coffee table books italy

Few places in the world have experienced such an intense and eventful history as Sicily. It has been rocked by revolts and power struggles and rejoiced in great splendor and freedoms. Over thousands of years this small island has been a crossroads for many peoples, religions and cultures. Its melting-pot of influences has created a unique spirit of ‘Sicilian-ness’. Through the evocative photographs of Melo Minnella, Sicily Art, History and Culture captures the elusive spirit of Sicily, its inhabitants and its landscape. It offers a sweeping account of the island, from ancient history to the present day.

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The Vatican Secret Archives have fuelled people’s imagination for centuries. This is largely due to its incomparable long and interesting history. Today, the entire documentation kept in the Vatican Secret Archives occupies 85 kilometres of bookshelves and is constantly growing. It covers a continued chronological space of over 800 years. Moreover, its unique location, the majestic documentary treasures and the limited access contribute to this aura of mystery. The shroud of secrecy that has always surrounded this important cultural institution of the Holy See, due to the allusions to inaccessible secrets, as well as to the publicity it has always enjoyed in literature and in the media, makes this publication even more attractive.

And now, for the first time, a publisher was allowed to walk around this wonderful location without any restrictions. The result is a magnificent book with impressive and atmospheric illustrations. Take an unforgettable walk past the most exceptional places and documents in these secret archives, including reading rooms that are only open to academia, as well as rooms that remain closed to the public, some of which are decorated with gorgeous 16th and 17th century frescos, while others accommodate several thousands of documents. You will be able to discover more than 100 of these documents in this book. Specialists of the Vatican Secret Archives have selected these documents and provided each one with a precise explanation. It is a careful selection of documents that show the richness of the Vatican Archives’ contents. A highly appealing, unique and attractive book, for a large audience as well as for the academic!

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SLOW: Life in a Tuscan Town is an unprecedented photographic personal journey into the heart of hidden Tuscany that celebrates the principles that define the Slow Food movement and pays tribute to the region’s kaleidoscope of vibrant characters, whose shared culture revolves around the everyday pleasure of growing, preparing, and eating food.

With an anecdotal charm reminiscent of Peter Mayle’s A Year in Provence, Douglas Gayeton’s interplay of pictures and words conveys a thrilling narrative that transports you halfway around the globe to the charming town of Pistoia, nestled in the outskirts of Florence. There we meet the mushroom hunters and sheep farmers, the winemakers and fishermen, the bakers, butchers and chocolate makers whose lives are profoundly bound to the rhythms of nature. It is a riveting story told in a riveting way: each image comprised of multiple photographs taken over a period of time that can range anywhere from ten minutes to several hours, and layered with Gayeton’s handwritten notes, recipes, facts, and sayings. With this process, Gayeton has managed to introduce the concept of story and time; both compressed and exploded, into his portraits. The result is a photographic approach critics have dubbed flat film; the effect is exhilarating.

As Gayeton observes, “What my eyes saw was always grander than any lens could capture…How could I introduce the presence of time, of an emerging and evolving story comprised of not one, but many moments, into a single photograph?” In the accompanying text, Gayeton offers an absorbing first person account of his immersion into rural Italian culture, offering an intimacy that draws us deeper into this romantic and rustic world. A photographer, a pioneering new media creator, a wonderful writer and an award winning documentarian, Gayeton is passionately interested in food, culture, art, and people.

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Nearly three decades ago, Italian spiritual leader Oberto Airaudi had a vision of sacred temples built inside a mountain near Turin. As artists, artisans, and builders excavated the equivalent of a five-story subterranean building, it remained a secret from even its closest neighbors. Twenty years after the project began, the Italian government received word of the burgeoning community and became suspicious. Threatened by a full-scale military invasion, Damanhur revealed itself to local officials and the world.

This handsome coffee-table book offers a guided tour of the village, whose stunning murals, sculpture, mosaics, and stained glass draw from all sacred traditions to celebrate universal spirituality. Merging ancient mystic customs and contemporary consciousness, intensive labor and visionary artistry, the story of this remarkable underground community appeals not only to spiritual seekers, but to artists and idealists from all disciplines.

