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La Bella Figura
La Bella Figura: A Field Guide to the Italian Mind | Beppe Severgnini
7 posts | 5 read
Join the bestselling author of Ciao, America! on a lively tour of modern Italy that takes you behind the seductive face it puts on for visitorsla bella figuraand highlights its maddening, paradoxical true self You wont need luggage for this hypothetical and hilarious trip into the hearts and minds of Beppe Severgninis fellow Italians. In fact, Beppe would prefer if you left behind the baggage his crafty and elegant countrymen have smuggled into your subconscious. To get to his Italia, youll need to forget about your idealized notions of Italy. Although La Bella Figura will take you to legendary cities and scenic regions, your real destinations are the places where Italians are at their best, worst, and most authentic: The highway: in America, a red light has only one possible interpretationStop! An Italian red light doesnt warn or order you as much as provide an invitation for reflection. The airport: where Italians prove that one of their virtues (an appreciation for beauty) is really a vice. Who cares if the beautiful girls hawking cell phones in airport kiosks stick you with an outdated model? Thats the price of gazing upon perfection. The small town: which demonstrates the Italian genius for pleasant living: a congenial barber . . . a well-stocked newsstand . . . professionally made coffee and a proper pizza; bell towers we can recognize in the distance, and people with a kind word and a smile for everyone. The chaos of the roads, the anarchy of the office, the theatrical spirit of the hypermarkets, and garrulous train journeys; the sensory reassurance of a church and the importance of the beach; the solitude of the soccer stadium and the crowded Italian bedroom; the vertical fixations of the apartment building and the horizontal democracy of the eat-in kitchen. As you venture to these and many other locations rooted in the Italian psyche, you realize that Beppe has become your Dante and shown you a country that has too much style to be hell but is too disorderly to be heaven. Ten days, thirty places. From north to south. From food to politics. From saintliness to sexuality. This ironic, methodical, and sentimental examination will help you understand why Italyas Beppe sayscan have you fuming and then purring in the space of a hundred meters or ten minutes.
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BookishRedhead
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Pickpick

My Italian friend suggested this to me,
I liked how it was set out and each day was somewhere new.
Nice and informative for a small book.
When i asked my friend about books of history and culture of Italy, she asked her parents and caused caused slight argument

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Teafiend
Panpan

It started really funny but quickly fizzled for me. I thought how he separated the chapters into days (and where we were traveling with him) was clever but didn‘t really work out in the end

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Teafiend
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The art of finding toilets, light switch and flush in Italy Too funny

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TheBookkeepersApprentice
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I‘m heading to Italy for three weeks in less than three weeks! Loving this book my parents got me! #currentlyreading #nonfiction

JoScho Jealous!!!! Have the best time! 6y
9 likes1 comment
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WordWaller
Bailedbailed

You guys, this book is terrible! I had to abandon it at the first chapter. So many tangents, meaningless information, and sweeping generalizations about Italians. I know several and Italy is definitely not 100% like this at all. I'll be reading OTHER books about Italy to prep for my trip ✌️️

Caterina When are you going to Italy? And where in Italy are you going? I spent four months living in Rome earlier this year! It was amazinggggg and I'm so in love with everything Italian now! 8y
BookishFeminist Oh no!! I hope you find some other good Italy books! 8y
Elisa As an Italian myself, this guy sounds like an ass just by reading at the book's summary. We have some faults just like anyone else, but there is so much good to be found in visiting Italy and interacting with the people! I go home at least once a year and visit other places in Italy yearly and love it so — and not especially because it is my country of origin, it's just such a nice place to travel to. 8y
See All 6 Comments
WordWaller @Caterina we're going in February and it'll be my 3rd time! I studied abroad 4 years ago in a small town north of Venice but I've loved Italy since I read The Thief Lord when I was 11. I literally would move there if I could. 💖 8y
WordWaller @Elisa yeah, no kidding! I wonder what the point of this book even was. He says he's Italian himself but what the hell. I found it on a list of books recommended for people going (back) to Italy. I loooooove the Italian culture and after living there for a short time I only wish I could go back permanently. And yes, it is GORGEOUS. Truly the most beautiful place on earth in my opinion 😊 8y
Elisa @WordWaller The food doesn't suck, either 😉😄 Some places are lovely but the food is a bit of an acquired taste. Not in Italy, thank goodness 😄🍽😋😋 8y
43 likes6 comments
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WordWaller
Bailedbailed

You guys, this book is terrible! I had to abandon it at the first chapter. So many tangents, meaningless information, and sweeping generalizations about Italians. I know several and Italy is definitely not 100% not like this at all. I'll be reading OTHER books about Italy to prep for my trip ✌️️

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WordWaller
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This has got to be one of the WORST covers of all time. My god. I honestly feel so bad for authors of books with bad covers because it means they miss out on more sales! Let's be honest, we all judge books by their covers 😉🤗 But anyway, I'm jumping into this one to prepare me for my trip to Italy next year and I heard great things about it, so we'll see! 📖 Do you have a book with a bad cover that turned out excellent? Share your stories!!

Yamich49 😂😂 When I studied abroad in Italy in college they assigned this as required reading for all of the students. I remember thinking what a weird cover it was then, but sadly I don't remember much else about it so I can't tell you if I found it especially helpful. Hope you have fun on your trip - where in Italy are you going? 8y
Zelma Thanks a horrible cover! 😱😂 8y
WordWaller @Yamich49 hmm. Well I'm gonna try it anyway! We're going to Venice, Florence, and Pompeii/Naples but are going to hit other small cities along the way (: 8y
Yamich49 @WordWaller Ahhh sounds amazing!! 8y
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