Now and Then in Tuscany

Author(s): Angela Petch

Location(s): Tuscany

Genre(s): Historical, Romance

Era(s): 20th Century

Although it can be read in its own right, “Now and Then in Tuscany” is a sequel to “Tuscan Roots” and carries on the contemporary Italian romance of Anna and Francesco Starnucci with their family in Tuscany. It is a lovingly researched social history, following the journey of young Giuseppe Starnucci at the start of the twentieth century, when he escapes from a seminary to accompany shepherds on a journey down to the coast from his village in the Tuscan Apennines. This “transumanza” lasted for five months every winter and encompassed many hardships, including the ever-present threat of malaria, bandits and long separations from family. Giuseppe’s adventures are re-lived by his great grandson’s family one hundred years later, immediately after the end of WW 1 and the years under Mussolini, leading to WW2. The two stories are interwoven, each generation on a journey of self-awareness. Along the way, there are trials and dilemmas for both families to deal with in their own way. “Now and Then in Tuscany” is a story of hardship, secrets and passion which brings to light the customs and people of rural Tuscany. The author evokes the particular scents and sounds of a bygone mountain life and her writing has been praised as: “a great combination of a true account and fiction.”

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