Secret Recipes from Italian Palaces - Alba Pezone

Dreaming of this book. Choosing these twenty-five exceptional Dimore , imagining the recipes I would cook in them, traveling across Italy, staying in these unique places, writing about this journey. It was a lot of work, "serious" work as Flaubert would say, but also as exhilarating as the book you now hold in your hands.

This book is a sentimental treasure. It follows the order of the months, not geography. There's no north or south in the table of contents: each destination—a hidden gem—has its favorite season. Sicily is magnificent in spring; I invite you there in April. Tuscany is beautiful in May, Rome captivates me in June, Puglia and Liguria in September. Naples dazzles me in autumn, and I map out my route there in October. I explore Veneto in November and love Piedmont under a blanket of snow. At Christmas, the magical atmosphere of Lake Garda is, for me, irresistible.

This book is an ode to Italy. Between past, present and future. The magnificent residences visited are masterpieces of past centuries, still inhabited today: a stage for very real and contemporary lives, and for a secret and authentic art of living.

This book is a labor of love, a desire for hospitality. I wanted to move, to wander, to explore my beautiful country. To meet new people, to live in unique places, to write original recipes. I wanted to capture the soul of these places and, through my cooking, to revive their spirit and share it with you. I sought the unexpected, and I found it. This is what gives these pages an astonishing energy.

I truly believe the magic is there. I almost regret having already taken this trip. And I'm already dreaming of doing it again.

I hope that every page of this book is a delight for you. Fresh air, beauty, and goodness! Buon viaggio.