The Green Heart of Italy - Umbria and its Ancient Neighbors (book)

Photographs by Judith Goodman and Frank Van Riper

Text by Frank Van Riper

Nestled in the center of the country, lush and verdant Umbria often is called The Green Heart of Italy and ‘Tuscany without the tourists.’ Now, in the post-Covid re-boot of Italy’s huge tourist industry, Umbria is poised to become the country’s next great travel destination.

Award-winning husband and wife photographer/authors Frank Van Riper and Judith Goodman offer a compelling portrait of the region in evocative color photographs and eloquent text. In the tradition of their previous bestseller, Serenissima: Venice in Winter, The Green Heart of Italy  takes readers all over the region: to glorious vistas, into artists’ studios, through private palazzi, into rustic cafes and glorious interiors, large and small.

Said internationally acclaimed journalist and author Beppe Severgnini:

“Almost all accounts of my country fall into two categories: chronicles of a love affair, or diaries of a disappointment. The Green Heart of Italy avoids both traps. It’s a passionate portrait of Umbria, a small, landlocked region in the very center of the country. Because, you know, Italy is not one gigantic Tuscany, with a foreigner under every olive tree”.