Not in a Tuscan Villa


Book Description

Newly retired and looking for more than a vacation, John and Nancy Petralia intrepidly pack a few suitcases and head to the "perfect" Italian city for a year. Within days their dream becomes a nightmare. After residing in two Italian cities, negotiating the roads and health care, discovering art, friends, food and customs, the Petralias learn more than they anticipate -- about Italy, themselves, what it means to be American, and what's important in life.




Under the Tuscan Sun


Book Description

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The beloved memoir of self-discovery set against the spectacular Tuscan countryside that inspired the major motion picture starring Diane Lane—now in a twentieth-anniversary edition featuring a new afterword “This beautifully written memoir about taking chances, living in Italy, loving a house and, always, the pleasures of food, would make a perfect gift for a loved one. But it’s so delicious, read it first yourself.”—USA Today For more Frances Mayes, including a tour of her now iconic Cortona home, Bramasole, watch PBS’s Dream of Italy: Tuscan Sun Special! More than twenty years ago, Frances Mayes—widely published poet, gourmet cook, and travel writer—introduced readers to a wondrous new world when she bought and restored an abandoned Tuscan villa called Bramasole. Under the Tuscan Sun inspired generations to embark on their own journeys—whether that be flying to a foreign country in search of themselves, savoring one of the book’s dozens of delicious seasonal recipes, or simply being transported by Mayes’s signature evocative, sensory language. Now with a new afterword from Frances Mayes, the twentieth-anniversary edition of Under the Tuscan Sun revisits the book’s most popular characters.




The Altman Close


Book Description

Land the deals you want and develop your instincts with million-dollar negotiation techniques After selling over $3 Billion in real estate, including the most expensive one-bedroom house in history, Josh Altman, co-star of the hit show Million-Dollar Listing Los Angeles, wants to teach you the real estate sales and negotiation tactics that have made him one of America’s top agents. Buying or selling a house, whether for a client or yourself, is one of the most important (and most stressful) deals anyone can make, demanding emotional intelligence and a solid set of negotiating skills. But by mastering the same techniques that sell multi-million-dollar homes in Bel Air and Beverly Hills, you can attract buyers and close deals on any property. Josh breaks down the art of real estate into three simple parts. First, he’ll help you get business in the door during the Opening. Then he takes you step-by-step through the Work: everything between the first handshake and the last. And finally, the Close, the last step that ensures all your hard work pays off as you seal the deal. Learn how to open with a prospect, work the deal, close, open, and repeat Build and market your reputation, creating more sales opportunities Develop the traits of a closer in you and your team Drive the deal forward and get the best price for your property by creating desire, scarcity, and demand Successful real estate sales are driven by the same principles, whether they happen in the Hollywood Hills or just down the street. Josh wants to put those principles, and the techniques for applying them, in your hands. Learn them and discover what you can achieve.




Tuscan Living


Book Description

The design of the Tuscan house has remained virtually unchanged since the Middle Ages, when landowners built country retreats drawing on the natural resources of the region. Indeed, it is these materials that give the Tuscan house its unique character: stone and marble; hard woods, like chestnut, oak, and elm; terracotta and brick; and water, used in ponds, fountains, and pools. These elements are captured here in exquisite detail: thick stone interior walls; terracotta-tiled roofs and floors; sienna-hued stucco finishes and luminous frescoes; exposed wood beams and scrubbed oak dining tables; and sunny courtyard gardens with the all-important water feature, whether an ancient well or an exquisite pool. In this glorious collection of color images, Simon McBride artfully evokes the magic and pleasures of Tuscan living. Simon McBride has been photographing interiors and gardens for over two decades, working regularly for House & Garden and Architectural Digest.




Villas of Tuscany


Book Description

Dotted across the ancient Tuscan landscape of rolling hills, olive groves and towering cypress trees, sit some of the greatest country houses of Italy. Here, Professor Carlo Cresti and the photographer Massimo Listri present buildings by such noted masters as Sangallo, Buontalenti and Peruzzi.




Tuscan Elements


Book Description

Breaks Tuscan architecture and interior design into four components: stone, wood, earth, and water, and discusses each, presenting approximately two hundred color photos.







Frances Mayes Always Italy


Book Description

"This lush guide, featuring more than 350 glorious photographs from National Geographic, showcases the best Italy has to offer from the perspective of two women who have spent their lives reveling in its unique joys."--Publisher's description.