Italian Rules
Italian Food & Life Rules
Italians have spent a thousand years perfecting a certain style of eating and living. They love making rules and although they seem to obey very few, there are some hard and fast food and life rules followed throughout Italy.
When it comes to the national cuisine the Italian Food Rules may as well be carved in marble. Visitors to Italy violate them at their peril.
Did the waiter in Rome sneer when you asked for butter for the bread or for a cappuccino after dinner? Did your Venetian grandmother slap your hand when you reached for the Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on her spaghetti alle vongole? Do you know why you should never greet some people in Italy with a cheery “Ciao!” How do Italian women stride across cobblestones wearing stilettos with five-inch heels. Why can’t tourists go to just any Italian beach and spread out a picnic lunch on the sand during the summer months?
Italian Life Rules provides the answers. Ann Reavis spent fifteen years in Italy learning the food and life rules so that with this compact guide you can enjoy being Italian for awhile. Together for the first time in one volume – Italian Food Rules and Italian Life Rules – two popular books of essays on how to be truly Italian.
Italian Food Rules
Did your Florentine friend laugh when you asked for a cappuccino after dinner? Did the waiter in Rome sneer when you asked for Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on your spaghetti alle vongole? Did the Venetian guest in your home turn pale when offered leftover pizza for breakfast? Did the fruit and vegetable vendor at the Mercato Centrale yell at you when you checked out the ripeness of his peaches or scooped up a handful of cherries?
In Italy, they love making rules, although they seem to obey very few. When it comes to the national cuisine, however, the Italian Food Rules may as well be carved in marble. They will not change and are strictly followed. Visitors to Italy violate them at their peril.
When in Italy, enjoy being Italian for a few days, weeks or months, by learning the Italian Food Rules, taking them to heart, and obeying each and every one of them.
Italian Life Rules
Italians have spent a thousand years perfecting a certain way of living. In a country with a reputation of not obeying rules, there are some hard and fast Italian Life Rules, which are known and followed. You should never greet some people in Italy with a cheery “Ciao!” Why? Italian women can stride across cobblestones wearing stilettos with five-inch heels. How? Studies show that Italians tip less than other Europeans. Why? Tourists can’t go to just any Italian beach and spread a picnic lunch out on the sand during some months. When? It seems like every shopkeeper in Italy demands exact change. Why?
Before traveling to Italy, read about the Italian Life Rules to heighten your anticipation of Italian life and to prepare you for the inevitable joys and pitfalls of your visit. When in Italy, enjoy being Italian for a few days, weeks or months, by learning first-hand the Italian Life Rules for a greater appreciation of what it means to be Italian.
Murder Mysteries
Death at the Duomo
A thrilling mystery set in the Renaissance City.
An explosion rips through the Easter festival in front of the Duomo in Florence, Italy, but no one claims responsibility. The vicitms are not only Florentine, but also visitors from throughout the world. The security forces of Europe and the United States join together to hunt down the killers.
Caterina Falcone, a Florentine investigator, and Max Turner, an agent from the U.S. Embassy, team up to find out why an American student was at the cathedral when the bomb exploded. Max hunts a bomber who sows death around the globe.
Inspector Falcone believes the identity of the perpetrator can be found close to home. Together they race across Tuscany to stop a killer before more people die.
Secret of La Specola
A novel of suspense and mystery set in Florence, Italy.
Inspector Caterina Falcone thought that her young nephew Cosimino was going to show her the secret of La Specola. Their Sunday morning outing, however, revealed that the museum guarded more than one mystery.
Melissa Kincaid was in Florence enjoying a much-needed break from her uneventful existence in Dallas. She was hoping for romance and adventure in Italy. What she discovered at Museo Zoologico La Specola would change the course of her life.
Melissa’s meddling becomes Inspector Falcone’s biggest challenge as she tries to solve the case of murder in the museum.
This is the second book in the Caterina Falcone Mystery Series. The first book is Death at the Duomo.
Revenge By The Arno
The Arno River is rising in Florence, Italy. Into the the turbulent waters leaps an unlikely hero, who tries to save a drowning woman, only to find it is too late. He pays a high price for his bravery before Inspector Caterina Falcone gets involved. Was this an accidental death or something more sinister?
Cats of Italy
Cats of Italy
Cicero and Flavia race to save a cat sanctuary in the center of Rome.
Dante and Guido take a friend on an adventure that goes awry in a medieval tower. Regina falls into a canal and is rescued by Fosca and Casanova to become queen of the regatta. Vanda and Pussipu love their lives in Calabria, but not all the Southern Italian cats are so lucky.
Cats of Italy is a compilation of four short stories: Cats of Rome, Cats of Florence, Cats of Venice, Cats of Calabria.
These stories will enchant cat lovers, both young and old. Those who are fascinated by Italian history and culture will find the little-known (but true) feline facts in these tales will enhance their next visit to Italy.
Cats of Florence
Guido, a Florentine cat, tells the tale of a dark and stormy night, eerily similar to the night that he was born, but this time he is trapped in a medieval tower. How did he get there? It was a quest. By answering the appeal for an adventure from Gatone, their plump friend, Guido and his brother Dante cross the terracotta roofs of Florence to visit Dante’s House and Dante’s Church. Thwarted by a wicked priest and a sticky, smelly boy, the three cats are trapped in a medieval tower while a storm rages outside. Will they ever get home? Therein lies the tale.
Cats of Venice
Regina is not feeling the love at home in her roof-top apartment and garden in Venice. A mishap results in a dunking in the canal. Life outside her palazzo would be a catastrophe except for the help offered by two “free” felines, Fosca and Casanova. Come along on their adventure in Venice.
Cats of Calabria
Vanda, Uffa and Pussipu live near the sea in the southernmost region of Italy.
Pussipu is the pampered pet in a villa marked by a dark past and a darker present. Vanda is the loved companion on a farm where the best mozzarella di bufala is made. Their new best friend is Uffa, who surprisingly smells of licorice.
The sights and smells of Calabria infuse their story.
Cats of Rome
Flavia, Cicero and Rocco are part of the cat colony living in Largo di Torre Argentina, an ancient temple site in Rome.
A Cat Sanctuary with a feline clinic has been built by the Cat Ladies of Rome at one end of Torre Argentina. Now it is under threat from the bureaucrats that protect the archeological ruins of Rome.
The three cats take action going all the way to the top for support to save their sanctuary.
Other Books
Murder at Mountain Vista
After a year at the Mountain Vista Assisted Living Complex, Joyce Webster has yet to really settle in. Mountain Vista is just like high school with its cliques and gossip, not to mention its mind-numbing activities.
Life gets a little more interesting, though, when one of Joyce’s least favorite fellow residents—an old windbag with a big ego and a knack for making enemies—dies in a suspicious fall.
Joyce and her friends try to puzzle out the whodunit but are at a loss until Benny the dog turns up a telling clue. As they dive deeper into the case, Joyce and her friends find that grudges do not fade with age—instead, they seem to only grow stronger.
The Case of the Pilfered Pills
Mountain Vista Assisted Living Complex is not Joyce Webster’s idea of the perfect place to live, but she has come to terms with her new life. That is until her ‘open door’ habit results in the theft of her prescription pills. And she’s not the only victim.
Joyce and her friends are trying to puzzle out the case of the pilfered pills when Mountain Vista’s resident nurse is found strangled in the clinic and one of Joyce’s favorite caregivers goes missing.
In the meantime, a nasty neighbor is trying to get Joyce’s two dogs, Benny and Barclay, evicted from Mountain Vista.
Maybe life in assisted care is not as dull as Joyce feared it would be.