200 YEARS OF COVA AND THE PERFECT SUMMER READ

Whether it’s a glossy coffee-table tome or an intriguing page-turning novel to devour during your idler vacation days, books are a different kind of accessory to indulge with. Cova, the historic Milanese café and pastry shop located on the tony Via Montenapoleone is celebrating 200 years with a 170-page book published by Assouline. The book chronicles the expertise, passion, mission and values of Cova, which was founded in 1817 by a Napoleonic soldier. It was acquired in the early Eighties by Mario Faccioli, a former butcher who benefitted of a hefty loan by the late entrepreneur Anna Bonomi Bolchini. The book, written by Faccioli’s daughters Paola and Daniela, who still helm the business, documents two centuries of success, including its acquisition by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton in 2013 and its international expansion that today counts 29 units, including ones in Hong Kong, Japan, China, Taipei, Dubai and Monte Carlo. Moving down to central Italy, the Italian Party by Christina Lynch is an intriguing and compelling spy story where love, mystery, romance and history intertwine. American newly-weds Scottie and Michael Messina arrive in beautiful Siena in 1956, bang in the middle of the Cold War. As they go along, they discover the secrets they are keeping from one another, forcing them to see a more complex view of Italy, America and each other, including Michael’s quest to save the world from Communism. Lynch, who spent four years in Siena soaking up the culture and lifestyle, also lived in Los Angeles where she was on the writing staff of Unhappily Ever After; Encore, Encore; The Dead Zone and Wildfire.