Romancing Through Italy [Paperback]

Romancing Through Italy is an intimate cultural journey that reveals not just the places, but the people and mysteries of an ancient land. In these true stories, discover the humor, beauty, heroes, friends, and misadventures of traveling through Italy. Emperors and cave-dwellers, elderly goat-herds and ghost towns come to life in visits to the hidden corners of the cradle of modern civilization. When an aging American veteran led the author and his wife to an emotional celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Liberation, he inspired a 20-year quest to understand the undying gratitude expressed by Italians. From the ruins of ancient Greek settlements to the icy top of Europes highest peak, this is the true story of one couples determination to begin to understand the turbulent soul of a nation. The adventures, misadventures, and people they befriend along the way fill the pages of this enchanting peek inside the soul of Italy. Tourists often travel to see things: scenery, art, architecture, the cities themselves. Too many people measure their experience in the number of vaguely-familiar famous places they went. The Leaning Tower of Pisa? Check. Trevi Fountain? Check. Don't be them. The essence of Italy is measured in none of those, but rather in people. The people you may pass on any street, or see dining in the restaurants, are the flesh and blood of hundreds of generations of Italy. The descendants of Emperors and slaves, it was their lineage that served to create the world we live in today.The language spoken by Roman citizens two thousand years ago is today the language of our law and medicine. We use it to organize our genus and species, our planets and stars. Romans invented concrete, arches, and domes. They created the world's first planned cities, highways, and aqueduct systems, and the basis for much of our most beautiful architecture. They gave us the foot, the yard, the mile, and the names of our days and months. Italy gave us the Renaissance, and prolS)