Been Here a Thousand Years: A Novel

In a tiny ancient Italian hill town where the land gives little and money and food are scarce Don Francesco Falcone is a man to be reckoned with: rich powerful restless intransigent. When he meets another force of nature Concetta a penniless but indestructible farmworker the stage is set for the creation of an exceptional family: generations of strong complicated boys and especially girls. The battles among them are many as they live through historical upheaval and private passions. . Their stories are told by Gioia the last of the line a woman of our times who fights tirelessly against convention. She is the product of a family of memorable women who know how to survive and also how to make something fantastical and rich out of their lives: with their hands they create delicate and complex embroideries while their minds embroider endless elaborate stories. . In this sweeping unforgettable novel Mariolina Venezia portrays five generations of the Falcone family. Through their complicated funny tragic and astonishing stories Venezia also recounts a century and a half of Italys tumultuous history. Been Here a Thousand Years is a testament to the Falcone family and also to the vibrant irrational irresistible country that produced it.