A mouth-wateringly evocative memoir of a new life in Tuscany. Ferenc Mate and his painter wife Candace arrived from New York in the late 1980s, knowing almost no Italian and with only four weeks to find themselves a new home. After many (hilariously told) mishaps, they finally conclude the deal for their perfect house - an ancient farmhouse in the Tuscan hills - by drawing on the hood of a rusty tractor. Mate brings the real Tuscany to life: the neighbours, the countryside, country-life, the family farm down the road who virtually adopt them and teach them the Tuscan traditions of grape-picking, wine-making, mushroom hunting, woodcutting, the holidays and, of course, the almost never-ending, mouth-watering feasts. The Hills of Tuscany is a classic piece of rural escapism for urban dreamers. Witty and enticingly written, it offers a tempting invitation to readers to lose themselves in its lushness. Steeped in the mesmerizing Italian landscape, full of unforgettable characters, this book is an affirmation of traditions, friendship and the countryside - a celebration of life itself.

The Hills of Tuscany : A New Home in an Old Land

Travel

Máté, Ferenc

Europe

Flamingo

The author chronicles his and his wife's first five years in Tuscany, in a memoir by turns buoyant, reflective, and humorous

The Hills of Tuscany

Biographies & Memoirs

Delta

The author chronicles his and his wife's first five years in Tuscany

The Hills of Tuscany: A New Life in an Old Land (THORNDIKE PRESS LARGE PRINT NONFICTION SERIES)

Travelers & Explorers

G K Hall & Co

As seductive as A Year in Provence and Under the Tuscan Sun, but with the wit and charm of a 1930s romantic comedy, the true-life adventure of a couple who chucked New York for a new life in Tuscany. The Máté's arrived in Tuscany in the late 1980s knowing no Italian and with only four weeks to search for the country house of their dreams. On their last night there, after having been chased by wild boars and befriended by a country realtor who also sells pigs and coffins, they finally concluded the deal on the hood of a rusting tractor with the lawyer speaking Italian and them responding in French, English, and Hungarian, in a Tower of Babel version of "Who's on First?" So begins Ferenc Máté's endearing, in-love-with-life memoir of their first five years in Tuscany, by turns buoyant, reflective, and laugh-out-loud hilarious. His engaging, often poetic prose describes the way of life they were looking for and found-where neighbors, community, home, and, most of all, children, form the focal point of daily life. They live in a small thirteenth-century monastery, surrounded by their vineyards and olive groves, in the spectacular hills near Siena, a few miles from where The English Patient was filmed. The Hills of Tuscany--steeped in mesmerizing scenery and wonderful medieval towns, full of unforgettably delightful characters and spectacular food and wine-nourishes body, mind, and soul. If you're not passionately in love with life at the moment, you'll be hopelessly so by the time you turn the last page. Illustrated

The Hills of Tuscany: A New Life in an Old Land

Albatross

“Titanic in potential appeal . . . the Mátés do something rare; they go native.”―Washington Post This hilarious, international bestseller is a true-life adventure of a New York City couple moving to Tuscany. Ferenc Máté’s enthusiastic prose is infectious. He brings to life the real Tuscany: the contadini neighbors, country life―the harvest, grape, and olive picking, wine making, mushroom hunting, woodcutting―the holidays, and of course the never-ending, mouthwatering meals. 13 color illustrations

The Hills of Tuscany: A New Life in an Old Land (Augustana Historical Society Publication)