I have enjoyed many, many books set in Italy or about its people, history, and art. Here are some that I have enjoyed recently and think you might, too:
April Blood, by Lauro Martines, is about Florence and the plot against the Medici by the Pazzi family; in Scourge and Fire he takes on Savonarola and Renaissance Italy.
Death of an Englishman, by Magdalen Nabb, is the first in a mystery series (12 books so far!) set in contemporary Florence, whose main character is Marshal Guarnaccia.
The Lost Painting,by Jonathan Harr, imagines the discovery of Caravaggio’s lost painting, The Taking of Christ.
A Thousand Days in Venice and its sequel, A Thousand Days in Tuscany, by Marlena De Blasi: she was a middle aged, divorced, American food writer and chef and he was a Venetian banker; they met in Venice, fell in love and got married. These two extremely well-written books chronicle 2,000 days of their lives, with wonderful Italian recipes sprinkled throughout.
