The Florios of Sicily

Author: Stefania Auci
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062931695
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 485

Book Description
The epic saga behind the Disney-produced Hulu Original Series The Lions of Sicily Based on the true history of the uncrowned kings of Sicily: the story of a family, restless and ambitious, shrewd and determined to be richer and more powerful than anybody else. In this grand, sweeping epic inspired by the real lives of history-making titans, international best-selling author Stefania Auci brings to life the dark secrets, the loves and betrayals, and the cruel acts of revenge that marked the Florio family’s century of influence. The Florios arrive in Sicily, with nothing but the clothes on their back after an earthquake destroys their hometown. Against all odds, the family begins anew despite the looming Napoleonic wars and devastating plagues. But when Vincenzo is spurned by his aristocratic lover, he vows to avenge his honor by becoming the wealthiest man in Italy. Sacrificing love and family, he strives to buy what cannot be his by birth. Not to be outdone by the men, the Florio women unapologetically demand their place outside the restraints of caring mothers, alluring lovers, or wounded wives. Giulia, though only a mistress, is fiercely intelligent and runs the empire from the shadows. Angelina, born a bastard, charts her own future against the wishes of her father. In this epic yet intimate tale of power, passion, and revenge, the rise and fall of a family taps into the universal desire to become more than who we are born as. Translated from the Italian by Katherine Gregor

Sicilian Carousel

Author: Lawrence Durrell
Publisher: Open Road Media
ISBN: 1453261664
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 195

Book Description
A moving account of friendship and discovery on the island of Sicily from the acclaimed travel writer and bestselling author of The Alexandria Quartet. Despite decades spent writing poetic evocations of the timeless pleasures of life in the Mediterranean, Lawrence Durrell had never set foot on the sea’s largest island: mysterious, impenetrable Sicily. For years his friend Martine begged him to visit her on this sun-kissed paradise, and though he always intended to, life inevitably interfered. It took Martine’s sudden death to finally bring him to the island’s shores. With Martine’s letters in his pocket, Durrell signs up for a tour group, hoping to learn the travel habits of those who aren’t obsessively devoted to island life. As he treks from sight to sight, dizzy with history and culture, Durrell finds echoes of his past lives in Rhodes, Cyprus, and Corfu.

The Invention of Sicily

Author: Jamie Mackay
Publisher: Verso Books
ISBN: 1786637766
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 305

Book Description
Whether you’re vacationing in Italy or simply an armchair traveler, this guide to the Mediterranean island of Sicily is a dazzling introduction to the region’s rich 3,000-year history and culture. A rich and fascinating cultural history of the Mediterranean’s enigmatic heart Sicily is at the crossroads of the Mediterranean, and for over 2000 years has been the gateway between Europe, Africa and the East. It has long been seen as the frontier between Western Civilization and the rest, but never definitively part of either. Despite being conquered by empires—Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Hapsburg Spain—it remains uniquely apart. The island’s story maps a mosaic that mixes the story of myth and wars, maritime empires and reckless crusades, and a people who refuse to be ruled. In this riveting, rich history Jamie Mackay peels away the layers of this most mysterious of islands. This story finds its origins in ancient myth but has been reinventing itself across centuries: in conquest and resistance. Inseparable from these political and social developments are the artefacts of the nation’s cultural patrimony—ancient amphitheaters, Arab gardens, Baroque Cathedrals, as well as great literature such as Giuseppe di Lampedusa’s masterpiece The Leopard, and the novels and plays of Luigi Pirandello. In its modern era, Sicily has been the site of revolution, Cosa Nostra and, in the twenty-first century, the epicenter of the refugee crisis.

Targa Florio

Author: Pino Fondi
Publisher: Nada
ISBN: 9788879112703
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Many years ago in Sicily, the legend of the “Coppa Florio” and “Targa Florio” road races became one of the most emotive and prestigious expressions in world motor racing, second only to the mythical Mille Miglia. “Coppa Florio” began in 1905 while “Targa Florio” in 1906, at the dawn of motoring civilisation and evolved over the years, hand-in-hand with the ever growing popularity of the car itself. The narrow and tortuous roads of the Sicilian mountains were testimony to the feats of Fiat, Bugatti, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Lancia, Ferrari and Porsche: manufacturers who alternated year after year at the top of the final classification of one of the toughest races in history, a race rich in allure and an ever present peril. On the occasion of the Targa Florio Centenary the book retraces this charming epics thanks to a vivid text and hundred of pictures, many of them unpublished. The work is complemented by a rich appendix (150 pages) reporting the complete results of all the Coppa and Targa Florio editions.