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From Mario Batali, superstar chef and author of Molto Italiano and Italian Grill, comes an eating tour throughout Spain with his friend Gwyneth Paltrow.

Spain…A Culinary Road Trip is the companion book to the prime-time public television series Spain…On The Road Again. The premise is simple: Mario Batali and Mark Bittman are single-minded, food-obsessed friends who are constantly on the lookout for the food, wine, and cooking that is unique to Spainâ??and in this series they will find it. Gwyneth Paltrow and the Spanish actress Claudia Bassols are eager to enjoy all the pleasures the country has to offer, and each pair will be lured into the worlds of the other.

The foursome take the ultimate road trip adventure, showcasing the pleasures of Spain, the country’s regional cuisine, art, history, and culture, as they’ve never been seen before. Hundreds of gorgeous and candid photos, anecdotes, and more than seventy recipes from Mario appear in this scrapbook of the dream vacation through Spain.

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“Venice Bridges, A Pictorial Collection” presents over 390 bridges in vivid color. A built-in table lists the bridges that have visible names. A brief history of Venice is also included. This “coffee-table” publication will make a superb addition to any home, library, or private collection of visually inspiring books. See the famous Rialto Bridge and learn how it was constructed. Discover how the Bridge of Sighs got its name. See the bridge nicknamed the “devil’s bridge”. See the only bridge in Venice with more than one arch. Learn how the “Bridge of Fists” received its name. See the newest bridge across the Grand Canal, Ponte di Calatrava. Images of the famous and romantic Gondolas are found in numerous bridge photographs. James Broos is an accomplished traveler. All the photographs in this book were taken by him. He has lived in Italy and has been to Venice numerous times.
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â??Glorious . . . almost as good as owning one of the things themselves.â?â??The World of Interiors

Piero Fornasetti lived and worked in Milan from 1935 until his death in 1988. During this long career he established an enduring reputation as a designer with a style that was distinctly his ownâ??a style based on illusion, architectural perspectives, and a host of personal leitmotifs, such as the sun, playing cards, fish, and flowers, from which he spun seemingly endless variations.

Fornasetti applied his decorative vocabulary to an astonishing array of objectsâ??hats, vests, pipes, ashtrays, chairs, plates, cabinets, pianos, ocean linersâ??and transformed them by the application of unexpected images.

Today his work seems more contemporary and is more popular than ever. Designers and collectors celebrate his use of allusion, unsettling images, and striking juxtaposition to create unique, whimsical objects. Fornasettiâ??s masterpieces continue to shock, delight, and inspire. 116 color and 484 black-and-white photographs and illustrations
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Sculptor and architect Bernini was the virtual creator and greatest exponent of Baroque in 17th century Italy. He has left his greatest mark on Rome where Papal patronage provided him with enormous architectural commissions.
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A veritable rock star in the book world some five centuries after his birth, Leonardo Da Vinci is a man for the ages. Millions of readers hungrily ponder the mysteries behind his sketch-filled notebooks, radical inventions, and enigmatic paintings. This stunning book, like no other on the market, explores the masterâ??s insights and synthesizes his relationship with art and science in a magnificently illustrated and informative style. Every page resonates with Leonardoâ??s genius, demonstrated by his own art and writings as well as modern diagrams and workable re-creations of his inventions.
Physicist and artist Bulent Atalay, author of Math and the Mona Lisa, deftly explains Leonardoâ??s interest in topics ranging from architecture to botany to philosophy. Engaging prose and splendid images point up the science and mathematics underlying Leonardoâ??s genius, showing how attention to proportions, patterns, shapes, and symmetries informed his art. The story flows chronologically, with quotations revealing the near-magical thoughts of a man who just before his death asked Godâ??s forgiveness for “not using all the resources of my spirit and art.”
The authorâ??s active speaking engagements and previous success with Math and the Mona Lisa ensure strong sales and ongoing support for Leonardoâ??s Universe. With lavish illustrations and thrilling revelations, this beautiful book will appeal to the vast audience of Leonardo fans created by The Da Vinci CodeÂ?and will stand as an important resource long after other titles have fallen off the bestseller list.
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