{"product_id":"9780847836246","title":"La Foce : Paradise in Tuscany by Benedetta Origo","description":"Discover La Foce, the Renaissance villa and classically inspired twentieth-century garden, at the dawn of its hundredth anniversary-once a barren Tuscan estate brought to life through the extraordinary vision and determination of Iris and Antonio Origo.   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-ruined fifteenth-century villa with a dream that was as ambitious as it was audacious. Guided by a deep-seated desire to make a difference, the Origos dedicated their lives to transforming an impoverished terrain into a thriving landscape of wheat fields, olive groves, and vineyards. With English architect Cecil Pinsent, they refurbished the house and designed an elegant terraced garden with box hedges, a rose garden, fountains, and a wisteria-covered pergola.   The dramatic story of La Foce-from the taming of the wild valley and personal loss to wartime strife-is told by the Origos' granddaughter Katia Lysy, with reminiscences by Benedetta Origo, the couple's elder daughter. The letters and diaries of Iris Origo weave beautifully into a personal narrative of the creation of the property and the people behind it. Newly commissioned photographs by Simon Upton and Matteo Carassale, a foldout annotated view of the property, and a recently discovered cache of unpublished images of the creation of the garden in the 1920s bring to life the rich history of the magnificent property.\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Hardback","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56295169884533,"sku":"9780847836246","price":46.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780847836246.jpg?v=1762767523","url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/products\/9780847836246","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}