Intro -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- A note on the recipes -- Prologue -- Winter -- 1 Cobblestone roads, il Papa and pepper -- 2 Slow days, fingerprints and la passeggiata -- 3 Cold days, cooking schools and heroes -- Spring -- 4 Back to school and gelato -- 5 Festa della Donna -- 6 Food, soccer and stranieri -- 7 Blooms, bounty and bliss of spring -- 8 Le Marche and Umbria-Roman trails -- 9 Cuckoo birds and gondolas -- 10 Under the Tuscan clouds and finding George -- Summer -- 11 Pink sunsets and fields of hay -- 12 Lentils, love and L'Aquila -- 13 Hot nights, cool ice and the sea -- Autumn -- 14 Wedding bells, gladiators and gnome houses -- 15 Chestnuts, golden light and polenta -- Winter -- 16 Arrivederci, Italia -- 17 Home