Maremma Mia is a warm, witty chronicle of one family’s adventure transforming an old farmhouse and olive grove in remote Tuscany into a home. Set in the Maremma — “the new Chianti” — the story unfolds through the seasons, capturing both the beauty and unpredictability of life abroad.
From the nearby medieval town of Suvereto to the wild hills, fertile valley and coastline steeped in Etruscan mystery, the book weaves together the region’s landscape, food, wines, flora, fauna and traditions with vivid portraits of its people. Along the way, it explores the Maremma’s extraordinary history — from imperial assassinations and Napoleonic upheaval to partisan defiance in World War II.
Both an evocative travel memoir and a love letter to an unspoilt corner of Italy, Maremma Mia is for anyone who’s ever dreamed of making a vision come true.
‘Who hasn’t dreamt of buying a beautiful old Mediterranean farmhouse set in its own olive grove and turning it into a home. But Nick Hopton and his wife, La Stupenda, actually went ahead and did it in Tuscany’s unspoilt Maremma region. From marauding snakes to even more daunting local tripe dishes, the trials and tribulazioni - along with the enchanting rewards - of their new life there is charmingly told by Hopton in a memoir that does for southern Tuscany what Peter Mayle did for Provence.’
Tom Leonard, Daily Mail‘Peopled with delightful characters, Maremma Mia is the charming story of how a British couple sought to create and nurture a beloved family home in Tuscany.’
Sir Simon Mayall, author of Soldier in the Sand and House of War.‘The English, very sensibly, have had the longest love affair with Italy, from Byron, Mary Shelley and Oscar Wilde to Queen Victoria, Elgar and Capability Brown. The diplomat and writer Nicholas Hopton joins these illustrious ranks with his charming, heart-warming and completely compelling story of a family adventure which plunges the reader into the heart of rural Tuscany with all its delights, unexpected strangeness and wonder. Part memoir, part history, Maremma Miais a spellbinding love letter to Italy.’
Justin Marozzi, travel writer, historian and journalist.‘A lyrical and affectionate love letter to Tuscany’s wilder heart – full of humour, history and quiet wisdom’ Peter Frankopan, Professor of Global History, University of Oxford & UNESCO Professor of Silk Roads Studies, King’s College London
‘This book brings to rich and sparkling life one of the lesser known regions of Italy: the Maremma. It displays a deep and well informed love of Italian culture. But also, in entering the maritime territory between Southern Tuscany and Northen Lazio, these pages reveal a wealth of new perspectives, from beach to hardware shop, to olive-grove. At the same time, the reader is drawn into the delicate interplay of detail between an English family, newly arrived, and its local neighbours, restaurateurs, accountants and efficient pool engineers. , A vista opens up in which friendship and co-operation are happily cultivated. The book is as gently beguiling as Italy itself can be.’
Robin Kirkpatrick, Professor Emeritus of Italian and English Literature at the University of Cambridge‘Nick Hopton’s memoir of renovating a home in a rural Italian area known as “the Maremma’, is a must-read for anyone who wonders what it would be like to up-sticks and exchange routine for unpredictability; to swap long-time friends for well-meaning strangers; and to adapt to a culture and countryside where time – and much else - moves at a pace that is equal parts luxurious and frustrating. Hopton writes about how he did this, accompanied by his five children and his wife, a woman whose unending patience and perspicacity he recognizes, labelling her “La Stupenda.” Indeed, “Stupenda” might also be an apt term to describe this book. By the time you’ve finished, all five senses will have experienced a delightful surfeit, a sensation that only Italy can truly deliver.’
Vicky Ward,author of The Idaho Four and ex-CNN and Vanity Fair
ISBN: 978-1-917837-15-6 (paperback)
ISBN: 978-1-917837-16-3 (epub)
Maremma Mia is a warm, witty chronicle of one family’s adventure transforming an old farmhouse and olive grove in remote Tuscany into a home. Set in the Maremma — “the new Chianti” — the story unfolds through the seasons, capturing both the beauty and unpredictability of life abroad.
From the nearby medieval town of Suvereto to the wild hills, fertile valley and coastline steeped in Etruscan mystery, the book weaves together the region’s landscape, food, wines, flora, fauna and traditions with vivid portraits of its people. Along the way, it explores the Maremma’s extraordinary history — from imperial assassinations and Napoleonic upheaval to partisan defiance in World War II.
Both an evocative travel memoir and a love letter to an unspoilt corner of Italy, Maremma Mia is for anyone who’s ever dreamed of making a vision come true.
‘Who hasn’t dreamt of buying a beautiful old Mediterranean farmhouse set in its own olive grove and turning it into a home. But Nick Hopton and his wife, La Stupenda, actually went ahead and did it in Tuscany’s unspoilt Maremma region. From marauding snakes to even more daunting local tripe dishes, the trials and tribulazioni - along with the enchanting rewards - of their new life there is charmingly told by Hopton in a memoir that does for southern Tuscany what Peter Mayle did for Provence.’
Tom Leonard, Daily Mail‘Peopled with delightful characters, Maremma Mia is the charming story of how a British couple sought to create and nurture a beloved family home in Tuscany.’
Sir Simon Mayall, author of Soldier in the Sand and House of War.‘The English, very sensibly, have had the longest love affair with Italy, from Byron, Mary Shelley and Oscar Wilde to Queen Victoria, Elgar and Capability Brown. The diplomat and writer Nicholas Hopton joins these illustrious ranks with his charming, heart-warming and completely compelling story of a family adventure which plunges the reader into the heart of rural Tuscany with all its delights, unexpected strangeness and wonder. Part memoir, part history, Maremma Miais a spellbinding love letter to Italy.’
Justin Marozzi, travel writer, historian and journalist.‘A lyrical and affectionate love letter to Tuscany’s wilder heart – full of humour, history and quiet wisdom’ Peter Frankopan, Professor of Global History, University of Oxford & UNESCO Professor of Silk Roads Studies, King’s College London
‘This book brings to rich and sparkling life one of the lesser known regions of Italy: the Maremma. It displays a deep and well informed love of Italian culture. But also, in entering the maritime territory between Southern Tuscany and Northen Lazio, these pages reveal a wealth of new perspectives, from beach to hardware shop, to olive-grove. At the same time, the reader is drawn into the delicate interplay of detail between an English family, newly arrived, and its local neighbours, restaurateurs, accountants and efficient pool engineers. , A vista opens up in which friendship and co-operation are happily cultivated. The book is as gently beguiling as Italy itself can be.’
Robin Kirkpatrick, Professor Emeritus of Italian and English Literature at the University of Cambridge‘Nick Hopton’s memoir of renovating a home in a rural Italian area known as “the Maremma’, is a must-read for anyone who wonders what it would be like to up-sticks and exchange routine for unpredictability; to swap long-time friends for well-meaning strangers; and to adapt to a culture and countryside where time – and much else - moves at a pace that is equal parts luxurious and frustrating. Hopton writes about how he did this, accompanied by his five children and his wife, a woman whose unending patience and perspicacity he recognizes, labelling her “La Stupenda.” Indeed, “Stupenda” might also be an apt term to describe this book. By the time you’ve finished, all five senses will have experienced a delightful surfeit, a sensation that only Italy can truly deliver.’
Vicky Ward,author of The Idaho Four and ex-CNN and Vanity Fair
ISBN: 978-1-917837-15-6 (paperback)
ISBN: 978-1-917837-16-3 (epub)
