Umbria

By Patricia Clough

When Patricia Clough bought a house in Umbria, she knew that buying her dream home did not mean that her life would become a dream. By the end of this book, in which she describes the journey of making Umbria her home, she is sure that 'if one has basic requirements for being happy, then Umbria provides some of the best surroundings for happiness'.

Clough pores over Umbria's enchanting countryside, its tumultuous its ancient culture and sumptuous food, and laments that for a long time Umbria was mistaken for its fashionable neighbour, Tuscany. This is not a guide to buying a home in Italy, nor a guidebook for your holiday - though it would be useful as both of these things - but a story in which a woman discovers and marvels at the place she begins to call home.

Patricia Clough is a former correspondant for The Times and The Independent. She is the author of several books, amongst them The Flight Across the Ice (Haus Publishing, 2009) and lives in Umbria.