Not in a Tuscan Villa: During a year in Italy, a New Jersey couple discovers the true Dolce Vita when they trade rose-colored glasses for 3Ds

A couple move to Italy for a year…you’re invited to travel along with their journey. Delightful read.

From the point of view of a former expat who retired to and lived in Italy for over 8 years, I found this memoir true to that experience. It took me back to my time in Tuscany, which ended all too soon. There was one exception, however: the chapter on the Meredith Kercher murder in Perugia. I remember this case, and followed it. It was so out of place in this book. What did it have to do with the experience of the Petralias? Why would we want to know their opinion of Amanda Knox's innocence or guilt? The writer does always get the facts right. For example, Knox and her Italian boyfriend did not discover the body of Ms. Kercher. The police were there checking on Kercher's cell phone and they asked Sollecito to try and break open the locked door to her room. And Amanda Knox only involved her boss, LaMumba when the police demanded she explain a text exchange them on her phone. The authors are not familiar with the phenomenon of false confession and police tactics in interviewing a suspect. Subsequently, both Knox and her boyfriend have been acquitted of the murder. I would recommend that this chapter be omitted from future printings of this book.

Not In A Tuscan Villa is a brilliant narrative about how one can develop the daring to set a new course in life and savor a worthwhile journey. Readers learn about the real Italy and get closer to its culture, its economy, its cuisine, its language, its healthcare system.... and much more.It was an honor and a pleasure visiting John and Nancy while they lived in Italy. They provided a vibrant and immersive experience, pointing out to this Italian American cultural differences as well as comparisons that are so easily overlooked. I admit being the stupido upbraided on page 170 who ordered meat instead of fish in that quaint little fishing village of La Grezia, near Portovenere. We stumbled upon this town while my wife Joyce and I and traveled with the Petralia's. Sure, the restaurant offered spaghetti carbonara – among my favorites – and I couldn't resist it. But would I make that inadvisable mistake again? Absolutely not! And readers of this book will learn not to make the missteps I did when traveling there.If you plan to visit Italy, read this before your trip and you won't make my same mistakes. Or simply read this exquisitely written book just to enjoy something beautiful and entertaining. You'll be happy you did either way.--jm

I am from Italy. Like many others, I found the story of a couple in their sixties who go on a transformative adventure to Italy fun and inspirational. I liked the writing style of the alternating authors for different chapters and admire John and Nancy's ultimate decision to downscale and live a more vibrant life. The descriptions of all the different locations were very vivid.That said, it always bothers me when authors who are not native Italian speaking write a popular book where the Italian words have not been properly edited. The book is full of incorrectly spelled Italian words and phrases that could easily have been caught before being shared with many readers who will assume the grammar is correct.. Some examples are: Museo del Murletto (should be Museo del Merletto), ponto (should be ponte), valporetto (should be vaporetto), foccacia (should be focaccia) - and this is within a very few pages' incorrect Italian is dispersed throughout the book.I know non-Italians will not care about this and I do recommend the book. I just find this a lock of respect for the language and a very loose editing job.

If you are dreaming of living a Frances Mayes life in a Tuscan Villa, I suggest you read John and Nancy Petralia's book "Not in A Tuscan Villa". It is a well written chronical of their year spent in Italy. The book starts in their home in New Jersey and how they made the decision to spend one year in Italy. This book is well written and gives the reader an adventure along with John and Nancy. I have been to Italy on a few occasions on Tours and once with a friend spending 20 days with her family traveling around Italy on planes, trains and automobiles, but my dream has always been to live in Italy. The Petralia's book is quite an eye opener and if you intend to spend time living in Italy, I suggest you read their book. If you do not plan on spending any time in Italy, get the book anyway. It really is a fun read especially on the beach.

The Petralias are very good travel companions, for each other and for the reader. Their journal is brimming with enthusiasm and earned understanding of what it's like living in the magnificent country and multiple sub-cultures of Italy. It is a novel approach that some chapters are written by John and some by Nancy. Their overlapping perspectives add considerable range and insight into their unfolding experiences.They threw themselves into their year in Italy with gusto, intelligence and good humor. Like many Americans of Italian heritage, John is justly proud of his family roots in Sicily, but both he and his wife savor the food, music, lifestyle, art, history, architecture and especially friends new and old encountered along the way. Bologna and Parma are their base, but they sortie into many distinctive corners of the country, from Sicily to Umbria, Trieste, Venice and the Lake Region. There are myriad little lessons absorbed, and they savor and share them with us. The contrasts with life in the U.S. are brought into clearer focus, both good and bad. The book jumps around a bit, and the time sequence of their travels is a little blurred. But upon reflection, that really doesn't matter. What does matter is that they are good ambassadors for our country. As partial ex-pats, they have also absorbed as much as they can without completely going native. For those of us with a similar love of the country and its people, it is a rollicking good read. Bravo!

I must have been recommended this book by someone, I can't even remember how it came across my radar, but I'm happy that I bought it! I had visited many of the places the Petralias described in their year of adventures, and I appreciated REvisiting them through their eyes. The concept of one chapter by him, one chapter by her, is very effective, and I appreciated the fact that they didn't candy coat anything. This is an honest account of the joys AND difficulties of trying to make another country your home for a year. I'm inspired.....

I so enjoyed this book that I read it straight through twice! A friend introduced me to it, and it is a very amusing account of a couples year living in Tuscany, but not at all sweet and cloying. They have plenty of ups and downs, especially health wise, but their love of Italy comes shining through, and it made me want to pack my bags and go see it all for myself. I don't know that part of Italy, but I shall try to visit soon.

Wonderful read - I was very disappointed when I finished it. Nice change from the books about restoration of old farm houses which I do enjoy but don't have the same relevance to me. Have now added Parma to my itinerary for my next visit to Italy.

I love visiting Italy, I am trying to learn the language and have some understanding of the culture. I am sure I along with the authors of this book thought how great it would be to live there for awhile and experience real Italian life.This was written some years ago so things may have changed but it is well balanced, and highlight their difficulties upon arrival and the couples journey throughout the year they spend there and how they to try and fit in.It's a bit of a travel guide too, and for anyone thinking of doing the same it makes one think where you might settle and what the priorities might be i.e need for easy transport, entertainment, sense of community, practicalities, i.e. access if poor mobility. They get it wrong at first and settle in Parma. Interesting, to hear about the political scene, and Italians views on Italy. The couple on two occasions needed to use the health service and important to hear that they had an overall good experience.Whilst we might go and know no one, they did have contacts and visitors came to see them, but they also made friends, and certainly the Italians appeared to be engaging.Language was a problem and even being there demonstrated it took time to learn.This was an interesting book and thought provoking and educational at times. I also liked hearing about the artists, museums and churches and references to italian literature. It would be a spoiler to say what the couple decided to do in the end.

I enjoyed the story very much. I liked the literary device in which John and Nancy each wrote chapters but didn't say who was writing, and then it quietly became apparent. I found the chronology a bit unsettling. I liked the way the chapters' vignettes were grouped thematically rather than by date, but it felt awkward to read a date, say November, when the next page talked about a July event. It might have less jarring to readers to leave out the month references, as it interrupted the story flow.John and Nancy both write well. Their sentence structures and their stories were well crafted. This made the frequent misspellings and typos jump off the page. I couldn't rate the book higher because of these editing errors. I am now a devoted Kindle user, but I don't want to see e-books devolve to social media standards. Let's keep good editors employed!