https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk Henley-on-Thames Fri, 14 Feb 2025 11:45:01 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/cropped-Bell-Background-Blue-32x32.png https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk 32 32 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/product/la-foce/ Tue, 10 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/?post_type=product&p=41375 In 1924, English-born biographer and writer Iris Origo (1902-1988) and her husband,Antonio, purchased La Foce, a sprawling estate centered around a half-ruinedfifteenth-century villa with a dream that was as ambitious as it was audacious. Guided by adeep-seated desire to make a difference, the Origos dedicated their lives to transformingan impoverished terrain into a thriving landscape of wheat fields, olive groves, andvineyards. With English architect Cecil Pinsent, they refurbished the house and designedan elegant terraced garden with box hedges, a rose garden, fountains, and awisteria-covered pergola.The dramatic story of La Foce-from the taming of the wild valley and personal loss towartime strife-is told by the Origos’ granddaughter Katia Lysy, with reminiscences byBenedetta Origo, the couple’s elder daughter. The letters and diaries of Iris Origo weavebeautifully into a personal narrative of the creation of the property and the people behindit. Newly commissioned photographs by Simon Upton and Matteo Carassale, a foldoutannotated view of the property, and a recently discovered cache of unpublished images ofthe creation of the garden in the 1920s bring to life the rich history of the magnificent property.

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