La Bella Figura

Join the bestselling author of Ciao, America! on a lively tour of modern Italy that takes you behind the seductive face it puts on for visitors—la bella figura—and highlights its maddening, paradoxical true self

You won't need luggage for this hypothetical and hilarious trip into the hearts and minds of Beppe Severgnini's fellow Italians. In fact, Beppe would prefer if you left behind the baggage his crafty and elegant countrymen have smuggled into your subconscious. To get to his Italia, you'll need to forget about your idealized notions of Italy. Although La Bella Figura will take you to legendary cities and scenic regions, your real destinations are the places where Italians are at their best, worst, and most authentic:

The highway: in America, a red light has only one possible interpretation—Stop! An Italian red light doesn't warn or order you as much as provide an invitation for reflection.

The airport: where Italians prove that one of their virtues (an appreciation for beauty) is really a vice. Who cares if the beautiful girls hawking cell phones in airport kiosks stick you with an outdated model? That's the price of gazing upon perfection.

The small town: which demonstrates the Italian genius for pleasant living: “a congenial barber . . . a well-stocked newsstand . . . professionally made coffee and a proper pizza; bell towers we can recognize in the distance, and people with a kind word and a smile for everyone.”

The chaos of the roads, the anarchy of the office, the theatrical spirit of the hypermarkets, and garrulous train journeys; the sensory reassurance of a church and the importance of the beach; the solitude of the soccer stadium and the crowded Italian bedroom; the vertical fixations of the apartment building and the horizontal democracy of the eat-in kitchen. As you venture to these and many other locations rooted in the Italian psyche, you realize that Beppe has become your Dante and shown you a country that “has too much style to be hell” but is “too disorderly to be heaven.”
Ten days, thirty places. From north to south. From food to politics. From saintliness to sexuality. This ironic, methodical, and sentimental examination will help you understand why Italy—as Beppe says—“can have you fuming and then purring in the space of a hundred meters or ten minutes.”

Share your thoughts on the La Bella Figura ebook with other internet viewers!

Title of ebook: La Bella Figura
ISBN: 9780307486875
parent-ISBN: 9780767914406
Publisher: Broadway
Pages: 240
Published: 11-2008
Released online for download: 11-10-2008
Author of eBook: Severgnini, Beppe

Format

Encrypted

Sku

ISBN

File size

Security

Printing

Copying

Read aloud

Devices

Mobipocket

Yes

9780307486875

458 KB

n/a

Not allowed

No

Sys Requirements

Download reader

Digital Editions

Yes

5551942376

9780307486875

2057 KB

n/a

Not allowed

No

Sys Requirments

Download reader

eReader

Yes

5551942104

9780307486875

282 KB

n/a

Not allowed

No

Sys Requirments

Download reader

La Bella Figura

A Field Guide to the Italian Mind
FRIDAY

Day One: From Malpensa to Milan

The airport, where we discover that Italians prefer exceptions to rules

Being Italian is a full-time job. We never forget who we are, and we have fun confusing anyone who is looking on.

Don't trust the quick smiles, bright eyes, and elegance of many Italians. Be wary of everyone's poise. Italy is sexy. It offers instant attention and solace. But don't take Italy at face value. Or, rather, take it at face value if you want to, but don't complain later.

One American traveler wrote, "Italy is the land of human nature." If this is true--and it certainly sounds convincing--exploring Italy is an adventure. You're going to need a map.

So you'll be staying for ten days? Here's the deal: We'll take a look at three locations on each day of your trip. They'll be classics, the sort of places that get talked about a lot, perhaps because they are so little known. We'll start with an airport, since we're here. Then I'll try to explain the rules of the road, the anarchy of the office, why people talk on trains, and ... read full excerpt from: La Bella Figura ebook

Other Beppe Severgnini ebooks:

receive alert on new Beppe Severgnini ebooks

Ciao, America!

In the wry but affectionate tradition of Bill Bryson, Ciao, America! is a delightful look at America through the eyes of a fiercely funny guest -- ...more

Best price: $11.37

Top eBooks in "Europe"

Athens, Attica and the Megarid

by Goette, Hans Rupprecht

This exciting new guide is the ideal companion to Greece if you are a traveler with historical and archaeological interests, as it combines practical information with ...more

Best price: $42.74

Adventure Guide to Provence & the Cote D'Azur

by Arfin, Ferne

Adventure Guide to Provence & the Cote D'Azur...more

Best price: $8.95

Britannia in Brief

by Banker, Leslie / Mullins, William

Leslie Banker is co-author of The Pocket Decorator and The Pocket Renovator both published by Universe. She has written freelance articles for Interior Design ...more

Best price: $13.16

Cork Boat

by Pollack, John D.

In the late 1990s John Pollack was working as a Washington speechwriter when, frustrated by the cynicism and hypocrisy on Capitol Hill, he quit his job to pursue a ...more

Best price: $13.12

Cambridge Street-Names

by Gray, Ronald, Stubbings, Derek

This book draws on the great wealth of associations of street-names in Cambridge. It is not a dictionary, but it provides a series of entries on such topics as the Reformation...more

Best price: $18.11

Adventure Guide Sweden

by Olesen, Elisabet

Adventure Guide Sweden...more

Best price: $8.95

Bon Courage - A French Renovation in Rural Limousin

by Wiles, Richard

A dilapidated, rat-infested stone barn set amidst thirteen acres of overgrown woodland and unkempt pasture might not be many people's vision of a potential dream home. But for...more

Best price: $13.15

Building Web Sites All-in-One For Dummies

by Marber, Peter

These attractively priced, four-color guides offer dozns of neighborhood and thematic tours, complete with hundreds of photos and bulleted maps that lead the way from sight to...more

Best price: $30.18

Clotilde's Edible Adventures in Paris

by Dusoulier, Clotilde

Clotilde Dusoulier, a native Parisian and passionate explorer of the city's food scene, has won a tremendous following online with her insider reports and wonderful recipes on...more

Best price: $15.75

Other Travel eBooks Categories

Travel General (310)

Special Interest (34)

Adventure (62)

Africa (24)

Asia (167)

Australia & Oceania (39)

Caribbean & West Indies (69)

Essays & Travelogues (152)

Europe (578)

Mexico (48)

Reference (130)

United States (944)