Learn from the best as Gennaro Contaldo shares his no-fuss, fail-safe recipes to create home-cooked Italian meals in minutes.

Full of enticing, authentic and, most of all, quick-to-prepare recipes, Gennaro Contaldo's latest cookbook demonstrates how to whip up a delicious Italian feast in 40 minutes or less. From lightning-fast risottos to perfectly pronto pastas, speedy soups, and delightful desserts, these recipes showcase the very best Italy has to offer, while requiring very little time in the kitchen.

Featuring food from all the major regions of Italy, these quick recipes really make the most of the amazing fresh produce for which Italy is renowned. The result is delicious, nutritious food that can be on the table in minutes- perfect for busy families or for easy entertaining. Beginning with a handy guide to keeping your Italian pantry full of the best ingredients to whizz up a speedy supper, the book is split into sections covering Soups, Salads, Pasta, Rice, Meat, Fish, Vegetables, Sauces and Desserts ensuring that you have a wealth of recipes at your fingertips. From lemon-infused steam-baked mackerel to classic pasta recipes and quick chocolate raspberry pots you can impress friends and family with a stunning menu in minutes.

With gorgeous food photography and bursting, as ever, with Gennaro's passion for food and life, lovers of Italian food can't fail to be seduced and inspired. Buon appetito!

The history of Italy is central to the European experience. Through the supremacy of Rome, Italy enjoyed its greatest influence, as Roman power stretched from the Atlantic to the borders of Mesopotamia, and from the Scottish Lowlands to the Sahara Desert.

A Traveller's History of Italy moves from Italy's pre-historic and Etruscan civilizations, through the Roman Empire and the Renaissance, the creation of modern Italy, fascism and World War II, and the role of Italy in today's Europe, up to present day.

Jonathan Boardman uncovers Rome's multi-facted experience, where each layer of development rests upon the foundation of a preexisting tradition. In a place where political and religious idealogies have always expressed themselves through art, he also highlights a vibrant popular culture-from gladiatorial shows to the local Roma-Lazio soccer derby.

Entertaining and hugely diverse views of the city of lagoons.

The best-loved and most visited of Italian cities is vividly brought to life in the letters, diaries, and memoirs of travelers from past centuries and by the Florentines themselves. The extracts chosen by Harold Acton and Edward Chaney are as rich as the city itself in their variety and brilliance- here is Boccaccio on the Black Death; Vasari on the building of Giotto's Campanile; an eyewitness account of the installation of Michelangelo's David; the death of Elizabeth Barrett Browning at the Casa Guidi; D.H. Lawrence and Dylan Thomas on twentieth-century Florentine society; and much more.

This concise and lucid history of Florence from its early days, through its zenith as a prosperous city state that, under the Medici family, gave birth to the Renaissance, up to the Arno's devastating flood in 1966, is accompanied by maps, engravings, and useful notes.

A Traveller's History of Venice offers a concise and readable overview of the history of Venice from the fifth century AD to the present day. The main theme is the unique place that Venice has occupied in the history of Europe in general and in Italy in particular. While Venice has been politically part of united Italy since 1866, its development tied it as much to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant as to the Italian peninsula. It is this rich cultural mix that has made Venice such a fascinating, magical place.

With a historical gazetteer, chronology of major events, and special reference features on the islands in the lagoon, the history of the gondola, Venice's churches, museums and art galleries, this book is an invaluable companion to students and visitors to this unique city.