Many people have the 'dream' of living in Italy. There are thousands of guidebooks for those who visit Italy, but there are no guidebooks for what you need to know if you want to live there. This book is written by two women who lived in Florence and wish they had had this information, not only before they embarked, but once they were there. Essential Florence covers the essentials, the practicalities, how to function, survive and thrive in Florence.

I live here This is my life Nita Tucker's four years in Florence are a lesson about how staying true to your dreams is really the only option. As editor-in-chief of The Florentine, the English language newspaper she set up with her husband and Italian partners, Nita's days in Florence were packed with interviewing politicians, princesses, designers and celebrities and accepting privileged invitations to palazzos, country estates, galleries and parties. In between, Nita laughed and cried with her girlfriends over family, fashion, cultural differences and making a difference in their beloved...