"An insightful and often funny depiction of Italian life"
Hannah McIntyre. The Italian Insider Magazine

In this, the sequel to his successful 'An Italian Home - Settling by Lake Como' artist and author Paul Wright relays more enthralling real-life stories about what it's really like to live in an Italian village on the shores of Lake Como.

With the saturation of expat memoirs on bookshop shelves, Wright's original approach makes for a worthwhile read. In this 'An Italian Village - A perspective on life beside Lake Como' the author offers an insight into a world few outsiders have any concept, through a host of varied anecdotes about the highs and lows of buying a property, running a business, enjoying Italian cuisine and most importantly integrating with the locals. The focal point of the book is the central piazza of Argegno, where a largely retired contingent of local men gathers daily to play cards and pass the time. This group of men and their life stories serve as the anchor of the book, and their constant presence will make many readers yearn for that sense of community and continuity. Wright beautifully captures both the beauty and the sadness inherent in that kind of continuity, asking at one point whether, given the opportunity, these men would have chosen this village, this life, to spend their years.
Wright is best as a writer when he is describing the eccentricities of his neighbours and the book is littered with in-depth descriptions of the individuals he meets, in a fair but undoubtedly no-holds-barred manner. In these rich character descriptions, interspersed with the rhythm of village life, are episodes in which he travels around Italy in his capacity as an artist painting murals in the homes of the rich. One chapter in which he shares an apartment with two decorators on the Italian Riviera for the sake of a work project is a brilliant portrayal of the domestic habits of Italians, providing some of the best culture-clash observations of the book.

Though Lake Como has always had a reputation for exclusivity, it is now one of Italy's most expensive places to live but alongside the high-fliers are the everyday people, rich, poor and all levels in between. In thisbook expatriate Paul Wright, a resident of northern Italy for thirty-five years pulls no punches to give us his take on his Italian neighbours, workmates and clients as he relays more real-life stories about Italian village life. From time to time, he touches base with a group of men, retired from the restaurant trade, who spend their days seated around the fountain in the piazza of his home village of Argegno, making their own running commentary on the world as it passes by. Paul also travels outside the village boundaries too, to the surrounding Italian countryside, the Italian Riviera, Switzerland and Vermont to work for all manner of clients, ranging from the reputable to the decidedly risky.

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• Print Length: 254 Pages
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