{"product_id":"9780767914406","title":"La Bella Figura: A Field Guide to the Italian Mind","description":"\u003ctable\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor\/Contributor(s):\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003eSevergnini, Beppe\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCrown\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDate:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e6\/12\/2007\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBinding:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003ePaperback\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003eNEW\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003e\u003cb\u003eJoin the bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eCiao, America! \u003c\/i\u003eon a lively tour of modern Italy that takes you behind the seductive face it puts on for visitors—\u003ci\u003ela bella figura\u003c\/i\u003e—and highlights its maddening, paradoxical true self\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003eYou 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 \u003ci\u003eItalia\u003c\/i\u003e, you’ll need to forget about your idealized notions of Italy. Although \u003ci\u003eLa Bella Figura\u003c\/i\u003e 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: \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe highway:\u003c\/b\u003e 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. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe airport: \u003c\/b\u003ewhere 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 Who cares if the beautiful girls hawking cell phones in airport kiosks stick you with an outdated model?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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe small town: \u003c\/b\u003ewhich 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.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe 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.” \u003cbr\u003eTen 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.”","brand":"Crown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43365587779839,"sku":"9780767914406","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0452\/0886\/2873\/files\/9780767914406_s600x595.jpg?v=1779817522","url":"https:\/\/massivebookshop.com\/de\/products\/9780767914406","provider":"MASSIVE BOOKSHOP","version":"1.0","type":"link"}