This book is beyond magnificent ... molto, molto libro favoloso! The descriptions of the characters, places, sounds, language, and especially the foods of Italy are incredible. You want to be like Jacoby and just go and live there forever. The relationship between the main character, Jacoby, and the lover of his great uncle, Bill, is so genuine and heartwarming. Jacoby and Bill are American ex-pats who have partnered in purchasing a small hotel just outside beautiful Florence. There is much work to be done on the hotel and the two of them head off to Rome to get the required permissions from the Italian government to get their project done and get the hotel running. You meet several of their friends, townspeople, and even the loyal dog that Jacoby saved from a wild boar. You see the sights of Rome that tourists flock to and the off-the-beaten-path places as well. This book will make you want to travel to Italy to see everything, experience everything, and taste everything yourself. But the ending ... oh, the ending ... it will make you scream for the next book in the series! I want to know what happens next and what happened in the past that brought everyone to where they are!
*I received this book from the publisher through LibraryThing's early reviewers in exchange for my honest review. ( )

I did not know what to expect when I was awarded "Cucina Romana" by Andrew Cotto to review. It sounded as though it would be a recipe book but it isn't, even though food is one of it's themes. A second theme is travel in Italy, visiting landmarks in Rome and Florence, some well known others not. This is the second book in the series about Jacoby Pines (an American with Italian forebears) and his experience of Italy. I wonder whether the books began with the themes of food and travel and the characters were a way of linking them together. I felt I got to know Jacoby well and his business partner, Bill and Jacoby's girlfriend and even his dog, Boy, by the end of the book. I was disappointed there were no recipes! ( )