Some years ago this spunky author took over an olive farm in Italy and wrote about it beautifully in Extra Virgin and Ripe for the Picking; you must read them. Well now she has fallen in love with a Southern Italian and is off to meet the family. She’s a delight – so observant, sympathetic and warm.
Ever since Annie got together with Ciccio, his Calabrian family have spoken of their homeland as an earthly paradise, of wild nights dancing the tarantella, of almond milk sold fresh from roadside stalls, of honey cakes and amaro made from wild liquorice roots... Now, at last, Annie and Ciccio are travelling down to see the ancestral home and extended family for themselves, along with a bunch of vocal and lively de Gilios who don't want to miss out on the fun.
Will everything Annie has learnt in her years among the Ligurians stand her in good stead among the Calabresi? Or is she in for another steep learning curve in the intricacies of Italian rural life?
