The Villa Diana

Book excerpt: Above Florence, in one of the oldest inhabited parts of Italy, stood the historic 15th century home, Villa Diana. In 1948, respected war correspondent Alan Moorehead moved into the villa, which had survived World War Two despite being occupied by the troops of seven different armies. In Villa Diana, Moorhead describes with wit and affection the daily dramas he encountered, surrounded as always by the extreme physical beauty of the region. 'Alan Moorehead's book is still highly readable ... anecdotes of contemporary life that are somehow able to shake hands unselfconsciously with history and to relive a rich past sit alongside Moorehead's affectionate memories of the warm-hearted life that makes Italy so well loved by outsiders.' - The Tablet, UK