Camilla Trinchieri, American Author

The Literary Festival of Sardegna Invites Camilla Trinchieri

noreply@blogger.com (NorieNC) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 03:30:00 +0000

Camilla Trinchieri, who has crossed cultures in so many ways, is now getting invited to literary events in Italy. She's been invited to Sardegna for the July 3-5 Literary Festival! What fun!

Camilla's highly praised psychological thriller, The Price of Silence was translated into Italian as Il prezzo del silenzio. Now, her biographical fiction novel about an American in Europe in WWII, Finding Alice, is getting published first in Italian, then, hopefully soon, in English.

Camilla's mother was American. Her father, Italian. Camilla spent time in the United States, Italy and other European countries growing up. After university in the United States, she returned to live and work in Italy for years. Later in life she moved to New York, where she'd gone to university, and in time became an American citizen.

With her writing career now spanning both continents of her life, her family and her homelands, she says she now feels whole.

Review: "Electrifying stand-alone thriller"

noreply@blogger.com (NorieNC) — Sat, 09 May 2009 16:00:00 +0000

Betty of the Betz Reviews, published her review of The Price of Silence in Mysterious Reviews.

"Camilla Trinchieri's electrifying stand-alone thriller, The Price of Silence, is a tense psychological study involving lies, secrets, and ultimately murder."

"During the course of Emma's trial, itself often riveting reading, the author successfully keeps the suspense level high by intermixing what Emma, Tom, and Josh are thinking and feeling, including some of their innermost secrets. Frequently heart-breaking but always insightful, The Price of Silence is an incredible journey of one family that cannot escape the tragedy of their past."

The copywrite date is 2008.

Zoe Magazine's Announcement of the Palermo Reading

noreply@blogger.com (NorieNC) — Thu, 07 May 2009 16:00:00 +0000

In March, 2009, Zoe Magazine announced the Palermo reading and an interview with writer Giacomo Cacciotore:

Camilla Trinchieri l'autrice di " Il prezzo del silenzio" sarà a Palermo presso la libreria Modus Vivendi, per parlare della sua storia di scrittrice newyorkese di origine italiana e per raccontare il romanzo strepitoso ed emozionante che l'ha fatta conoscere.
Interverrà lo scrittore Giacomo Cacciatore.

Palermo 13 Marzo 2009
ore 18.30
Libreria Modus Vivendi
Via Quintino Sella 79

Elle.it's Review of Il prezzo del silenzio

noreply@blogger.com (NorieNC) — Wed, 06 May 2009 16:00:00 +0000

Elle, the Italian issue of the famous french women's magazine has a review of Il prezzo del silenzio from 2009 by Serena De Carlo. Here's a quote from it:

"Camilla Trinchieri, l’autrice, tesse con cura una trama in cui la protagonista sarà ricomposta come un puzzle, da varie parti che alla fine porteranno a scoprire il segreto che avvolge An-ling fin dal primo momento. Se vi piacciono i legal thriller, Il prezzo del silenzio fa per voi. Parola di esperti del genere come De Cataldo e Carofiglio."

AARP Book Review

noreply@blogger.com (NorieNC) — Tue, 05 May 2009 16:00:00 +0000

Though this book review is from August 2007, it's great to finally find it. One of the aspects of book reviews is that the authors don't necessarily hear of them, and they aren't always easy to find.

The AARP recommended the Price of Silence:

"In this gripping, intelligent psychological thriller, Emma Perotti, an ESL teacher in Manhattan, folds one of her young Chinese students into her family, with dire results. Particularly compelling are the book's subtle insights into the nature of family and foreignness and the lies we tell ourselves and others even when our intentions are good."

The Church of San Miniato

noreply@blogger.com (NorieNC) — Mon, 04 May 2009 13:23:00 +0000

Six o’clock in the evening at the Church of San Miniato with beautiful, willful Ulisse. Walking inside, my breath was taken away by the majesty of the church, the green and white marble, the wooden rafters, the huge golden mosaic of Christ with his hand raised in blessing (you can see a smaller version of the mosaic on the outside of the church, above the window). What really blew me away were the monks at the altar singing Gregorian chants. I’m not a religious person, but it was a magical moment. I felt enveloped by peace.

The view from San Miniato. Magic inside the church, more magic outside. This is a city you have to keep coming back to.

