Who doesn’t love Audrey Hepburn? I certainly do—and I was tickled that Olivia Páez included LA PASSIONE in her bookriot.com blog on books for fans of Audrey Hepburn. Here is an excerpt on books that remind her of my personal Audrey Hepburn favorite, Roman Holiday:
BELLA FIGURA: HOW TO LIVE, LOVE, AND EAT THE ITALIAN WAY by Kamin Mohammadi
Bella Figura follows a year in Mohammadi’s life after she packs up her life in England and takes the chance to move to Italy. This self-help memoir will transport readers into the heart of Florence as Mohammadi tries traditional Italian recipes, takes long strolls down cobblestone streets, makes friends with the quirky neighbors around her flat, and embraces the easy-going culture of Italy.
While this memoir isn’t set in Rome, like Roman Holiday, it is full of little adventures taken in one of Italy’s most famous cities as a once stressed-out woman learns to let go of her past and enjoy the simple pleasures in life.
LA PASSIONE: HOW ITALY SEDUCED THE WORLD by Dianne Hales
Dianne Hales’s La Passione discusses Italy’s most prominent cultural elements, like their food, literature, art, music, and movies as we follow the author who is eager to learn more about la passione Italiana, which she describes to be “a primal force that stems from an insatiable hunger to discover and create; to love and live with every fiber of one’s being.”
This nonfiction embraces the beauty and wonder of Italian culture as the author explores museums, vineyards, and boutiques just as Princess Anne did in Roman Holiday with her American escort when they spent one day in Rome together, letting the city be their guiding light.
FROM SCRATCH: A MEMOIR OF LOVE, SICILY, AND FINDING HOME by Tembi Locke 
After losing her husband to cancer, author Tembi Locke moves back to Sicily with her daughter. She has hopes of starting fresh and mending the broken ties with her husband’s family, who at first didn’t approve of their romance. As she grows closer with her family and tries out new, delicious dishes, Tembi also looks back on the romance she had with her husband, whom she met in Florence.
This book reflects the more somber mood that overlies Roman Holiday, showcasing how a collection of moments in one’s life can create memories made that will last a lifetime.
You can read the complete post here.
Dianne Hales is also the author of LA BELLA LINGUA: My Love Affair with Italian, the World’s Most Enchanting Language and MONA LISA: A Life Discovered. For more information, visit diannehales.com.
