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Inside The Tuscan Hills

Reviewed by Madelyn Miller

I am not the only person who loves Tuscany. Almost everyone who visits is touched by its magic.

PBS and Fifty Rubies Productions present a six-part documentary series Inside Tuscan Hills, debuting on November 1, 2004 on PBS, check local listings for details.

Shot entirely on location over the course of five months, first-time filmmaker Dakkan Abbe produced, directed, and edited the most in-depth documentary about Tuscany ever made. With unprecedented access to the vineyards, artisans, workshops, kitchens, and homes of the Tuscan people, each 30-minute episode takes us Inside the Tuscan Hills, exploring the rich culture of rural Tuscany, a place where ancient traditions have never disappeared.

Hosted by Camille Abbe, the series moves through Tuscany geographically, starting in the vine-draped hills of Chianti and moving down to the dramatic countryside around Montalcino and Montepulciano and all the way to the wild Maremma coast. Then it goes back up north to the chestnut-clad hills of the Casentino before ending in the jagged marble mountains above Carrara. The numerous villas, farmhouses, cypress trees, and vineyards serve as a backdrop to the compelling stories of the artisans, chefs, and farmers who live there.

Inside the Tuscan Hills is a celebration of the possibilities of life, a reminder that there are places where man and his surroundings are integrated into something approaching perfection. “This series will enrich, enliven, and inspire its viewers with the beauty and richness of life Inside the Tuscan Hills,” Dakkan Abbe explains. “I am honored to share my unforgettable journey and visually stunning exploration of the rich culture in one of the world’s most enchanting regions.”

Every episode brings the viewer face to face with the traditional artisans who still practice their craft as generations before them. We meet master shoemakers, mosaic artists, ceramic painters, coppersmiths and many others. Chefs open their kitchen doors and show us the secrets of hand-rolled pici, wine-bathed filletto, succulent porchetta, and many other mouth-watering Tuscan dishes. We see a joyful blessing of the fields at a wine estate that melds pagan beliefs with Christian rituals. In Cortona, cross-bow archers in Renaissance costumes compete in a 700-year old festival. A visit to the bubbling hot-springs of Saturnia shows both the glamour of its private spa and the wild beauty of the public pools.

Best Way to Get to Italy

US's seventh-largest airline, serving 181 communities in the U.S., Canada, Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America.  US Airways, US Airways Shuttle and the US Airways Express partner carriers operate approximately 3,400 flights per day.  For more information on US Airways flight schedules and fares, visit US Airways online at
WWW.USairways.com or call US Airways Reservations at 1-800-428-4322

Best Way to Get Around in Italy

RailEurope offers a Trenitalia Pass network which covers 16,000 km (10,000 miles) running daily through beautiful landscapes to connect big cities and small towns, all famous for their art and history. The trains are comfortable and quick and easy to navigate. I got to Turm directory from Venice in about three hours, it took just a little longer to get from Turm to Milan.
WWW.RAILeurope.com

IF YOU WOULD RATHER READ ABOUT ITALY

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Italian History and Culture
By Gabrielle Euvino with Michael San Filippo
www.idiotsguides.com

Italy
Insight Guides
www.insightguides.com

Fodor's 04 Italy
Shows you the way on and off the beaten path
WWW.fodors.com

Rick Steve's Italy 2004
Avalon Publishing
www.ricksteves.com

Berlitz Pocket Guide Italy
www.berlitzpublishing.com

SPEAK LIKE AN ITALIAN

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Italian
By Gabrielle Euvino
www.idiotsguides.com

The Pocket Idiot's Guide to Italian
By Gabrielle Euvino
www.idiotsguides.com

Rick Steve’s Italian Phrasebook and Dictionary
Avalon Travel Publishing
www.Ricksteves.com

Berlitz Surviving in Italian
A handy mini phrase book with maximum information
www.berlitzpublishing.com

Berlitz Shopping in Italian
Pocket-size with easy to read pronunciation
www.berlitzpublishing.com

EAT LIKE AN ITALIAN

Berlitz Eating and Drinking in Italian
Convenient pocket size
www.berlitzpublishing.com

How to Pronounce French, German and Italian Wine Names
By Dianna Bellucci
They also include a bonus of Austrian, Spanish and Portugese Wine Names
Luminosa Publishing
www.howtopronounce.com

Langenscheidt's Pocket Menu Reader Italy
A gastronomic dictionary, phrasebook and guide

Europe's Top Restaurants 2004
Zagat Survey
www.zagat.com

TASTE ITALIAN FOOD AT HOME
Try Sacla’s Classic Basil Pesto Sauce on your pasta at home. Robust bail leaves, fresh Grana Padano and Pecorino Romano cheese, ripened pine nuts, biting garlic and pure olive oil.

