Interviews with the personalities that have won the hearts of readers around the world and footage of the Tuscan countryside from the ground and the air will inspire viewers to experience the "sweet life" in Italy for themselves. As one of the local residents in the program notes, Mayes has "truly captured the spirit of the people, not just [the beauty of] the landscape" in the two internationally beloved books, and FRANCES MAYES' BELLA TUSCANY enchants with glorious images whose full beauty Mayes' memoirs could only hint at. This is a program for anyone who read Mayes' books and wanted more, but it is also a wonderful introduction to Cortona and the Tuscan countryside that doesn't require a familiarity with the books to enjoy.

Walk the Roman pathways with Frances and her husband Ed into town to buy the makings of an evening's meal; farm the Mayes' centuries old olive grove; look out over the Etruscan stone walls that resound with the history of Cortona and get a taste of the good life in FRANCES MAYES' BELLA TUSCANY. Readers who vicariously enjoyed this personal Italian renaissance finally get to see the frescoes discovered under the whitewash in the dining room, the kitchen that was transformed from a chapel and the man women around the world fell in love with along with Frances - Ed Kleinschmidt Mayes.

Mayes' memoir chronicles her journey to Cortona to purchase the beloved Bramasole estate, which means "yearning for the sun." In the restoration of her summer home, she experienced a restoration of spirit and self. Her American perspective heightens her appreciation of the "treasures" she has discovered which she shares with viewers in this very personal travel program.

Frances Mayes lives in Cortona, Italy, and near San Francisco, California. She is a widely published poet, gourmet cook and food and travel writer.

FRANCES MAYES' BELLA TUSCANY is a production of WLIW New York in association with Santa Fe Ventures, Inc. Executive Producers: Terrel Cass and Tony Tiano; Writers: Tony Tiano and Sam Toperoff; Underwriter: Dorling Kindersley Publishing; Narrator: Franca Barchiesi. The books Under the Tuscan Sun and Bella Tuscany are published by Broadway Books. Mayes' books have been on bestseller lists for over two years since publication.

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