The Lady in the Palazzo

At Home in Umbria

By: Marlena de Blasi

Narrated by: Laural Merlington

From village feasts and rustic tavernas to ancient piazzas and moonlit balconies, the smells, tastes, sounds, and soul of Umbria come alive in best-selling author Marlena de Blasi's evocative memoir.

By turns romantic and sensual, joyous and celebratory, touching and humorous, Marlena de Blasi's account of moving with her husband, Fernando, to Orvieto, the largest city in Italy's Umbria, will appeal to anyone who delights in travel and shares the fantasy of beginning a new life in a very different place. It is a tale of the couple's search for the right home, which turns out to be the former ballroom of a 15th-century palazzo, and the right balance in their lives, in this case making friends of cooks, counts, shepherds, and a lone violinist. It is a tale, too, of an American woman finding her niche in a society bound by tradition and seemingly closed to outsiders.

With a voice full of wonder, de Blasi brings to life these engagingly quirky people and the aloof, almost daunting society that exists in Umbria. Not since Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence has a writer so convincingly captures the essence of a singular place and created a feast for readers of all stripes.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2006 Marlena de Blasi (P)2007 Tantor Media Inc.

Critic reviews

"Vivid writing and an affectionate appreciation of the sounds, scenes and flavors of Italy, as well as of the somewhat eccentric Umbrians she meets, will charm lovers of that country." (Publishers Weekly)

It is the simple pleasures in life...

What a lovely book. We recently returned from visiting Orvieto and I wanted to learn more about the culture. Thoroughly enjoyed this story. Loved reading about the people, the food and the seasonal favorites. My mother used to say "there is nothing like entertaining people in your home". So true and the details do matter since ultimately is is an experience you create. I enjoyed the narration too. Thank you for this wonderful summer read.

Great Book

We went to Italy shortly after reading this book. The locations the author wrote about were described in such accurate detail. Excellent book on a Pallazzo area

ZZZZZZZZZZZZ

I love Italy, Italians, Italian food, the language. I wanted and started to enjoy this book but the narrator's voice became more monotonous every time I restarted the listen. Stick to Lilly Prior's La Cucina for a fabulous Italian story, and wonderful narration, or Peter Mayle's Provence if you want to stay awake, and laugh.

A Terrible Reader

Even though this book owes more than a great debt to Francis Mayes (one could say it is an Under the Tuscan Sun knock off), it could still be enjoyable to Italophiles and those loving Orvieto if they had given some thought to the reader. This woman "butchers" the Italian language. This is not excusable in a book that has Italian words sprinkled liberally on almost every page! One could excuse the hard stuff like pronouncing gli as "glee" but when simple words are mispronounced (piccolo is pronounced "pee cho low") it just gets too much to bear. At every turn, the reader chooses the wrong place to put an accent. Why choose a reader who has no knowledge of, or affinity for, the Italian language? A missed opportunity.

not so great

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

The story line could be better. I found it depressing!

Would you ever listen to anything by Marlena de Blasi again?

no

What didn’t you like about Laural Merlington’s performance?

Did anyone EVER listen to this who speaks Italian??? There were many errors in the pronunciation of Italian words. I couldn't believe it! It was so unprofessional!

More than one person needs to read different characters. I find it irritating otherwise.

Any additional comments?

hard to believe a book on life in Italy could be uninspiring!