La Dolce Vita: Living in Italy [Hardcover]

Catherine Fairweather (Author), Mark Luscombe-Whyte (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 24, 2001

La Dolce Vita invites us into the homes of artists, writers, eccentrics, and noblemen-both native and expatriate-living in Italy: artist Sandro Chia's austere monastery surrounded by vineyards in Tuscany, Gore Vidal's cliffside retreat on the Amalfi Coast, and the farmhouse in Chianti which inspired the film Stealing Beauty. With 180 color photographs showing off the rich variety of styles across the regions of Italy, from seaside palazzo to Venetian townhouse, this book will inspire readers to bring the loveliness of Italy into their own homes.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Catherine Fairweather spent the formative years of her life in Rome, where her father was a British Ambassador. She returned in her twenties to work as a contributing editor for House and Garden and as a broadcaster for Vatican Radio. She is now the travel editor for Harpers & Queen in London.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Bulfinch; 1 edition (September 24, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0821227513
• ISBN-13: 978-0821227510
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 9.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #635,939 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars O To Live In Italy!, November 6, 2004

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: La Dolce Vita: Living in Italy (Hardcover)

Catherine Fairweather has honed her skills as a writer from her days as a contributing editor to House and Garden and here joins forces with photographer Mark Luscombe-Whyte to present a volume of life in Italy that not only makes for a beautiful and informative book, it makes the reader long for the pleasures of living in what surely is the world's most romantic country.

Separated into chapters - Grand Style: classic villas and country estates; Bohemian Chic: rural and island retreats (Tuscany, Lazio, Puglia); Urban Elegance: city apartments and townhouses (Milan, Rome, Venice) - Fairweather enters private homes of the rich and famous and describes how the regions and the atmosphere dictate the home's ambience. The photographs are gorgeous: full views of each home entered as well as separate views of rooms and bibelots, both inside the home and from the garden make us feel as though we have at least spent a full day in each location.

For a coffee table tour of the places rarely seen in Italy, this book is as fine as they come. Other volumes may offer more sophisticated history and cultural input, but Fairweather and Luscombe-Whyte take the personal approach - and that works very well! Grady Harp, November 2004

4.0 out of 5 stars Satisfy your craving for authentic Italian interiors, November 30, 2009

By 

MJB "In Hog Heaven" (Montana) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: La Dolce Vita: Living in Italy (Hardcover)

This book was my selfish gift to me. I used it as design inspiration for authentic Italian interiors. I still refer to it for ideas. The photos of country villas, rural retreats and urban apartments, took my inspiration in several directions. Keep that in mind because it's not all rustic villas. I especially enjoyed the wall plaster colors and textures as well as the variety in flooring tiles. How simply some of the rooms are furnished! The cover photo is so gorgeous in composition, color, structure....it doesn't get any better.

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Italy in comments and photographs, October 2, 2008

By 

Alan C. Stephens "OGM" (Columbia, MD, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: La Dolce Vita: Living in Italy (Hardcover)

Living La Dolce Vita: Bring the Passion, Laughter and Serenity of Italy into Your Daily Life
This is an endearing publication of a vibrant society. Find the inspiration of the Italian mystic in pictures and comments. Experience the lifestyle which inspires poets and artist globally.