
The Italian Villa
An Emotional and Absolutely Gripping WW2 Historical Romance
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Narrated by:
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Lisa Rost-Welling
About this listen
Inspired by true events, and for fans of The Beekeeper’s Promise and The Tuscan Child, comes a passionate, heartbreaking and absolutely pause-resisting story of two remarkable women, separated by history, finding the courage to look for light in the darkest places.
As she staggers through the woods towards the smoky remains of her village, she sees the wounded, all those familiar faces covered in blood and ashes, and remembers she isn’t just a woman; she is a doctor, and she is needed...
1938 - A young Italian couple cling to each other in the shadow of the Montevino mountains, Mussolini’s call to war ringing in their ears. They vow to stay together, no matter what, and hatch a plan to wed in secret before fleeing to the woods to join the resistance.
Present Day - Callie Di Giacomo, a waitress from Texas, is still reeling from the discovery that she is adopted when she arrives in Montevino in search of answers - the keys to the stunning hillside villa she just inherited clutched tightly in her hand. In her birth mother’s wardrobe grief-stricken Callie finds a diary belonging to a woman named Elisa Stella, one of Italy’s first ever female students of medicine, wrapped in pale blue ribbon.
Page by page, Callie unravels the story of a passionate young doctor who risked everything to marry her sweetheart, who was betrayed by her own people, and forced into hiding as Montevino was invaded. Elisa knew she must survive against all odds to see her loved ones again. But history had other plans…
As the diary ends, a startling revelation about who Elisa was offers a chance for Callie to heal past wounds and spark a new future. But is she brave enough to take it?
This unforgettable story of love, loss and resilience by the author of million-copy Amazon number one best seller, Watch Over Me, is perfect for anyone who loved The Letter, The Tattooist of Auschwitz or The Dressmaker’s Gift.
©2020 Daniela Sacerdoti (P)2020 BookoutureListeners also enjoyed...
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What listeners say about The Italian Villa
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- Elena hoyer
- 01-12-22
Italian villa
I enjoyed it from beginning to end! I am half Italian, is the strongest side of me. I decided to attempt to learn the Italian language and I will read more of Danielle‘s books!
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- Sheryl P. Bordelon
- 04-24-22
A sweeping story of fierce survival
I gripping story of the II WORLD WAR and the events that spurred a heartbreaking tragedy and how it is finally put right after generations.
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- Teresa
- 06-04-20
Loved it!!!
Th̷e̷ It̷a̷l̷i̷a̷n̷ Vi̷l̷l̷a̷ Re̷v̷i̷e̷w̷
This dual timeline of the present and 1930’s wartime Italy captured my heart! The way author Daniela Sacerdoti describes Montevino, Italy oh it sounds like the most beautiful, spellbinding little village and I want to go there!
🌸🌼🌺🌸🌼🌺🌸🌼🌺🌸🌼🌺🌸🌼🌺
Synopsis:
Callie is a twenty-one year old orphan who can’t seem to find her place in the world, when she finds out on her birthday that the parents that died in a car crash were actually her adoptive parents. When the lawyer tells her that her real mother is Italian from the small village of Montevino, she heads to Italy to find her roots and discovers much more...
🌺🌸🌼🌺🌸🌼🌺🌸🌼🌺🌸🌼🌺🌸🌼
This story was so heart-warming and such a nice surprise, I loved it and will definitely be checking out more of Daniela’s Sacerdoti’s works!
Happy Reading Everyone!
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3 people found this helpful
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- Lynn Hall
- 12-27-20
A family’s journey
This takes place in Montevino Italy and a young woman’s search for a family that was unknown to her...Calle has turned 21 and is summoned by a attorney in San Antonio, Tx thus started her journey to discover who her real parents are...the reality of being adopted and then orphaned take her down a complex path with many twists and turns...I enjoyed the ride.
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- paula wright
- 03-01-20
Wow. What a fantastic book
I so enjoyed this book about a small village in northern Italy during ww2 and present time 2019 I certainly appreciated the lack of profanity and sexual scenes. I know there was violence but it was touched upon and not the main theme. I never lost interest and finished in two days and hated to see it end. Great description of two separate times 70 yrs apart in same village I loved the characters we were supposed to love
Those Italians were full of life and love
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- Tiffany
- 03-15-21
Beautiful story that kept me entertained!
Loved the story and the character development. Excellent descriptions and wonderful narration. This is my first book by this author and I am hooked. Already downloaded the next one!
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- Ann
- 03-12-21
I love stories like that
the story started off good The fake accent got me . I could not get into the story.. Sorry Had to return
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- Vimala McClure
- 12-20-20
Wonderful romantic story
The story had many surprising twists and turns. It brought me to tears several times. I’m a WW2 buff and I loved the way the war story was interlaced with the present day.
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- Teresa Harwood
- 03-05-20
A story to get lost in
The moving story of Callie who grew up in the care system having been orphaned at the age of 10. She has a waitressing job, good friends and is saving to go to college but her life is turned upside down on her 21st birthday when she receives the news that she was adopted. At first she cannot believe the news but after reading a letter from her birth mother she decides to find out the truth. Her journey takes her to Montevino in Italy, she has inherited a beautiful villa, and she discovers her true family roots. A heartwarming, emotional story with wonderful descriptions of the Italian village and countryside, a story to get lost in.
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- Lisa Lattanza
- 01-01-21
Great story
loved the story, I would highly recommend it..... narrator was good but her "Italian accent" while narrating the Italian characters was not very authentic
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