Blue Guide Trentino & the South Tyrol


Book Description

This easy-to-carry guide includes the cities of Trento and Rovereto in Trentino, and Bolzano/Bozen, Merano/Brixen and Bressanone/Brixen in the South Tyrol (Alto Adige), together with the peaks, valleys and villages of the surrounding Dolomites and Central Alps. Long-time Italy-resident Paul Blanchard tours this beautiful region, detailing its history, architecture, art, landscape, life and culture.




Design from the Alps 1920-2020


Book Description

Over centuries, the transnational Alpine region Tyrol-South Tyrol-Trentino (Alto Adige) has developed along ancient trade routes between Germany and Austria on one and northern Italy on the other side of the Alps. Similar to the region's modern and contemporary architecture, its product design is in many cases rooted in a rich local tradition of craftsmanship. Yet since the 1920s, this multilingual region has also proven its remarkable openness to European modernism's most progressive movements and become an unexpected laboratory for technical and formal exploration in the middle of the continent. 'Design from the Alps', published to coincide with an exhibition at museum Kunst Meran in autumn 2019, tells the story of a century of product design from Tyrol-South Tyrol-Trentino, highlighting the vast variety of discoveries and innovations that have emerged there. Featured artists include, among others, Fortunato Depero (1892-1960), whose experiments were inspired by the Secondo Futurismo, Gino Pollini (1903-91), a pioneer of the interwar period, as well as the celebrated architects and designers Lois Welzenbacher (1889-1955), Clemens Holzmeister (1886-1983), and Ettore Sottsas (1917-2007). Lavishly illustrated, the book follows the many protagonists of this at the same time heterogenous and collectively strong scene and offers an insightful tour d'horizon of the manifaceted design culture of western Austria and northern Italy. Exhibition: Museum Kunst Meran/Merano Arte, Italy (11.10.2019-12.01.2020).




The Playground of Europe


Book Description




Tyrol and Its People


Book Description




The White War


Book Description

In May 1915, Italy declared war on the Habsburg Empire. Nearly 750,000 Italian troops were killed in savage, hopeless fighting on the stony hills north of Trieste and in the snows of the Dolomites. To maintain discipline, General Luigi Cadorna restored the Roman practice of decimation, executing random members of units that retreated or rebelled. With elegance and pathos, historian Mark Thompson relates the saga of the Italian front, the nationalist frenzy and political intrigues that preceded the conflict, and the towering personalities of the statesmen, generals, and writers drawn into the heart of the chaos. A work of epic scale, The White War does full justice to the brutal and heart-wrenching war that inspired Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms.




I'm Staying Here


Book Description

A mother recounts her life story to her long-lost daughter in this sweeping historical novel about a community torn between Italian fascism and German Nazism. In the small village of Curon in South Tyrol, seventeen-year-old Trina longs for a different life. She dedicates herself to becoming a teacher, but the year that she qualifies—1923—Mussolini’s regime abolishes the use of German as a teaching language in the annexed Austrian territory. Defying their ruthless program of forced Italianization, Trina works for a clandestine network of schools in the valley, always with the risk of capture. In spite of this new climate of fear and uncertainty, she finds love and some measure of stability with Erich, an orphaned young man and her father’s helper. Now married and a mother, Trina’s life is again thrown into uncertainty when Hitler’s Germany announces the “Great Option” in 1939, and communities in South Tyrol are invited to join the Reich and leave Italy. The town splits, and ever-increasing rifts form among its people. Those who choose to stay, like Trina and her family, are seen as traitors and spies; they can no longer leave the house without suffering abuse. Then one day Trina comes home and finds that her daughter is missing… Inspired by the striking image of the belltower rising from Lake Resia, all that remains today of the village of Curon, Marco Balzano has written a poignant novel that beautifully interweaves great moments in history with the lives of everyday people.




Mussolini's Nation-Empire


Book Description

The first exploration of how Mussolini employed population settlement inside the nation and across the empire to strengthen Italian sovereignty.




An Italian Journey


Book Description

"If you're planning a trip to Italy, read this so you don't miss out on the Italy that tours never visit. If you're staying at home, just sit back and enjoy the ride. Preferably with a nice Tuscan wine at your side." Dianne Hales, author of LA BELLA LINGUA "Many of us would love to live this book. James Shaw has done it for us and allowed us to come along. I like it all, an adventurous journey with a compassionate author. Well Done, Well Done." Roscaloni An adventure of the heart in the mold of literature's classic spiritual journeys. It began with a girl. Then it was Italian food. After that it was books and discovering that even Mark Twain had fallen for Italy. E.M. Forster was smitten too: Love and understand the Italians, for the people are more marvelous than the land. What is it about Italy and Italians? Italian movies immortalize the mystique. Fellini called it La Dolce Vita. Tornatore's Cinema Paradiso took James Shaw back to the sweet memories of his childhood and the Italian family who operated the hometown theater. And just like in the movie, young James had an Alfredo who, by example, taught him about serving people. James learned that Italians don't feel they're special. Luigi Barzini, author of The Italians, repeatedly asked, Why are we the way we are? and found no conclusive answer. But James was convinced there was a reason why the Renaissance was born in Tuscany and Italy has given the world Saint Francis, Michelangelo, da Vinci, Galileo and now Benigni, whose film Life Is Beautiful, showed the world that the Italian zest for living can even make a heaven of a hell. And so, after a lifetime of thinking about Italy James became convinced that the way to find out why Italians are the way they are, would be to eat with them at their kitchen tables. Day after day he picked their olives and the Italians began treating him like family. And James began seeing their unique human quality that attracts people to Italy and keeps pulling them back again and again. But the story doesn't end in the olive groves of Tuscany. To discover the heart of Italian life, James had to travel back to World War II Italy. An Italian Journey will inspire you to follow your passions, your enthusiasms, to your own Beautiful Discoveries. Bella Scoperta!




Blue Guide - Northern Italy


Book Description

Northern Italy is a treasure-chest of Western civilization: Milan, Bologna, Mantua, Ravenna, Turin, Parma, Venice, and the famous Lakes are must-sees for independent cultural travelers. This new edition of a key Blue Guide helps you know what you need to see as well as where to stay and what to eat.




Shorter Walks in the Dolomites


Book Description

A popular guidebook to short walks in the Dolomites of north east Italy. The guide describes 50 walks, graded from easy to strenuous, and varying in length from 3 mile strolls to full-day expeditions. The Dolomites are suitable for summer walking, and the mountains are easily accessible, just across the border from Austria and easily reached from Verona, Treviso, Venice and Innsbruck airports. The Dolomites are blessed with vast forests, high-altitude rocky landscapes and seas of beautiful wildflowers and the range is now a designated Unesco World Heritage Site encompassing a national park - Parco Nazionale Dolomiti Bellunesi - and several other protected areas. Highlights include the Tre Cime di Lavaredo, the Civetta, the Piz Bo circuit on the Sella massif and the Sentiero delle Odle. This guide offers something for every walking ability and preference, and includes all the background and planning information you need to plan a trip, including an Italian-German-English glossary and a list of accommodation providers and websites and details of all rifugios on or near the routes.