Most Beautiful . . . – serie

Provence is a land apart, a territory of outstanding beauty and distinction that has fascinated outsiders since earliest times. It is in its smaller communities that the true Provençal spirit can be found. Hugh Palmer’s radiant photographs and Michael Jacobs’ evocative accounts of the most beautiful villages of Provence opens with the villages of Vaucluse and the Bouches-du-Rhône, then moves east through the Var to the mountains of the Alpine départments and its fortified hill villages, drawing together the special characteristics of the region. In the brilliant sunlight falling across the tightly grouped terracotta roofs and the velvety shade beneath great plane trees in an ancient square, the authors encounter the country of Marcel Pagnol and Jean de Florette, the best-loved of all French provinces. ‘The photographs of simple churches, fountains, shady squares and cobbled lanes demand leisurely observation … beautiful. Highly recommended for travel and architecture collections’ – Library Journal

The elegance of Tuscany’s grand cities is found on a more intimate scale in its numerous small towns and villages, the most charming of which are celebrated in this revised, compact edition of the bestselling book. Thirty-six villages from all over Tuscany feature here, from those clustered around the great cities of Lucca and Florence, which produce some of the finest olive oil and are home to some of the world’s greatest works of art, to the Chianti region and the valley of the Orcia, devoted to the cultivation of aromatic herbs. The vivid, highly descriptive accounts of each village are accompanied by page after page of marvellous colour photographs. ‘Beautifully composed photographs … graceful, knowledgeable text’ – Country Living ‘Breathtaking photographs … the riches and variety of Tuscany are laid out for all to see … a well balanced, well presented and well written exploration of one of Italy’s most beautiful regions’ – Contemporary Review