A Weekend in Western Tuscany

noreply@blogger.com (NorieNC) — Sun, 03 May 2009 21:25:00 +0000

Corte dei Cavalli, the perfect writer’s retreat.
Erika and I spent a dream of a long weekend in the western part of Tuscany. Erika had come through as always and found the perfect place—Corte dei Cavalli, court of the horses, near Certaldo, about a two-hour ride from Florence. We could have gone horseback riding if we’d wanted to, but I preferred to explore the countryside.

What follows is a little tasting of our weekend:

A mimosa tree, a field of daisies, a hedge of rosemary. Heaven.

The view from our apartment with the towers of San Gimignano in the distance on the right.

A fit of giggles. We had those a lot. Erika and I just get on as if we’d known each other forever.

The wonderful piazza of San Gimignano. In the Middle Ages there were 70 tower-houses in the town. Now only 13 survive.

Erika indulging in ice cream in the piazza. She has a mean sweet tooth, but it doesn’t show on her slim body.

The famous Campo in Siena

where each contrada races its horse for the Palio. In Siena we saw a fantastic art show, "Genius, Madness and Art", in a refurbished convent close to the Duomo. Van Gogh wasn’t alone in creating powerful art despite or because of his fragile mental state.

We also had one of our best meals at the Taverna del Capitano. A vegetable tart made of layers of zucchini, onions and red peppers to start, then pici (thick spaghetti) with a garlic, tomato and red pepper sauce. Erika ended the meal with an incredible chocolate cake. “A fairytale cake” she called it.

Volterra, another stunning medieval town, this one with Etruscan roots. It’s famous for its alabaster and the magnificent view. It’s high up and the wind was whipping us into icicles so we didn’t stay very long. In the picture I’m looking down at the Roman amphitheatre

The Roman amphitheatre.

On our way back to Florence on Sunday Erika drove me through the Chianti valley. We stopped in Greve where the monthly market and the local band were in full swing.

We celebrated our weekend with a glass of prosecco in the piazza, bought sausages and a bottle of Grignasco from the renowned shop across the street and then gorged ourselves at Nerbone’s with lard and anchovy bruschetta and a Chianti infused beef stew with onions.

The Church of Santa Croce, Florence, Italy

noreply@blogger.com (NorieNC) — Sun, 03 May 2009 20:20:00 +0000

Camilla writes:

"The church of Santa Croce is behind me. To one side of it is the legendary Scuola del Cuoio, a leather school and shop where the urge to empty my bank account buying everything was almost irrresistible. I got away with buying a baby soft leather cover for my husband’s agenda that didn’t break the bank."

Review from Bookopolis' Sheri S

noreply@blogger.com (NorieNC) — Sun, 03 May 2009 16:00:00 +0000

In March 2009, Sheri S. who writes The Bookopolis blog gave this review of The Price of Silence:

"The Price of Silence" blew me away. I was captivated right from the start and I literally did not want to put the book down. This book is a perfect combination of all the elements that make up a great psychological thriller. There is so much depth to each of the characters and as the book progresses, another layer of their character is exposed. Though it seems like all the facts are presented at the beginning of the book, nothing is at seems and there were twists and turns that I could not have predicted.

I was also amazed by how the author's writing style shifted between each character's narration. Camilla Trinchieri truly embodied Emma, Tom and Josh as if they really had completely separate identities. I found myself thinking about this story and murder trial as if it were real. Ironicaly, it was An-ling's character that was most real and alive to me, despite her being dead throughout the entire book. Her presence in the book was haunting as she cast such a powerful shadow over the lives of the entire Perotti family.

This impressive book is not to be missed!"

The Bookopolis blog reviews books, as is currently seeking books to review.

Teaching in Florence: The Picture that Nearly Was

noreply@blogger.com (NorieNC) — Sat, 02 May 2009 16:23:00 +0000

Camilla writes:

"I hope there will be another teaching gig, although it will depend on enrollment.

With the economic crisis, it’s probable that fewer students will go abroad. This time I had twenty students, men and women from PennState, UConn and Roger Williams. Only one student was an English major, but they all listened or pretended to, even though they yawned a lot. It was hard to compete with the partying of the night before, but when it came time to write, they all did what I can assume was their best.

What I enjoyed most about this group was hearing how much they were enjoying the experience of being in Florence and going off to other cities in Europe on the long weekends.

For the last class I had brought my camera. I wanted a picture of all of them, but then with handing out papers, saying goodbye, I forgot. It’s too bad. They were a nice looking group."

