Italian Family

A writer who's blocked - I'm a total cliche. Lucky for me, my agent has a cure that's an even bigger stereotype - a month at her villa in Tuscany, with nothing to do but find my muse. When he walks right in the front door, adorable son in tow, it feels like fate has finally done for me what it does for every other cliched girl I've seen in the movies. Except that he's completely off-limits. In this case, business and pleasure can never mix. Because Claudio is my agent's ex.

When Katy's mother dies, she is left reeling. Carol wasn't just Katy's mum, but her best friend and first phone call. She had all the answers, and now, when Katy needs her the most, she is gone. To make matters worse, the mother-daughter trip of a lifetime looms: two weeks in Positano, the magical town where Carol spent the summer before she met Katy's father. Katy has been waiting years for Carol to take her and now she is faced with embarking on the adventure alone. But as soon as she steps foot on the Amalfi Coast, Katy begins to feel her mother's spirit.

When Elizabeth drops her beloved only daughter off at college, she holds back the tears…fighting her worries about an empty nest with the thought of all the adventures that she and her husband Joel can now enjoy together. But as soon as they sit down to eat dinner that evening, Joel drops a bombshell. He wants a break. Searching for an escape, Elizabeth discovers an apartment in Rome that is only available for three months rental to ‘an English woman of a certain age’.

After her marriage falls apart, Ursula Quinn is offered the chance to spend the summer working at a hotel on a beautiful island off the coast of Sicily. Excited by a new adventure, she sets off at once. At Residenza dei Tringali, Ursula receives a warm welcome from everyone except Alfio, son of the Tringali family. He gave up his life in Barcelona to help his mother Agata with the ailing business, and is frustrated with Ursula’s interference – and she in turn is less than impressed with his attitude. As they spend more time together, though, they begin to see each other in a different light.

Seventy-five-year-old Ronnie has made it her mission to help women of a certain age rediscover themselves. The owner of a palazzo in Rome, she has left her troubled past behind and reinvented herself in the most beautiful city in the world. And now she helps other women to do the same. Renting out her spare apartment for three months at a time, Ronnie invites her guests to take on a series of challenges that will help them to embrace beauty and joy, to rediscover themselves and to live their lives to the fullest. But Ronnie’s confident exterior hides heartbreak and closely held secrets.

Welcome to Italy. A place that holds the answer to Zia-Lucia Costa Chalmers’ many questions. Not least, how she ended up with such a mouthful of a name. When Zia discovers that her mother wasn’t who she thought she was, she realises the time has come to search out the Italian family she’s never known. However, as she delves into the secrets of her past, she doesn’t bargain on having to think about her future, too. But with local vineyard owner, Piero, living next door, Zia knows she has a serious distraction who may prove difficult to ignore.

Lucia has worked hard as a lawyer in Wales, aiming for a big promotion she hopes will shortly come her way. Finally taking a well-earned break at her grandparents' house in southern Italy, the sunshine, lemon trees and her nonna's mouth-watering cooking make her instantly feel at home. But she's shocked to learn that her grandfather is retiring from the beloved family pizzeria and will need to sell. Lucia can't bear the thought of the place changing hands - especially when she discovers her not-quite-ex-husband, Giacomo, wants to take it over!

Workaholic, career-obsessed Francesca is fiercely independent and successful in all areas of life except one: family. She struggles to make time for her relationship with her teenage daughter, Allegra, and the two have become practically strangers to each other. When Allegra hangs out with a new crowd and is arrested for drug possession, Francesca gives in to her mother's wish that they take one epic summer vacation to trace their family roots in Italy. What she never expected was to be faced with the choice of a lifetime....

Pieta Martinelli's sister is getting married. Since she is a bridal designer it falls to her to make the wedding gown. But Pieta is distracted by a series of unanswered questions. Why is her father feuding with another Italian in the neighbourhood? Why is her mother so faded and sad? And could the man she's always held a torch for really be getting married to someone else? As Pieta stitches and beads her sister's wedding gown she uncovers the secrets that have made her family what it is and that stand between her and happiness.

