A Tuscan Treasury

FROM A TUSCAN TREASURY "So we became spies. When Maria and I would enter a village we would find out if there were any Germans or Fascists there so the partisans would know if it was safe to enter. Sometimes we'd be stopped, but mostly we just looked like simple Italian women with scarves on our heads and prayer books in our hands. We always told them we were going to church to pray for the end of the war." - From "The Staffetta" "Anna, can I tell you something? After I left you on the doorstep that night, I couldn't stop thinking about you. I couldn't sleep nights. I went on long runs, but that didn't help. I was supposed to referee a football game Saturday morning and I made terrible calls. I couldn't concentrate hearing confessions Saturday afternoon. I barely made it through Mass on Sunday. Anna, I couldn't wait to see you again." - From "Anna and the Television Priest" "A woman was interested in buying Bramasole?" "Yes, and Signor Martini told me she's a poet and a writer. And she's also a professor at a university in San Francisco. Can you imagine?" It was only weeks later when Michele called his father with news. "Papa, the deal is done. That American woman, Frances Mayes, bought Bramasole!" - From "Also Under the Tuscan Sun"