Author Description

As the Nazis menace Italy in 1938, 17-year-old Giuliana, her two cousins and their families flee to the safety of Pitigliano, a 13th century Tuscan hill town, seeking to conceal their Jewish identity. Set amidst tragedy, there is love to be found in the rural countryside, as well as strange dangers far greater than the Nazi threat. The treasures of an Etruscan tomb, a personal quest for power, an unholy perversion, and above all, "il malocchio"-the Evil Eye-in time tear the cousins apart. Now, 30 years after the war, its horrors, and the peace that follows, Giuliana lies in a bed in Boston, succumbing to a sleep-like trance, felled by il malocchio's long reach-and a jealousy that will not die. The Orphan of Pitigliano is a love story that persists beyond the malevolent "gaze" in a sweeping panorama of Italy and the secrets of three generations who each think of themselves as "orphans."