Customer Reviews

The Lady in the Palazzo: At Home in Umbria

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There is a lot to love about this book, which is the third - and I think the best - of her books on life in Italy. It chronicles her search for a home in Orvieto, in Umbria. She and her husband find an ideal place, an apartment in what was once the grand palazzo of the Ubaldini family - a home dating back to medieval times. Unfortunately, the apartment had been sitting vacant for 13 years and was in dire need of restoration. They could not live in their home during the construction. So they waited. And waited. And waited! This story follows the author as she adjusts to life in her adopted community during this long wait, and it culminates with a lavish dinner party held in her new home.

As usual, with de Blasi, you can expect a book filled with sensual talk of wine and food; with regional recipes; with cultural and historical tidbits. But the real heart of this book - the soul of this book - is in the people to whom we are introduced. Some of them are given space to tell their life stories in their own words - and their stories are deeply moving.

"Let life shape itself" is the underlying theme of this book.

I can think of no author to compare to Marlena de Blasi. Part chef, part philosopher, part travel guide, part poet..she is an original.

Highly recommended.

After being disappointed by 1,000 Days in Tuscany my expectations weren't as high for this new offering from Marlene DeBlasi but I loved it.Her affection for Orivieto and the characters in the surrounding countryside, and her developing appreciation for the centuries-old relationships, not to mention her description of the home she is creating, were described in similar loving and wondering terms as her descriptino of her early days in Venice. I appreciated the personal moments (wondering if she would ever get to live in the palazzo) interspersed with cultural descriptions (the venetian's understanding of conversational subtext) and on top of it all her yearning to get on on with her life (cooking, writing) while living with the unexpected. I really loved the book.

You know what they say, never judge a book by its cover. Well in this case the photograph of the author on the inside of the cover led me to some judgemental thoughts.

It should be said that am drawn to books on Italy and I enjoyed my visit to Umbria several years ago. But I almost didn't buy this book because of the picture of Marlena De Blasi. Well I took a chance and I have to say I was wrong. There is no doubt that De Blasi is a free spirit, bohemian, and different. That is her charm and you can read about it on every page.

It is a wonderful story that she tells of her integration into to the conservative Italian life of Orvieto in Umbria. She mixes her quixotic lifestyle with the down-to-earth inhabitants of this city on a hill for delicious results. She is exuberant and her story is redolent with her passion for life and total disregard for the Italian class system. Despite this all turns out well in the end.

I highly recommend this tale of life in Italy. It is a completely different perspective

I have read two other of Ms. de Blasi's books and thoroughly enjoyed them but this one was the most enjoyable so far. I think of A Thousand Days in Venice as a love story both for her new Italian husband and her new life in Venice, A Thousand Days in Tuscany as a continuation of her life in Italy. The Lady in the Palazzo was more like being her neighbor in Umbria and hearing her tell the story of her new life experiences.
I felt like I was sitting in the cucina with her over a cup of coffee...actually many cups of coffee.

In other words, I really liked it.

I read this book as well as the Tuscany book while I was traveling in Italy this spring. I don't know if the books enhanced my experiences or vice versa but what is wonderful about these books is the ability the author has to bring the words off the pages and the sentiments into your heart. Time after time I underlined phrases and thoughts that I wanted to commit to memory. She has an extremely keen mind and understands a lot about people. It's hard to express what it is about Marlena de Blasi that makes her so special so I'm going to stop trying! Read her works and I think you will see what I'm getting at.

I agree with everyone who says this book is de Blasi's best yet. She seems to have settled into marriage with Fernando. In Venice and Tuscany everything seemed tinged with a lustful haze, but now they are working things out together, caring for each other - much more seemly behavior for a middle-aged couple!

I was totally captivated by Marlena's struggle to fit in with her new neighbors. Fernando seems to provide minimal assistance. Also thrilled that Barlozzo appears in this book - he is such an endearing character!

This book brought me to tears several times. Few books compel me to keep reading without a break until they are over. This was definitely one of those books. Days later I can close my eyes and picture scenes from the book, her writing is so vivid. My guess is that Marlena and Fernando will make another move before too long - they are both restless characters. Even if they stay put for a while, surely the story will be just as riveting. I eagerly look forward to the next chapter in their journey

Since my first visit to Italy and Tuscany, I have fallen in love with the area....the art (as an artist), the light and climate, the food, the culture and the people. After reading, Under the Tuscany Sky and all of that authors books I looked for similar and I found another author that I love and so now look forward to all of Marelna de Blasi books. A Thousand Days in Venice...then Tuscany...made want to follow her to Umbria. I was not disappointed. Therefore, I highly recommend this book to all. Now I look forward to her next adventure.

A fabulously well written story of their continuing adventures of living in Italy. Her observations of the idiocyncracies of the villages of Tuscany and Umbria are close to the mark and full of humor and "stranger in a strange land" frustration and successes.It is as lovely as her first book about Venice and meeting Fernando, and the recipes are the next thing I will want to try. Marlena gets better and better.

Marlena de Blasi's writing just gets better and better. I loved her first two books but found this latest one the best yet. Marlena's beautiful soul really shines through in her uncontrollable need to befriend, nurture and "feed" people in her new home. Francisco still tries to hold her back and keep her within the cultural norms of Italy, but they both seem to have mellowed. Ms. De Blasi portrays wonderful characters and manages to relate something quite profound in the simple tale of finding a new home in Oriveto.

I bought this book last month (October 2008), while on my 5th visit to Orvieto. I was hoping for an insightful portrait of Orvieto, a place for which I have enormous regard. Unfortunately, this book is primarily about Ms. De Blasi, not about Orvieto. I find her writing style to be self-consciously florid, almost equivalent to "reading" a Thomas Kinkade painting. I also found somewhat disconcerting her assumption that the reader (I!) should know of her past, i.e., that I should have read her previous books. I also don't care for her somewhat sophomoric philosophizing. I should admit: I am not a fan of this genre, but at least Peter Mayles had a certain ability to evoke a sense of place without making himself the center of the story.