Falling in love with a Tuscan villa in a serious state of disrepair transformed Frances Mayes’ life and career. Her tale of restoring Bramasole, in Cortona, is at the heart of Under the Tuscan Sun, her bestselling memoir and the film of the same name. Diane Lane played Mayes in the big screen version. She’s gone on to write eight more books about Italy, including her most recent, Always Italy.

Kathy McCabe also had a dream of Italy. As founder and editor of Dream of Italy, a travel magazine she has published since 2002, she shares the discoveries and delights of a country that feels more like home than home. (When she’s not in Italy, McCabe lives in Denver.) More recently, Kathy created the television series Dream of Italy for PBS and a podcast of the same name. A new special, Dream of Italy: Travel, Transform and Thrive, which includes Mayes, premiered on PBS in June 2021.