Three Weeks in Italy: Rome, Palermo, Pisa, Florence

noreply@blogger.com (NorieNC) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 21:15:00 +0000

Camilla writes, at long last:

"It’s been a long time since I last wrote here and to those of you who check in I apologize. I’ve been too busy getting back into the groove of New York living and meeting a deadline. But now the mail and magazines are read, my jet lag is over, and the deadline is almost met. I got back from Italy twenty days ago with more photos, more wonderful dishes to try to recapture in my tiny kitchen, more memories to brightly color bleak moments. And wonderful news.

Rome to Palermo
It was a three week trip. First a few days in Rome to visit with family and friends, then off to Palermo for the book reading of the Italian version of The Price of Silence with my wonderfully exuberant and brilliant translator, Erika Bianchi. We basked in the sunlight, the beauty of the city, and the warmth of the bookstore owners and staff at Modus Vivendi. I didn’t want to leave.

Sicilian Pasta Norma
And the food! That pasta with eggplant and ricotta I mentioned earlier is a Sicilian specialty called Pasta Norma. Erika cooked it one night at her place. It was delicious. Now I want to give it a try in my tiny kitchen with American eggplant and ricotta. If the results are good I’ll pass along the recipe. Of course, you can probably find it on the FoodNetwork, but I have more fun doing it on my own. I love sharing the recipes. Each of my seven mysteries had an original recipe at the end. It’s my Facebook, my way of making friends.

Pisa to Florence
After Palermo Erika and I flew to Pisa and took a bus to Florence where I stayed for two weeks. I taught eleven hours of creative writing at The Institute at Palazzo Rucellai.

In my free time I wandered the city with Erika, window shopping, having delicious lunches and ice creams (my hips now abound in them), even cooking a few dinners at her place. No matter how hard I tried, I never won over Erika’s five-year-old son, Ulisse. He’d look at the plate of crabmeat lasagna or at the chicken breast cooked in butter, lemon and capers, wrinkle up his handsome face and declare “Disgusting!” But it wasn’t all bad. Erika just told me that on Easter Sunday he announced to his great grandmother that he liked coming home to an apartment filled with the aroma of whatever I was cooking. Maybe next time he’ll eat something."

The Best News Ever: Finding Alice has a Publisher in Italy

noreply@blogger.com (NorieNC) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Camilla writes, while in Florence, Italy:

Claudia Tarolo, the publisher of MarcosyMarcos, the company that published The Price of Silence in Italian, came down from Milan.

We sat at the caffe’ in the bookstore Edison, with Piazza della Repubblica spread out below us and for five hours went over the almost complete manuscript of Finding Alice, the novel I have been working on and off since 1986, the novel of the heart, the novel that started me writing.

It’s a deal.

She wants to publish it.

Claudia will go over the final revisions, perhaps ask for some changes, and then we drop it in Erika’s capable lap to turn it into beautiful Italian.

The book will come out in Italy in November. Hurray!

Erika snapped me and Claudia just after Claudia gave me the good news. The photo is out of focus. It was an emotional moment for Erika too."

Monday May 4th at 6PM Camilla Trinchieri to Read in Manhattan

noreply@blogger.com (NorieNC) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:41:00 +0000

New York author, Camilla Trinchieri will be reading from her 2007 psychological thriller, The Price of Silence, in Manhattan next week. The reading is at the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute, on 25 W.43rd Street, 17th floor (between 5th and 6th Avenue) Manhattan on Monday, May 4, 2009, at 6PM.

John D. Calandra Italian American Institute
25 W.43rd Street, 17th floor (between 5th & 6th Avenues)
Manhattan, New York

Visitors Worldwide Find their Way to Camilla Trinchieri's Blog

noreply@blogger.com (NorieNC) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:19:00 +0000

Visitors from all over the world make their way to this little blog about New York author Camilla Trinchieri. On April 27th there were visitors from Beijing China; Pisa, Toscana; Milan, Lombardia; Singapore, and Bogota, Cundinamarca.

Reader Book Review from Amazon Canada

noreply@blogger.com (NorieNC) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 17:15:00 +0000

On March 30th 2009, Sheri S. published another book review on Amazon Canada:

Narrated from three different perspectives, "The Price of Silence" provides an insider's look into the life of Emma Perotti, who is on trial for the murder of her former student and friend, An-ling Huang. Through flashbacks, courtroom transcripts and emails, readers learn about the complicated relationships between Emma and her husband Tom, her son Josh and ultimately An-ling. There was something wrong with An-ling right from the start which Tom sensed but Emma refused to acknowledge. As Emma grew closer to An-ling, her connection to her husband and son weakened. The story centers around the dangerous consequences of obsession and jealousy, while showing just how far someone will go to hold onto what matters to them.

