A Talking Tour of the Tuscan Sights

“Tuscany changes you because the people there are so warm,” author Frances Mayes was saying in her gentle Georgia accent. “They have this resonance of warmth and, like Southerners, a sense of hospitality so that a guest is not just sitting in a chair at someone’s table, but is in a place of honor.”

Mayes, a San Franciscan who wrote the 1996 bestseller “Under the Tuscan Sun,” was in L.A. the other night to sing the Italian region’s praises for producers, directors and other film folk on the lookout for film locations.

It wasn’t a hard sell. Grammy Awards show producer Pierre Cossette, his wife, Mary Cossette, former Rams general manager Dan Klosterman, Maria Shriver, her producer brother, Billy Shriver, and Michael Keaton were eating up Mayes’ stories (along with some fabulous risotto) at Vincenti restaurant in Brentwood. “The Talented Mr. Ripley” producers Tom Sternberg and William Horberg spoke about filming in Tuscany, but not nearly as eloquently as Mayes did.

More than a decade ago, she and her husband, Ed Kleinschmidt, bought their 200-year-old, once-abandoned Italian villa, Bramasole, near Cortona, southeast of Florence. Mayes kept a journal that became her bestseller and followed it last year with “Bella Tuscany.” Her next book, “In Tuscany,” is a book of photographs due out in October, she said.

She told party guests about cleaning the wall of her dining room soon after she moved in and finding a 200-year-old fresco. The painters asked if they should paint over it!

Tuscany is unspoiled, Mayes said, and the only thing that had to be removed from a Cortona street to film parts of Roberto Benigni’s “Life Is Beautiful” was a modern-looking mailbox.

Mouths watered as she described the food. “California food is great, but if you just get one of those ripe summer peaches, tears will come to your eyes,” she said. “Feasting must be part of the Italian DNA.”

I don’t know about the location scouts, but it was enough to make me want to hop a plane to Italy on the spot.

For those who dream of turning their lives into bestsellers, Mayes is scheduled to discuss “Finding the Rhythm of a Memoir” Sunday at 4 p.m. at UCLA’s Royce Hall. Information: (310) 825-4401.

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Here’s proof that Southern California isn’t as full of airheads as some like to claim:

Irvine ranked third on a list of the 10 smartest cities in the March issue of Ladies’ Home Journal. The brainy locales have the highest percentage of residents 25 and older with four-year college degrees.

The Dallas suburb of Plano, Texas, was first on the list, followed by Overland Park, Kan. New York City did not even make the top 10. On the other hand, I hate to admit, neither did L.A.

Booth Moore can be reached at booth.moore@latimes.com.