What defines Italian culture? Is it food? Architecture? Language? Art? In truth, it’s a combination of these things, all embodied by the Italian people—something Tod’s recognizes and celebrates in its new book Aria d’Italia. With such a rich, multi-millennial history, the very idea of “Italianness” has become a complex and organic concept.

To pinpoint a beginning would seem, for many, futile. Yet, in convening a curation of Italian creatives—from entrepreneurs to artists to chefs—about the connections they have with their country and the special places they find comfort within its borders, Aria d’Italia synthesizes Italian values down to eight keywords: pleasure, timelessness, imagination, joy, craftsman­ship, passion, heritage, and boldness.