"The Price of Silence" blew me away. I was captivated right from the start and I literally did not want to put the book down. This book is a perfect combination of all the elements that make up a great psychological thriller. There is so much depth to each of the characters and as the book progresses, another layer of their character is exposed. Though it seems like all the facts are presented at the beginning of the book, nothing is at seems and there were twists and turns that I could not have predicted.

I was also amazed by how the author's writing style shifted between each character's narration. Camilla Trinchieri truly embodied Emma, Tom and Josh as if they really had completely separate identities. I found myself thinking about this story and murder trial as if it were real. Ironicaly, it was An-ling's character that was most real and alive to me, despite her being dead throughout the entire book. Her presence in the book was haunting as she cast such a powerful shadow over the lives of the entire Perotti family.

This impressive book is not to be missed!

Sheri S., Reviewer Rank 1,098 with 59 book reviews to date.

Camilla Trinchieri's March 13 Reading in Palermo Italy

noreply@blogger.com (NorieNC) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 18:43:00 +0000

Camilla Trinchieri's book reading in Palermo was announced on Kom-Pa.Net:

Camilla Trinchieri @ Modusvivendi

venerdì, 13. marzo 2009, 18:30 - 20:00

Sarà presentato venerdì 13 marzo alle 18,30 alla libreria Modusvivendi di Via Quintino Sella 79 il romanzo "Il prezzo del silenzio" di Camilla Trinchieri, edito da Marcos y Marcos. Con l'autrice dialogheranno lo scrittore Giacomo Cacciatore e la traduttrice Erika Bianchi.

This is what they said she'd be talking about:

Camilla Trinchieri racconterà ai lettori la sua storia di scrittrice newyorchese di origine italiana e per raccontare l'emozionante libro che l'ha fatta conoscere. L'autrice, che ha vissuto per diciassette anni in Italia lavorando a Cinecittà, non vede l'ora di prendere l'aereo per venire a Palermo.

Translated: Camilla Trinchieri will tell her story about being a New York writer of Italian heritage. She will talk about the moving book that has brought her fame. The author had lived in Italy for 17 years working at Cinecitta and can't wait to take flight to Palermo.

Il Prezzo di Silenzio is Still Getting Airtime in Italy

noreply@blogger.com (NorieNC) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 16:24:00 +0000

The trip to Palermo, Italy was gorgeous Camilla Trinchieri and her translator Erika Bianchi wrote! Take a look at these pictures on Picasa Web. Book reading and signing, radio interview, 2 TV interviews, meals, talks and long walks.

Camilla Trinchieri with Cinzia Gizzi a Sicilian DJ, radio announcer, and Erika Bianchi in the TV studio.

Here's another picture of "Il Capo" the famous Palermitan market. Camilla and Erika stand in front of rows of vegetable stands.

In a quick note from Camilla she writes,

"Palermo was glorious, brilliant with sun and the welcome of the bookstore owners and employees. I did a radio interview and two TV interviews as you will see from the photos. You will also see how beautiful the city is.

Ciao for now.

a smiling Camilla who ate the most delicious pasta with eggplant and ricotta which I will try to make."

Looks like another recipe is on its way.

Sicilian Good Fish Salad: A Recipe for 4

noreply@blogger.com (NorieNC) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 13:09:00 +0000

From Camilla Trinchieri:

Since I’m going to Sicily, I’m including the recipe for a salad that I ate for lunch in the town of at Villa Armerina (famous for a it’s Roman mosaics) many years ago.

Sicilian Good Fish Salad For 4 servings

1 19 oz. can of cannellini (navy) beans
1 15 oz. can of corn kernels
1 heart of celery sliced very thin--about two cups
1 bunch scallions sliced--green part included
1/2 red pepper diced very small--for color
3 hearts of palm sliced (optional)
1 1-inch fresh tuna steak
or two cans of water-packed light meat tuna
4 large basil leaves

Dressing:
1 1/2 tbsps. balsamic vinegar or 1 tbsp. lemon juice
4 tbsps. extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 clove minced garlic

Drain the beans and the corn and out in a serving bowl.

