Latest news with #UndertheTuscanSun
Local Italy
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Local Italy
Italy grants citizenship to Under the Tuscan Sun author Frances Mayes
Cabinet ministers approved a proposal submitted by Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi to grant Mayes citizenship "for special merits," the government said in a statement on Friday. Born in Georgia, Mayes, 85, currently divides her time between her home in Cortona, Tuscany, and North Carolina. Her 1996 memoir recounts her purchase and renovation of a dilapidated villa in the hilltop Tuscan town. The book was later turned into a film of the same name starring Diane Lane, who received a Golden Globe Award nomination for her performance. Under the Tuscan Sun spent more than two years on the New York Times Best Seller list, and was a New York Times Notable Book of 1997. As of 2016, it had been translated into 54 languages. The government's move comes just weeks after it drastically tightened access to Italian citizenship by descent (or citizenship iure sanguinis). The previous system placed no generational limit on applications, with people able to qualify for citizenship through an ancestor going all the way back to March 17th, 1861 – when the Kingdom of Italy was created. But under new rules that took immediate effect on March 28th, only people with an Italian parent or grandparent born in Italy, or with an Italian parent who lived in Italy for at least two continuous years, now qualify for citizenship. The move is believed to have stripped millions of people of Italian descent the right to apply for citizenship. With reporting from AFP.
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
As Italy tightens citizenship laws, it makes exception for American author Frances Mayes who inspired millions to love Tuscany
ROME, April 19 — The Italian government has announced it will grant citizenship to American author Frances Mayes, whose memoir Under the Tuscan Sun became a global bestseller and helped spark a romanticised fascination with life in rural Italy. The Italian Cabinet approved the proposal – submitted by Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi – to confer citizenship on Mayes, 85, 'for special merits', The New York Times reported yesterday, citing an official government statement. Mayes, who was born in Georgia, the United States, splits her time between North Carolina and her longtime home in the Tuscan town of Cortona, where she famously restored a crumbling villa. 'Her lyrical descriptions of Tuscany have drawn countless readers to dream — and sometimes to follow — in her footsteps,' reported The New York Times. A general view of the Tuscany countryside in Italy, romanticised by America-born author Frances Mayes, in her bestseller 'Under the Tuscan Sun'. — Picture from Her 1996 memoir, which recounted her decision to buy and renovate an abandoned villa in the Tuscan hills, was adapted into a 2003 film starring Diane Lane. The book itself spent more than two years on The New York Times bestseller list, cementing Mayes' status as a literary ambassador of Italian culture to the English-speaking world. The decision to honour Mayes comes amid a tightening of Italy's citizenship laws. Just weeks ago, the government passed measures limiting citizenship by descent to those with an Italian parent or grandparent. Previously, applicants could claim citizenship with Italian ancestry going back four generations.