Nothing Is Forgotten

Author: Peter Golden
Publisher: Atria Books
ISBN: 1501146815
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 352

Book Description
From the beloved author of Comeback Love and Wherever There Is Light, comes “a sweeping tale full of humor and heartbreak” (Karin Tanabe, author of The Diplomat’s Daughter) about the life-changing journey of a young man who travels from New Jersey to Khrushchev’s Russia and the beaches of Southern France to discover long-hidden secrets about his heritage. In 1950s New Jersey, teacher Michael Daniels—or Misha Danielov to his doting Russian-Jewish grandmother—is at loose ends, until he becomes the host of a nightly underground radio show. Not only does the show become a local hit because of his running satires of USSR leader Nikita Khrushchev, but half a world away, it picks up listeners in a small Soviet city. There, with rock and roll leaking in through bootlegged airwaves, Yulianna Kosoy—a war orphan in her mid-twenties—is sneaking American goods into the country with her boss, Der Schmuggler. But just as Michael’s radio show is taking off, his grandmother is murdered. Why would anyone commit such an atrocity against such a warm, affable woman? She had always been secretive about her past and, as Michael discovers, guarded a shadowy ancestral history. In order to solve the mystery of who killed her, Michael sets out for Europe to learn where he—and his grandmother—really came from. “Both heartbreaking and mesmerizing, Nothing Is Forgotten is the sort of book you won’t soon forget…Cold War Europe, lingering Nazi secrets, and the tragic history faced by millions of families not only bring this tale to life but will keep you turning the pages” (Lisa Wingate, New York Times bestselling author) and will appeal to fans of novels by Anita Diamant and Kristin Hannah.

The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba

Author: Chanel Cleeton
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0593098870
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 385

Book Description
"At the end of the nineteenth century, three revolutionary women fight for freedom in ... Chanel Cleeton's ... novel inspired by real-life events and the true story of a legendary Cuban woman--Evangelina Cisneros--who changed the course of history"--

A House in Sicily

Author: Daphne Phelps
Publisher: Virago Press
ISBN: 9781860496486
Category : Sicily (Italy)
Languages : en
Pages : 288

Book Description
Near Mount Etna in Sicily lies Casa Cuseni, a beautiful house built in golden stone - and the home which Daphne Phelps was astonished to find she had inherited in 1947. At the age of 34, war-weary from working as a psychiatric social worker, with barely any Italian, and precious little money, she plunged into a fascinating Sicilian world. Every imaginable problem had to be overcome, not only financial difficulties but local authorities and a house staff who initially felt no loyalty to the new Signorina but who gradually accepted her as a respected member of their small community. To help make ends meet, for many years she ran Casa Cuseni as a pensione and to her doors came Roald Dahl, Tennessee Williams, Bertrand Russell and Henry Faulkner. But just as important to her life and her story are the Sicilians with whom she shared the love and care of Casa Cuseni: Don Ciccio the local mafia leader, Vincenzio, general manservant who recited while he served the meals, Beppe, a Don Juan who scented his eyebrows and his moustache to attract the local girls; and above all the steadfast cook and housekeeper who lives with Daphne still and to whom this book is dedicated.

Vistas in Sicily

Author: Arthur Stanley Riggs
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Sicily (Italy)
Languages : en
Pages : 376

Book Description

A Sicilian's Journey

Author: William V. Fioravanti
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781495213311
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 136

Book Description
This is a non-fiction account of the life of my grandfather. His life starts in Sicily and follows him through his arrival in New York and his experiences in the small colonial town of Johnstown and twin city Gloversville. Although it is not permeated with gangsters and violence there is much action. Life for immigrants in these small upstate New York villages was not a simple transition and there are plenty of unusual happenings. I wrote this story as a treatment for a screenplay and when you peruse the work you will see how it flows from chapter to chapter. Some chapters are short but still very visual. It is my sincerest desire that you will find a very unusual and exciting journey of a Sicilian immigrant striving to survive in a new and fast changing world.

Brian Redman

Author: Brian Redman
Publisher: Evro Publishing Limited
ISBN: 9781910505106
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
2016 ROYAL AUTOMOBILE CLUB MOTORING BOOK OF THE YEAR Brian Redman is one of very few notable British racing drivers whose racing life has yet to be put on record in book form. Now that is about to be rectified. Packed with photographs, Redman's memoir is a vivid account of his varied racing exploits, with special focus on the period when he won major sports car races in Ford GT40s, Porsche 908s and 917s, and Ferrari 312PBs, and also became North American Formula 5000 champion three years running. Highly readable, and at times both humorous and poignant, this is a very personal book that will be welcomed by this popular and highly respected driver's legions of fans. - Five themed chapters about Redman's experiences at the greatest circuits and races of his era: Spa-Francorchamps, the Nurburgring, the Targa Florio, Le Mans and Daytona. - Diving deep into Redman's fears, friendships and mindset during his time at the top. - Spa-Francorchamps: Redman won at this daunting track in four consecutive appearances in 1,000Kms races for sports cars, but was also injured in the first of his three big crashes, in the 1968 Belgian Grand Prix. - The Nurburgring: two big sports car wins with his greatest driving partners, Jo Siffert and Jacky Ickx. - The Targa Florio: in 1970 Redman won this heroic race over the uniquely punishing 45-mile circuit in Sicily - and suffered severe burns in another big crash the following year. - Le Mans: he led France's 24-hour classic five times but never won it. - Daytona: the world's other great 24-hour race, in Florida, brought three wins - in 1970, 1976 and 1981. - Stories about driving for Porsche, Ferrari and colourful privateers, plus anecdotes about the era's most famous drivers, managers, heroes and rascals. - Successes in Formula 5000 (three-times champion in the USA) and 2-litre sports cars (South African champion) complete Redman's credentials as one of the finest all-rounders in motor racing. - Mario Andretti provides an insightful foreword: Redman and he were team-mates in Ferrari's sports car team (1972-73) and the top drivers in North American Formula 5000 (1974-75).