Sevastiano Cantarelli can barely believe Amy Taylor is real. After the lifetime of betrayal he’s experienced, her surprising sweetness is the ultimate threat to his cynical worldview! Unwrapping her innocence was a gift he couldn’t forget...but one he knows it wouldn’t be fair to repeat. Their encounter left Amy exhilarated - and wanted for the first time. She knows that walking away from the commanding Italian is the safest way to keep her heart intact. Yet it’s the one thing she can’t do...because she’s pregnant with Sevastiano’s twins!

When the Mayor of a picturesque Italian town launches a new scheme to rejuvenate the community, his advertisement is read with interest and excitement by many. Zara is in her thirties and desperate to get on the property ladder. Tim and Lynda are retiring and need a project. Some are looking for a peaceful bolthole. Others hope to make a profit, start a business, escape a dull life or an unhappy relationship. And there is someone who just might be hiding their true motivation...

Eliza has a full house! When her three children grew up and moved out, she downsized to a smaller property...but now they're all back. Every room in the house is taken and Eliza finds herself sharing her bed with her eldest daughter and her daughter's pug. Combined with the online course she's trying to finish, plus her job to fit in, there just isn't the peace and quiet that Eliza needs.

Sicilia, prima metà del Settecento. Marianna Ucrìa, una bambina che appartiene a una nobile famiglia...

Quanto spesso ti senti un genitore imperfetto? Pensi che se tuo figlio urla è colpa tua? Che sia tutto un problema di autorità? Non sei solo. Una genitorialità diversa è possibile. Ecco una bussola per capire i tuoi figli e crescere assieme a loro. Con questo audiolibro scoprirai un’educazione fatta di piccoli passi e grandi cambiamenti. È un invito a portare lo sguardo all’altezza dei tuoi bambini, a creare spazio, a metterti in ascolto: esplorando diverse situazioni – dall’esposizione agli schermi alla gestione dei no e della rabbia.

Qual è il vero compito di un genitore oggi? È giusto fare tutto il possibile per rispondere alle richieste dei propri figli? Come si può tornare a essere genitori autorevoli? Attraverso dieci riflessioni inedite, Alberto Pellai ci offre una visione critica dei problemi alla base dell'emergenza educativa che affligge il nostro tempo, per poi fornirci numerosi suggerimenti pratici per riaffermare il ruolo genitoriale davanti alle sfide del Terzo Millennio.

Quando Lucia e Giuseppe arrivano a Roma è l'estate del 1965. Hanno con sé la figlia di otto mesi, sono innamorati, ma non riescono a liberarsi dall'inquietudine che prova chi è braccato. Perché Lucia è fuggita da un marito violento che era stata costretta a sposare e che la umiliava ogni giorno, e ha tentato di costruirsi una nuova vita proprio insieme a Giuseppe. Per la legge dell'epoca, però, la donna si è macchiata di gravi reati: relazione adulterina e abbandono del tetto coniugale.

Stella has life under control - and that's the way she likes it. For 25 years, she's been the trusted assistant to a legendary fashion designer, but after her boss dies suddenly, she's left with nothing to do apart from clear the studio. It seems as though the life she wanted has vanished. She is lost - until one day she finds a house swap website and sees a beautiful old villa in a Southern Italian village. Could she really exchange her poky London flat for that?

Sicilia, agosto 1978. Alice ha appena sei anni quando una donna elegante e un po' eccentrica si presenta a sorpresa a casa dei suoi genitori a Polizzi. È "zia" Irene, una parente di cui fino a quel momento non ha mai sentito parlare. Rimasta vedova di un uomo molto ricco e non più risposata, vive a Roma, dove fa l'artista e conduce una vita libera e anticonformista. Alice non lo sa, ma questo incontro segnerà in modo radicale il suo destino.

Il più importante romanzo verista della letteratura italiana, un capolavoro senza pari che racconta la storia di una famiglia di pescatori di Aci Trezza, paesino nei pressi di Catania, all'indomani dell'Unità d'Italia.

Si può essere madri di figlie e figli che si scelgono, e che a loro volta ci hanno scelte? Si può costruire una famiglia senza vincoli di sangue? La risposta è sì. La queerness familiare è ormai una realtà, e affrontarla una necessità politica, come lo è quella di un dialogo lucido e aperto sulla gestazione per altrə, un tema che mette in crisi la presunta radice dell'essere donne. Interrogarci, discutere intorno a questa radice significa sfidare il concetto di normalità e naturalità a cui siamo abituati.