Add the vegetables.

If using tuna steak, brush it with oil and sear it on a very hot skillet three minutes per side. Let cool, slice and add to bowl.

If using canned tuna, drain and add.

In a small bowl mix salt, pepper and garlic with lemon juice or vinegar.

Add olive oil.

Whip together well, pour into serving bowl and gently mix all the ingredients.

Serve at room temperature with hearty bread and chilled white wine.

Buon appetito and ciao for now.

"Finding Alice" is Finding A Way

noreply@blogger.com (NorieNC) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 13:16:00 +0000

Camilla Trinchieri writes about her manuscript Finding Alice, truly a labor of devotion:

The main reason for my long silence [on the blog] is that I’ve been stretching myself to the hilt to reach for intelligent sentences of my own. [referencing Obama's intelligence in a previous post]

At the suggestion of my Italian publisher, Marcos y Marcos, I’m rewriting one of the two voices in my new novel, Finding Alice, a story I sat down to write for the first time on January 1, 1986. It then became my thesis at the MFA program at Columbia.

Finding Alice is a story that has possessed me, the story that got me to sit down and write.

I’m probably working on the 30^th draft.

Each one has gotten better because through the years what began as a personal story, meaningful perhaps only to me, found its own voice, its own reason for being.

The changes the Italian publisher suggested (how lucky that she cared enough to edit me) are right on. “Why didn’t I think of them?” I immediately asked myself. A dumb question I think every writer has asked at one point or another.

Winter, Obama, Hope and "Finding Alice"

noreply@blogger.com (NorieNC) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 00:37:00 +0000

Camilla Trinchieri writes: It’s been a long time since I’ve written anything for this blog, but it’s been an odd winter. After needing a new crown, root canal surgery and a new filling in the space of two months, I’m calling this the winter of my dental discontent.

It’s easier to focus on teeth and the price paid to keep them in my mouth, than to dwell on the changes we’re all facing thanks to the sliding economy.

The good, no, the great news of this winter is that a man with brains is living in the White House. He’s going to make mistakes, the economy will take forever to pick up again, but at least he continues to inspire with his complete, erudite sentences, one cascading after another to form intelligent, strong thought, something we can hold up to the light, ponder, agree or disagree with. A side benefit is that Obama makes me feel that my own I.Q. is growing.

The main reason for my long silence is that I’ve been stretching myself to the hilt to reach for intelligent sentences of my own. At the suggestion of my Italian publisher, Marcos y Marcos, I’m rewriting one of the two voices in my new novel, Finding Alice, a story I sat down to write for the first time on January 1, 1986. It then became my thesis at the MFA program at Columbia.

Finding Alice is a story that has possessed me, the story that got me to sit down and write.

I’m probably working on the 30^th draft.

Each one has gotten better because through the years what began as a personal story, meaningful perhaps only to me, found its own voice, its own reason for being.

The changes the Italian publisher suggested (how lucky that she cared enough to edit me) are right on. “Why didn’t I think of them?” I immediately asked myself. A dumb question I think every writer has asked at one point or another.

Camilla Trinchieri off to Florence Again

noreply@blogger.com (NorieNC) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 02:56:00 +0000

Once again Camilla Trinchieri has been invited to teach in Florence as she did in the Fall. She is also having another engagement related to her Italian book and there's another review to tell you about. Stay posted.

Still Getting Reviews: Il Prezzo del Silenzio

noreply@blogger.com (NorieNC) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 00:52:00 +0000

Italian Tifeo Web published another Il Prezzo del Silenzio review, a very exciting development as it's been almost a year since the launch. The book is still calling attention to itself in Italy.

Quoting from this very beautiful and complimentary review by Mariangela Di Stefano in Italian:

Quello di Camilla Trinchieri è un giallo psicologico, emozionante, vibrante che si legge tutto d'un fiato. Le parole scorrono veloci e mano a mano che si va avanti cresce la voglia di scoprire cosa ci sia dietro al mistero della morte della ragazza. Attorno al delitto la Trinchieri costruisce il mondo di una famiglia che ha sofferto e che ha dedicato moltissimi anni a dimenticare un lutto pesantissimo. Nelle parole si sente il dolore, si sente la sofferenza di personaggi che intrecciano le loro storie.

Il prezzo del silenzio è un libro che appassiona.

