Discovering the Hill Towns of Italy

by PaulDuncan (Author), JohnFerroSims (Photographer)

• Used

  Hardcover
  1990

  $7.12

• Used

  Paperback
  1994

  $3.51

  The landscape of rural Italy, from the island of Sicily to the northernmost Alps, is characterized by its picturesque hilltop settlements. Some were once autonomous city states; many are still the hub around which the life of the surrounding countryside revolves. This book takes a meandering route through 50 lesser-known hill towns, evoking the atmosphere and recording impressions of the everyday life, the festivals and celebrations, and the medieval and Renaissance buildings. From the military architecture of Gubbio and the ducal palace of Urbino, to the lost village of Romena and its ruined towers, the book sets out to capture the essence of Italy's towns and landscapes. Paul Duncan's text is accompanied by the photographs of John Ferro Sims, whose work has also featured in Landscapes in Italy and The Renaissance of Italian Cooking .

• Used

  Hardcover
  1990

  $3.51

  Paul Duncan, the author of this book has travelled the length and breadth of Italy, sampling the hilltop towns and absorbing the character, history, festas and cuisine in every region. He looks into the often bloodthirsty past, both factual and legendary, and describes notable buildings ranging from Renaissance fortifications to a perfectly preserved 13th century village in Tuscany and the Ducal Palace at Urbino, where the remainder of one of Italy's great art collections is still the goal of many a pilgrimage. The lesser-known, sometimes sinister hilltowns of the South are given equal coverage for the first time - the undiscovered places of Calabria, Basilicata and Sicily, set strikingly into rocky hillsides, where pagan rites are still practised and Albanian is the mother tongue. John Ferro Sims was photographer for A Traveller's Guide to Food and Wine in Tuscany and The Renaissance of Italian Cooking . Paul Duncan is a freelance journalist writing mainly on architectural subjects for magazines such as Vogue , Architect's Journal and Harpers and Queen . He has written for the Royal Fine Art Commission, Save Britain's Heritage - with a book on Georgian London. m