By Louisa Loring
Numerous
writers are drawn to Italy for inspiration and gain a wider view and
understanding of the world and history including the widely published and
award-winning journalist, Dianne Hales who has been coming to Italy for
research, travel and study for decades.
A native born American, she now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with
her family, keeping busy with her writing.
Throughout her long career as a journalist, she has been a contributing
editor for various magazines such as Parade and American Health as well as a constant writer for The New
York Times, Readers' Digest, Washington Post and Woman's Day, amongst
many others.
Dianne
has won numerous prizes for her books and publications about health. Her books include: La Bella Lingua, Think
Thin, Be Thin, Just Like a Woman and Caring for the
Mind. She also is the author of the
best-selling college health textbook, An Invitation to Health, and
coauthor of An Invitation to Personal Change. At a certain point, Dianne fell in love with
learning the Italian language which pushed her to study for over two decades
both in Italy and in the U.S. through classes, conversation groups, CD’s and
films. In learning Italian, Dianne
realized that she had not only learned a new language but also, acquired a new
understanding of the world through the Italian culture. Slowly but surely, Dianne found herself
falling in love with the language, country, people and culture from which she
drew inspiration for her book La Bella Lingua, which takes readers through a journey about the
Italian language by knitting together etymology, stories and unexpected
connections and experiences in Italy.
Today, Dianne continues to share
her ever-growing knowledge of Italian through blogging. Great for prospective students wanting to
dive into the language and also, native Italian speakers, her blog and website
offer a vast amount of information in the hopes to share what the Italian
language has thought her about living, or rather, the art of living. Lately, Dianne has been working on her most
recent book, Mona Lisa: A Life Discovered,
which is scheduled to come out in August 2014.
When visiting Florence in one of
her many trips, Dianne found herself asking where the real Mona Lisa came from
and what is her story. And she did just
that. With Mona Lisa: A Life Discovered, she uncovers the story of Lisa
Gherardini, the girl in the most famous painting in the world by Leonardo da
Vinci through a thrilling mix of history, biography, and memoir. She paints a picture of Florence in fine
detail, emphasizing its beauty and cultural and historical richness by taking
readers through her life and exploring her daily rituals and lifestyle,
bringing in character from decedents living today.