Back from Florence, Camilla Trinchieri Reports, Never Far from a Mystery

noreply@blogger.com (NorieNC) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 23:53:00 +0000

Camilla Trinchieri writes:

I’m back! Still jet-lagged and overwhelmed by mail to go through, magazines to read, phone calls to make - the downside of traveling, but, oh, what a wonderful trip it was.

I spent three days in Rome seeing my nephews and old friends then I was off to Florence. My first challenge was facing four flights up a narrow, steep, uneven staircase to the tiny studio cum skylight I had rented. Thank God, trusty friend and translator Erika, who had picked me up at the train station, insisted on lugging my book heavy suitcase up those treacherous flights. During the two weeks I was there, as I went up and down those stairs several times a day I kept telling myself it was a good exercise that would slough off the wine, the pasta, the beans, the salami and again the wine I was consuming with joyous vigor every day. My muscles ached, but I felt virtuous.

The first day, a Monday, I had an easy class at the Institute at Palazzo Rucellai with four junior-year-abroad American women, who were advanced Italian language students: Lauren, Leslie, Emily and Rebecca, all of them eager, interested, and intelligent. Lucky me. I say 'easy class' because we discussed the Italian version of The Price of Silence and their enthusiasm was heart warming. That evening I gave a talk at Kent State University Florence, which I called "A Journey into Fiction Writing." I talked about how I got into writing, interspersed with quotes and vignettes about writing I’d culled from other writer’s writings. It was the first time I had spoken in an academic setting and had been nervous about it for weeks before, but I was able to relax a little when Maria Nella, a good friend who lives in Lucca, showed up with flowers, orange Gerbera daisies that lasted the full two weeks of my stay. It was to her smiling, encouraging face that I addressed for most of my talk.

Erika, who is a professor of Classics at Kent State Florence, gave me a great introduction which also helped. Well, I got through it without too many flubs and stutters, and at the end offered the audience chocolates because I truly believe that reading and writing are food for the mind and the soul. Bread would have worked better as a metaphor, but Tuscan bread is unsalted and begs for a thick slice of prosciutto or cheese which would require plates, napkins and something to help the bread go down. Too complicated. Chocolates would have to do.

Once the first day jitters were gone, I easily got into the routine of the five minute walk in the morning to a caffe’ near the Ponte Vecchio for a cappuccino and a mini sandwich which I ate sitting on a stool looking out at the Arno and the Uffizi Museum on the other shore. Then a fifteen-minute walk to the school, a quick check of my e-mails in the faculty lounge, a chit chat with the administrators and then class. In the days and hours between classes, Erika walked me through the center of her city. We talked, we laughed, we went to see the restored Madonna del Cardellino by Raphael at the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, so beautiful and serene a painting you want to sit at its feet for hours and forget about the terrors of the world outside.

We ate. We drank. We had coffee.

In the Cappella Brancacci Masolino brought me right back to suffering with his psychologically acute vision of Eve and Adam’s pain as God expels them from the Garden. We ate and we drank some more.

In the following days I got to meet and teach three more wonderful students: Janie, Cassandra, and Amy. I left the students my e-mail address and hope some of them will write. And I feel I have two new friends, Elena and Serena, the Italian teachers who helped me in class.

I missed out on one new friend: the resident ghost, Bianca, a 16th or 17th century (no one is sure of the dates) young woman who is believed to have committed suicide on the eve of her wedding by throwing herself out of a window of the palazzo. I sat quietly in the room some believe is hers and waited. If she was there she watched me in silence.

I want to write about Bianca. A young woman who kills herself –was she in love with someone else, was her husband-to-be a cruel man? What was she afraid of? Whatever the reason for taking her life, if she is still wandering through her home, what must she think of the students in the 21st century, midriffs bare, rings in their noses, nuzzling each other in the corners, laughing, sleeping through class, free to choose their lives. I’ll try to ask her next time.

Yes, I’ve been invited back. I’ll teach again in March.

As for those stairs to the studio? They didn’t do my waistline a bit of good, but I had a fabulous time.

Camilla Trinchieri in Florence

noreply@blogger.com (NorieNC) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 05:11:00 +0000

Camilla on a bridge over the river that runs through Florence. Timeless.

Camilla lecturing on writing in Florence.

Camilla Trinchieri and Erika Bianchi

noreply@blogger.com (NorieNC) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 05:05:00 +0000

Camilla Trinchieri with her Italian translator and dear friend, Erika Bianchi! What a great photo.