LIVING IN TUSCANY by Leonardo Castelaucci...

LIVING IN TUSCANY by Leonardo Castelaucci (Abbeville Press: $39.95; 240 pp., illustrated) . Extravagantly illustrated and economically written, this is a splendid guided tour of Italy’s most romantic region. Lovingly restored farmhouses and faithfully rehabilitated castles give the authors an opportunity to chronicle the convoluted history of Tuscany and the great families whose influence has stretched across 10 centuries. The detailed text is a course in the distinctive regional architecture, a perfect meld of powerful exteriors and graceful simplicity within, guaranteed to elicit envy and delight. Neglected in many cases for decades, the vineyards and olive groves have been replanted, and are once again producing exquisite Chiantis and the world’s finest olive oils. Tuscany is thriving, the economic revitalization apparently accomplished without damaging the tranquil rhythms of rural life. Enhanced by a new prosperity and the sensitivity of those who have contributed to it, Tuscany is more alluring than ever before.