La Bella Figura

by Severgnini, Beppe

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 visitors--la bella figura--and highlights its maddening, paradoxical true self You won't need luggage for this hypothetical and hilarious trip into the hearts and minds of Beppe Severgnini's 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, you'll 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 interpretation--Stop! An Italian red light doesn't 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 Who cares if the beautiful girls hawking cell phones in airport kiosks stick you with an outdated model? That's 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 Italy--as Beppe says--"can have you fuming and then purring in the space of a hundred meters or ten minutes."

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LA BELLA FIGURA : An Insider's Guide to the Italian Mind

LA BELLA FIGURA : An Insider's Guide to the Italian Mind

by Severgnini, Beppe

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2007
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034093607x
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London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2007. xiv, + 269pp. Book clean, square. Spine firm. Leaves clean. Illustrated card wrapper undamaged. Translated into English by Giles Watson. "Join Beppe Severgnini on this hilarious tour of modern Italy that takes you behind the seductive face it puts on for visitors - la bella figura - and uncovers the far more complex true self… Read more about this item
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La Bella Figura: A Field Guide to the Italian Mind

by Severgnini, Beppe

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La Bella Figura : A Field Guide to the Italian Mind

La Bella Figura : A Field Guide to the Italian Mind

by Beppe Severgnini

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2006
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La Bella Figura: A Field Guide to the Italian Mind

La Bella Figura: A Field Guide to the Italian Mind

by Severgnini, Beppe

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2006
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La Bella Figura : A Field Guide to the Italian Mind

La Bella Figura : A Field Guide to the Italian Mind

by Beppe Severgnini

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2007
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La Bella Figura: A Field Guide to the Italian Mind

La Bella Figura: A Field Guide to the Italian Mind

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La Bella Figura: An Insider's Guide to the Italian Mind

La Bella Figura: An Insider's Guide to the Italian Mind

by Severgnini, Beppe

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La Bella Figura

La Bella Figura

by Severgnini, Beppe

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NY. Very Good in Very Good dust jacket; Hardcover; Broadway Books; 2006; First . U. S. Edition. 0767914392 . Pictorial dust wrapper, very good. White hardcover with red spine and gilt titles to spine. Very good, slight bumping to corners. First U.S. Edition, 217 pages. Illustrated endpapers, translated by Giles Watson. A … Read more about this item
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La Bella Figura : A Field Guide to the Italian Mind

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La Bella Figura: A Field Guide to the Italian Mind

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La Bella Figura: a Field Guide to the Italian Mind

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La Bella Figura: A Field Guide to the Italian Mind

La Bella Figura: A Field Guide to the Italian Mind

by Severgnini, Beppe

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La Bella Figura: A Field Guide to the Italian Mind

by Beppe Severgnini

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La Bella Figura: A Field Guide to the Italian Mind

by Beppe Severgnini

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La Bella Figura

by Severgnini, Beppe

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Hodder Paperbacks. Paperback. Used; Good. Simply Brit – welcome to our online used book store, where affordability meets great quality. Dive into a world of captivating reads without breaking the bank. We take pride in offering a wide selection of used books, from classics to hidden gems, ensuring there’s something for every literary palate. All orders are shipped… Read more about this item
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La Bella Figura : A Field Guide to the Italian Mind

La Bella Figura : A Field Guide to the Italian Mind

by Beppe Severgnini

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Published
2007
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0767914406
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La Bella Figura: An Insider's Guide to the Italian Mind

La Bella Figura: An Insider's Guide to the Italian Mind

by Severgnini, Beppe

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2008
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