ROME

Rick Steve's Rome2004
Avalon Travel Publishing
www.Ricksteves.com

Shopping In Rome
Insights Guide
www.insightguides.com

Insight Guide Instant Rome
www.insightguides.com

Access Rome
By Richard Saul Wurman
HarperResource
www.harpercollins.com

Insight Fleximap Rome
Laminated for durability
www.insightguides.com

Wear your favorite city on a scarf! Tasaram's 100% silk Map Scarves feature detailed street plans of London, Paris, Rome, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. with more cities coming soon.
www.mapscarves.com 

Berlitz City Guidemap
www.berlitzpublishing.com

MILAN

Milan
Knopf Mapguides
The city in section by section maps
www.aaknopf.com

VENICE

Rick Steve's Venice 2004
Avalon Travel Publishing
www.ricksteves.com

Berlitz Venice City GuideMap
www.berlitzpublishing.com

Venice In Context
By Robert Wayne
Includes two CD’s
www.europeincontext.com

Insight Pocket Guide Venice
www.insightguides.com

Insight Guide Instant Venice
www.insightguides.com

FLORENCE

Berlitz Florence City GuideMap
www.berlitzpublishing.com

Museums and Galleries of Florence
Insight Guides
www.insightguides.com

Rick Steve’s Florence and Tuscany 2004
Avalon Travel Publishing
www.ricksteves.com

Insight Fleximap Florence
Laminated, easy to use
www.insightguides.com

Insight Museum Map Florence
Includes all major museums and galleries
www.insightguides.com

TUSCANY AND UMBRIA

Walking and Eating in Tuscany and Umbria
By James Lasdun and Pia Davis
This book brings walkers and food lovers into the dazzling landscapes and hidden delights of two the Italy’s loveliest provinces.
A Penguin Book
www.penguin.com

Italian Lakes
Knopf Mapguides
Italian Lakes
www.aaknopf.com

ITALIAN LITERATURE TO GET YOU IN THE MOOD

Venetian Stories
By Jane Turner Ruylands
Pantheon Books
www.pantheon.com
The thoroughly engaging characters who are the focus of these stories are from different backgrounds and various Venetian neighborhoods, but their lives—and the stories—overlap and intersect in surprising and playful ways.

Casa Rosa
By Francesca Marciano
(author of Rules of the Wild)
Pantheon Books
www.pantheonbooks.com
A mesmerizing story of three generations of a twentieth-century Italian family who lived in a farmous in Puglia.

John Paul II
A personal portrait of the Pope and the Man
By Ray Flynn
St. Martin’s Press
www.stmartins.com

Behind Locked Doors
By Frederic Baumgartner
The author is a former president of the American Catholic Historical Association and takes readers behind the scenes and offers an insider’s view on the highly secretive Papal Conclave.
Palgrave Macmillan
www.palgrave-usa.com

Dances With Luigi
By Paul Paolicelli
A moving an intimate memoir of award-winning television journalist Paul Paolicelli’s ancestral search.

Under The Southern Sun
By Paul Paolicelli
Stories of the Real Italy and the Americans it Created
Part Travelogue, part journalism and part sociological study, this book follows Paolicelli as he explores Southern Italy dealing with the concept of heritage.
Thomas Dunne Books
A division of St Martin’s press
www.stmartins.com

Venice Against The Sea
A city Besieged
By John Keahy
In a few years, much of Venice may be under water..can this beautiful city be saved
Thomas Dunne Books
A division of St Martin’s press
www.stmartins.com

COOKBOOK TO TEMPT YOUR PALATE

Mangiamo  Let’s Eat!
A collection of family recies by Sylvia Sebastiani
Sebastiani Vineyards

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