Tales from My Zia Faustina

An Italian werewolf. A dancing devil. And a storyteller who chronicles it all.

Italy has enchanted travelers for hundreds of years. Now, those who crave a deeper understanding of Europe’s favorite boot can find it through storytelling.

Angelo Mazzoli, beloved teacher and ambassador of culture, recounts the stories he heard at the knee of his aunt Faustina—a communist, feminist seamstress who made everything from wedding gowns to bathing costumes for the residents of her Umbrian hill-town.

The author shares sixteen of Zia Faustina’s stories, and thus opens the door to the folklore that dwells within the hearts of all Umbrians. Reading about Orlando’s massacre of female hearts in Spello reveals the spectacle of love passed from generation to generation in Italy. A story about a woman living alone in the mountain above Spello illustrates the vulnerability and strength that endure despite all obstacles. A bandit living in Saint Francis’s Assisi teaches us about Umbrian notions of good and evil.

Beyond folklore, the author remembers the post-war years in Italy, when a nation struggled to find a direction and an identity. Anecdotes of a thriving main street—including the author’s father’s woodworking shop, his grandfather’s cobbler shop, and his aunt’s seamstress shop—create a vivid tapestry of the joy and community once easily found outside one’s front door.

Adapted for English-speakers by Michelle Damiani (who authored the bestselling Il Bel Centro: A Year in the Beautiful Center, a memoir of her year in Spello), Tales from My Zia Faustina will capture hearts and imaginations.

Lovers of Italy, especially those readying to embark on a trip to Umbria, will get more out of their travels by understanding the place names, customs, superstitions, and history of Umbria. Language students will take particular delight in translating for themselves the original Italian, as every one of Angelo Mazzoli's words is included in the second half of the book, or at the very least, hearing the Italian lilt in the English translation.

If you’re ready to discover new layers of Italy, it’s time to listen to Zia Faustina.

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These stories are fabulous, vivid, vibrant, and lyrical. MIchelle Damiani captures the beauty of Angelo’s story telling. Love it!

This book is coming out at an ideal time when the world is so transient with little regard for the importance of having roots and a sense of belonging.

I love how Angelo celebrates women through his stories!

Faustina was certainly a woman ahead of the times with a fierce and fearless spirit...and a big heart.