This book is a lush and beautiful memoir of an extremely special house and a superb recreation of the bygone era.

In 1967, experienced travel writer Eric Newby and his heroic wife Wanda fulfiled their dream of a go back to life in the Italian hills where they 1st met during World Battle II. But this fulfilment wouldn’t normally come easy. The desire materialised in the form of I Castagni (‘The Chestnuts’), a small, decrepit farmhouse without roof, an empty septic tank and its own indigenous wildlife about A Small Put in place Italy reluctant to stop their home. However in the foothills of the Apuan Alps for the border of Liguria and Northern Tuscany, this ramshackle home would soon become a hub of love, camaraderie and activity.

Whether recounting dangerous expeditions through Afghanistan or everyday living in a nation house, Newby’s talent shines through as one of the primary writers of the comic travel genre. Full of Newby’s sharp wit and great humour, ‘A Little Place’ in Italy profits, twenty years afterwards, to the life of Newby’s much-cherished classic, Love and War in the Apennines. It lovingly recounts the quickly disappearing way of living of the idiosyncratic locals, and the enduring friendships they forge, whether posting in developing their first wine harvest as novices or frying poisonous mushrooms for the feast.