The American Contessa

In 1959 thirty-five-year-old Peggy was swept away into another time and country. After the unexpected death of her husband Peggy sought a new backdrop and moved with her four-year-old twin sons Craig and Mark and eleven-year-old daughter Barbara to Florence Italy. It was a nine-day voyage that changed her life and ultimately rooted her family in two countries.<p><i>The American Contessa</i> narrates the adventure of this middle-class American widow who traveled to Italy intending to stay for one year yet remained there for twenty. This memoir tells about the struggles of adopting a new language and learning about centuries-old traditions and mores that she both admired and misunderstood. Her story chronicles her marriage to Conte Giorgio Magherini a member of the Italian-landed aristocracy and of the family's sojourns through numerous Tuscan villas before coming to rest at Norcenni Giorgio's ancestral home.<p>With photos included this memoir captures the enchantment of Italy through the eyes of Peggy's family and provides an engaging and insightful look into the world of an American contessa.