Gilmour, David. The Pursuit of Italy, A History of a Land, Its Regions, and Their Peoples. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2012. Seeking to understand the paradoxes of Italian life, past and present, Sir David Gilmour asks if Garibaldi’s political unification of Italy might in fact have been a mistake. This extensively researched and highly opinionated history of Italian life features figures from Cicero to Dante to 20th- century Italian politicians, and Gilmour clearly has a soft spot for Romantic composer Giuseppe Verdi.

Hale, Julian. The French Riviera, A Cultural History. Oxford University Press, 2010. From Roman outpost to Napoleonic battleground and playground for the rich and famous, this marvelously informed cultural guide covers the place of the Riviera in history, literature, art, architecture and the imagination.

Hooper, John. The Italians. Viking, 2016. Italy correspondent for The Economist Hooper explores Italy (its baffling contradictions, unique character and contemporary culture) in this illuminating portrait.

Frank, Matthew Gavin. Barolo. University of Nebraska Press, 2012. Rich in details of village life of the Piemonte, Frank’s witty tale of six months camped out in the garden of the Pittatore farm in Barolo (pop. 646) will transport you to the Italian countryside. You’ll want to accompany this irresistible tale with a generous glass of red wine, and perhaps some ham.

Root, Waverly. The Food of Italy. Vintage Books, 1992. Evocative of Italy and its diverse cuisine, this classic book, organized geographically, offers a cook’s tour of the country. It’s a well-informed and wonderful culinary guide.

Emmott, Bill. Good Italy, Bad Italy: Why Italy Must Conquer Its Demons to Face the Future. Yale University Press, 2012. In this lively report on the economic state of Italy, Emmott contrasts Bad Italy – the land of disgraced Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, an inadequate justice system, an economy dominated by special interests and continuing corruption – with the Good Italy, we all know and love: the home of enthusiastic entrepreneurs, truth-seeking journalists, and citizens determined to end mafia domination once and for all.

Asselle, Maria Grazia. Cucina Piemontese: Cooking from Italy’s Piedmont. Hippocrene Press, 2005. Containing nearly 200 recipes, this collection of Piedmontese food introduces a cuisine that is more adventurous and creative than its Italian counterparts.

Beales, Derek & Eugenio Biagini. The Risorgimento and the Unification of Italy. Routledge, 2002. A

good history of the Risorgimento, its significance for Italy and its impact abroad.

Duggan, Christopher. A Concise History of Italy. Cambridge University Press, 2014. From the Romans to the Renaissance, Reform, National Unity, the Rise of Fascism and modern republic, professor Duggan covers the sweep of history in the region with authority.

Lintner, Valerio. A Traveller’s History of Italy. Interlink Publishing Group, 2008. A brief history of Italy through the 1990s -- wide-ranging, accessible and necessarily condensed. With a useful chronology and

Luzzi, Joseph. My Two Italies. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2015. Award-winning author and scholar Luzzi presents Italy in all its glory and squalor -- its artistic magnificence, north-south disunity and its dirty politics and corruption -- in this highly personal portrait.

Michaud, Jeff. Eating Italy. Perseus, 2013. American head chef Jeff Michaud takes us along on his three-year culinary journey into the world of Italian cuisine. From Paladina to Alba, Venice to Florence and everywhere in between, he dedicates himself to perfecting the “stubborn simplicity” of the country’s gastronomic delights.

O’Keefe, Kerin. Barolo and Barbaresco, The King and Queen of Italian Wine. University of California Press, 2014. In this comprehensive overview, author and wine critic Kerin O’Keefe tells the stories of two of Italy’s most fascinating and storied wines.

*Plumb, J. H. The Italian Renaissance. Mariner Books, 2001. A well-written history of the Renaissance, its artists and thinkers, with chapters on Florence, Milan, Rome and Venice, Michelangelo, Da Vinci and Women of the Renaissance.

Severgnini, Beppe. La Bella Figura, A Field Guide to the Italian Mind. Broadway Books, 2007. Italians themselves love this guide to the Italian character, which addresses their never-ending passion for beauty, disorder and high emotion. The book opens with a snapshot of Malpensa Airport, then moves on to Tuscany, Rome, Naples and Sardinia.

Hales, Dianne. La Bella Lingua. Broadway Books, 2010. Inebriated with the sounds of Italian, lovesick for its phrases and enamored of its earthy idioms, Hales, “a sensible woman of sturdy Polish stock,” dives into the Italian of the piazza, literature, movies and streets in this charming memoir.

Hawes, Annie. Extra Virgin, A Young Woman Discovers the Italian Riviera. Harper Collins Publishers, 2002. A memoir of travels and life in Liguria, where the Hawes sisters ventured and stayed. In this refreshingly candid account, the English sisters end up buying a house and learning the local customs and eccentricities of their neighbors in Diano San Pietro.

Di Lampedusa, Giuseppe. The Leopard, A Novel. Pantheon, 2007. Evoking a lost world of privilege and tradition, Di Lampedusa’s memorable tale, set on a rural Sicilian estate during the days of independence, follows the world-weary Don Fabrizio, Prince of Salina. A classic.

Dibdin, Michael. A Long Finish, An Aurelio Zen Mystery. Vintage Books, 2000. Another enjoyable “Aurelio Zen Mystery” from Michael Dibdin, this time private investigator Zen is in Rome and Alba, enjoying wonderful wine and food while uncovering a murderous plot that may jeopardize the Piemontese wine industry.

Eco, Umberto. The Name of the Rose. Vintage Books, 2006. Umberto Eco’s masterwork is, among other things, a murder mystery, a riff on the Book of Revelations, and a meticulous recreation of medieval Europe, particularly of Benedictine monastic life in Italy. Eco researched the book in the library of the Abbey of Melk.

Pavese, Cesare. The Devil in the Hills. Peter Owen Publishers, 2002. This book, the most personal of the many stories, poems and novels of Pavese, follows the summer adventures of three young men in the hills, vineyards and villages of the author’s native Piedmont.

Pearson, Norman Holmes, and W.H. Auden (Editor). The Portable Romantic Poets. Penguin Putnam, 1977. This is the anthology to take along on a trip to England’s Lake District, Italy’s Cinque Terre or any other classic haunt of the romantic poets. This selection includes works by all the masters (and even an occasional mistress).

Powers, Alice. Italy in Mind. Vintage Press, 1997. A terrific collection of some of the best literary writing on Italy, including pieces by Melville, Lawrence, Henry James, Mary McCarthy and many others.

Venuti, Lawrence (Editor). Italy, A Traveler’s Literary Companion. Whereabouts Press, 2003. Not just a literary companion, this anthology is also a who’s who of contemporary Italian writers who capture the spirit, history and allure of the country.

Walter, Jess. Beautiful Ruins. HarperCollins, 2013. Award-winning, bestselling author Jess Walter brings us to the Italian Riviera in this glittering love story. Based on actual events.

Murray, Peter. The Art of the Renaissance. Thames & Hudson, 1992. A classic, illustrated survey of the world of the Renaissance and its art. With chapters on Florence and its artists, the Netherlands, early illustrated books and many individual artists.

Blanchard, Paul. Blue Guide Piedmont. Blue Guides, 2017. This detailed guide includes the city of Turin and surrounding royal residences, Lake Maggiore, the Piedmontese Alps and the wine country. Paul Blanchard is a longtime Italy resident, nature lover and landscape artist.