The Po: An Elegy for Italy's Longest River
- ISBN-10
- 1786697386
- ISBN-13
- 9781786697387
- Category
- Travel
- Pages
- 309
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2022-07-07
- Publisher
- Bloomsbury Publishing
- Author
- Tobias Jones
Description
A captivating journey along the iconic River Po and through Italian history, society and culture. 'Delightful... A wonderful cornucopia of history' TLS 'Uncovers the Po's fascinating history' Guardian The Po is the longest river in Italy, travelling for 652 kilometres from one end of the country to the other. It rises by the French border in the Alps and meanders the width of the entire peninsula to the Adriatic Sea in the east. Flowing next to many of Italy's most exquisite cities – Ferrara, Mantova, Parma, Cremona, Pavia and Torino – the river is a part of the national psyche, as iconic to Italy as the Thames is to England or the Mississippi to the USA. For millennia, the Po was a vital trading route and a valuable source of tax revenue, fiercely fought over by rival powers. It was also a moat protecting Italy from invaders from the north, from Hannibal to Holy Roman Emperors. But as humans radically altered the river's hydrology, those floodplains became important places of major industries and agricultures, the source of bricks, timber, silk, hemp, cement, flour and risotto rice. Tobias Jones travels the length of the river against the current, gathering stories of battles, writers, cuisines, entertainers, religious minorities and music. Both an ecological lament and a celebration of the resourcefulness and resilience of the people of the Po, the book opens a window onto a stunning, but now neglected, part of Italy.
Get the book
Similar books
-
Knoxville, Tennessee: A Mountain City in the New South
By William Bruce WheelerIn the early 1970s the Boeing Corporation had sent planners to the region for the purpose of building a new city , to be named Timberlake , near the Tellico ...
-
Britannia in Brief: The Scoop on All Things British
By Leslie Banker, William MullinsRobbie Williams Like Justin Timberlake, Robbie Williams got his start in a boy band then parlayed that success into something much bigger.
-
New England, 1999
By Wayne Curtis, Herbert B. Livesey, Marie MorrisFrost lived in a cabin on a farm across the road for 23 summers . ... but it's also open to the public at rates of about half what you'd pay at Killington .
-
Frommer's New England 2003
By Wayne Curtis, Marie Morris, Laura M. ReckfordYou'll never fall into the tourist traps when you travel with Frommer's. It's like having a friend show you around, taking you to the places locals like best. Our expert...
-
Frommer's? New England 2002
By Wayne Curtis, Marie Morris, Laura M. Reckford"Using the expertise of knowledgeable travel writers and editors, Frommer's New England is stuffed like a turkey, with slivers of information spilling out as soon as you open the cover.Even...
-
The Rough Guide to Peru
By Sara Humphreys, Steph Dyson, Todd ObolskyS/620 01 446 9414, HI Hostel Lima Casimiro Ulloa 328 hihostels.com; map. A great deal, this is the top-rated HI hostel in the capital.
-
Chicago - Frommer's Travel Guides
By Todd A. SavageThe most authoritative, easy-to-use guide a traveller can buy
-
French By Heart: An American Family's Adventures in La Belle France
By Rebecca S. RamseyIn a year or so, y'a.ll will move back home andTodd'll buy you some big house in Crawford Creek and you're ... But what is the deal with hotel rooms here?
-
Sons of Thunder
By James TimberlakeBook One: Sons of Thunder is the first of two books based on one summers 2000 mile trek across southern Europe.
-
Food Artisans of Alberta: Your Trail Guide to the Best Locally Crafted Fare
By Karen Anderson, Matilde Sanchez-TurriOwners J.P. Fortin and Danielle Black Fortin have a base camp and café in Capstone at Riverlands in Red Deer. Check them out at pursuitadventures.ca.