Art in Italy -- Ann S. Brandon, author of "Artful Italy: The Hidden Treasures"

Brandon . . .was working as a journalist and arts editor [under her maiden name, Ann Eustice] with The Daily American newspaper in Rome in the 1980s when she fell in love with Italian art. Twenty years later, after stints at other papers and at United Press International [in public relations] in Washington, D.C., she’s still in love and still fluent in Italian. She spends part of each year in Italy.

“All these pieces [in Artful Italy] are overwhelming,” she said, referring to her chosen artwork. “They’re operatic; there’s a great deal of stimulus.”

Her love of painting began in childhood, in Chicago and in Philadelphia. Her parents were art patrons. Brandon grew up in houses where artists’ original works were displayed on the walls. She loved museums and thought of certain paintings as friends. When the family moved from Philadelphia to the countryside, she took the train into the city each weekend to visit her favorite paintings.

“I especially liked Rubens’ Prometheus Bound, where golden eagles tore out his liver, and Marcel Duchamp’s Nude Descending a Staircase,” she recalled.>

She bonded with the magic of Italian art while she was a college student at Temple University and when she spent six months in Rome as an exchange student at Tyler School of Art. After graduation, she returned to Rome. She has been returning to Italy, and viewing and reading about Italian art, ever since.

Brandon works as a freelance writer and editor. In addition to her own writing, which includes a just-completed biography of Richard Wagner, now “resting in a drawer,” and her present project, a travel guide to New England food, she is editing Franco and Gwen Romagnoli’s upcoming book on traveling and eating in Italy [for Invisible Cities Press].

Reviews for Artful Italy: The Hidden Treasures

(Invisible Cities Press)

From the Library Journal

Every year, millions of tourists throng Italy, patiently standing in interminable lines to see the great museums of Venice, Florence, Rome, and other cities. Brandon, a former arts editor who lived in Rome for [3] years, asserts that in a year 2000 study, some 2.8 million Americans said they planned to visit Italy and 1.2 million said they wanted to explore less familiar sights. This guide is certainly intended for those who want to break away from the crowd and see the "hidden treasures" of Italy. Brandon points out that there are many seldom visited but highly important sights all across Italy, usually around the corner from the popular attractions, such as the Piazza, the Palazzo, and the Pote. While some feature works of great artists, the majority focus on unique, often ghoulish, subjects. In Florence, for example, the Museo della Storia el la Specola (a few feet away from the Pitti Palace) features a macabre collection of bones, muscles, tissues, and other flotsam of the human body, arranged into artistic representations. Packed with information rarely found in standard guides, this guide offers a fresh perspective on Italy's art and as such deserves a place in all travel collections. Highly recommended.
© 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Chicago Tribune
"persuade[s] her readers to experience the unknown, to go beyond first impressions...extremely witty and well-written...for those who savor art"

From The Vermont Sunday Magazine
“an engaging read, lively and informal”

An artful and art filled book

“Artful Italy's prose hits just the right tone, conversational without being condescending, funny without that guidebook jokiness that can be so off-putting. And it sometimes can take your breath away. . .The book is unique and a pleasure.”

-- Chuck Zerby (Hadley, MA)

Italy the way it ought to be seen

“. . . well-written, entertaining, and loaded with fun and interesting facts. . .meticulously researched and documented. . .Ann Brandon must be a kick at a cocktail party. Historical examples trip off her tongue and add just the right humor, import, and context for each bit of art appreciation. Reading this book is not a necessity for travel planning; the volume is a standalone orchestration of Ms. Brandon’s love affair with Italy. . .So warm is her style of writing that it just makes for a quick and delightful read!”

-- Dr. Steven M. Weiss (Cincinnati, OH)

Artful Italy is such a treat!

“This book is for all visitors to Italy-even the jaded few who feel they have seen it all. Ann Brandon has covered so much art that most of us have neither seen nor heard of. I was totally captivated by just reading the book, Ms. Brandon has great writing style and wonderful detail covering all of the pieces. . .This book isn’t just about museums!!”

--gretel schuck (brownsville, vt)

Bellissimo!

“A work of art! . . .As one who once lived in Italy, I would say this book is an essential guide for anyone who plans to visit one of the world’s most beautiful countries.”

The Ideal Guide

“I am recently back from a visit to Venice, where I used this outstanding new guide. . .highly readable, gets you off the beaten path to a combination of less mobbed attractions and some quirky fun places, and (my favorite) includes lots of fascinating historical and personal backgrouind on the sites and artists. . . And it’s fun to read even if you are just dreaming about visiting Italy.”

--Carl Taylor (Woodstock, VT)