriculture; wine and spirits; traditions and festivals; style and applied arts; unique places. In a wink and nod to the book’s “academic” identity, the 165 mini-essays are arranged alphabetically and accompanied by charming illustrations throughout. A special traveler’s topic index is provided at the end of the book.
Foreword
Multiple events in New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Northern California, including strong push to Italian American market.
Italian American Museum
155 Mulberry Street
New York, NY 10013
Tel.: 212.965.9000
Yorktown Rotary Club
Luncheon — Kirby's Bar & Grill
345 Kear Street
Yorktown Heights NY
Katonah Village Library
26 Bedford Road
Katonah, New York 10536
Phone: 914-232-3508
Area bookstores: Books on the Common -- Ridgefield CT, Books Galore, Pound Ridge NY, Scattered Books, Chappaqua NY, The Village Bookstore, Pleasantville NY
Main Line School Night
Creutzburg Center
260 Gulph Creek Rd
(in Harford Park)
Radnor, PA 19087
(Catalog was mailed to 70,000 Philadelphia residents)
Westchester Italian Cultural Center
One Generoso Pope Place
Tuckahoe, NY 10707
Phone:
914-771-8700
Catalog mailed to 10,000 — Anderson Books, Larchmont and Womrath Book Shop, Bronxville
San Francisco Bay Area
Istituto Italiano di Cultura
601 Van Ness Avenue, Suite F
San Francisco CA 94102
Book Passage Corte Madera
51 Tamal Vista Blvd.,
Corte Madera, CA
(415) 927-0960
New York
Bronxville Public Library
201 Pondfield Road
Bronxville, New York 10708
Larchmont Public Library
121 Larchmont Ave
Larchmont, NY 10538
Anderson Books and Womrath Book Shop for both
Specific dates TBD for the following are places.
NYC
1313 Madison Avenue
New York New York
240 Bleecker Street
New York, NY 10014
52 Prince St.,
New York, NY 10012
Westchester & CT
472 Main Street
Ridgefield, Connecticut 06877
101 West Putnam Avenue
Greenwich, CT 06830
San Francisco
Fort Mason Center
2 Marina Blvd., Building C
San Francisco, CA 94123
Philadelphia
230 S. Broad St., Suite 1105
Philadelphia, PA 19102
Boston
189 North Street
Boston, MA 02113
41 Hampshire Street
Cambridge • MA • 0213
Wednesday March 14 12 PM
Additional text
Praise for La Dolce Vita University
The title—La Dolce Vita University—captures the great virtues of this reader-friendly book perfectly: it’s delicious and educational at the same time, which each virtue reinforcing the other. Dulce blended with utile, as the great ancient Roman poet Horace recommended.
This book sustains that combination masterfully. It’s is a complete delight to read, but (as a professor of Renaissance literature for many decades) I’m happy to report that the authors know their stuff. The research is careful and the analysis is intelligent and witty. I learned amazing new things about dozens of topics – Artemisia, Burano, Casanova, Dante, and onward through the alphabet to zanni. La Dolce Vita University also seasons lots of popular myths with just the right number of grains of salt. It’s written in prose as clear, bright, crisp, and lively as a spring morning in the Dolomites. Add to that graceful but also playful prose, the talent of skilled story-tellers, and it’s no wonder that the entries stay so fascinating.
La Dolce Vita University makes me crave a return to Italy, and helps me daydream that I’m already there. Like an ideal platter of antipasti, it’s made of deliciously varied bites you can pick your way through. If you want – or want to give a friend – an appetizer that will rouse up a hunger for the glory and festivity of that wonderful place and its’ no less wonderful culture, this book is perfect.
—Robert N. Watson, PhD
Distinguished Professor of English, Associate Vice-Provost for Educational Innovation, UCLA
Imagine it as a dessert course of dark chocolates, filled with exotic fruits and nuts, packed with her parents' knowledge and love of history and art, her grandmother's epithets, and her own wisdom and wit, Italian, American, global. The chocolates are alphabetically listed, described and presented beautifully, and offered as something to dip into as you wish. You open it, choose the one you think you will like best, then another, and another. Suddenly it’s gone. Because Carla wears her scholarship lightly, you don't feel over full, but what a feast!
—Denise Scott Brown FAIA, Int. FRIBA and Robert Venturi FAIA, Int. FRIBA
Excellent! Bravissima! Delightfully informative, a book to enrich any reader’s life with a greater appreciation of Italian culture—even in everyday experiences here at home, from visiting an art museum to dining in a local Italian restaurant, or from cooking for friends and family to the usage of common expressions and words. Not to mention, it might just inspire you to hop on a plane!
—Commendatore Professor Carlo Sclafani
SUNY Distinguished Professor and Former Chairperson of the Modern Languages Department at Westchester Community College
Carla is the consummate Italian. Mille grazie for sharing your extensive knowledge, insights and fascinating little-known backstories with such affection and humor!
—Joan Tucci
Author, The Tucci Cookbook
An enlightening, entertaining guide to the history behind so much of what we love about Italian cuisine and culture. As a chef and cooking enthusiast I enjoyed the variety of information and perspective on the Italian and Sicilian culture. From antiquity to today, reading this special history written with color and style is a pure joy for the food aficionado and any lover of Italy. You won’t want to miss reading through any part of this book.
—Chef Bert Cutino, CEC, AAC, HOF, WCMC
Co-Founder/COO, The Sardine Factory Restaurant, Cannery Row, Monterey, CA
La Dolce Vita University is an authentic full immersion in Italian culture, history, art, traditions and more. Fun, funny and informative. Brava!
—Cristiano Bonino
Founder, Food, Stories, Trave1
An obvious love of all things Italian is evident in every essay of this quirky, delicious, and absolutely delightful book. From A to Z topics are peppered with insights, memories, fun factoids and the intrigues of history. Whether you are a seasoned globetrotter or an armchair-traveler, La Dolce Vita University will inspire you to dig deeper into the magic and allure of Italia.
—Tara Coniaris
Secretary, Board of Trustees at Katonah Museum of Art
The enthusiasm that Carla brings to her work is unmistakable and contagious. La Dolce Vita University merits many “students” and readers who share a passion for Italy.
—Comm. Stefano Acunto
Hon. Vice Consul, Republic of Italy
I believe that most rewarding travel experiences are those that engage the senses and enrich you emotionally and intellectually. Reading La Dolce Vita University is a great armchair vacation that captures the essence of Italy. This is the one book to read before visiting Italy – or to put you in the mood for your next one.
—Lauren Hefferon
Founder & Director
Ciclismo Classico and Travel Vision Journeys
Product details
| Authors | Carla Gambescia |
| Publisher | Ingram Publishers Services |
| Languages | English |
| Age Recommendation | from age 14 |
| Product format | Hardback |
| Released | 03.04.2018 |
| EAN | 9781609521660 |
| ISBN | 978-1-60952-166-0 |
| Dimensions | 152 mm x 229 mm x 22 mm |
| Weight | 653 g |
| Illustrations | Farb., s/w. Fotos, Abb. |
| Subjects |
Humanities, art, music
> History
Travel > Travel guides > Europe TRAVEL / Essays & Travelogues, HISTORY / Europe / Italy, TRAVEL / Special Interest / General, REFERENCE / Personal & Practical Guides, TRAVEL / Special Interest / Literary, Italy |
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