Tripfiction picks the best reads for your destination of choice. Make room in your suitcase…

Tuscany. The birthplace of the Renaissance; filled with handsome historic towns, rolling hills with rows upon rows of vines, the iconic Leaning Tower of Pisa and let’s not forget its capital: the cultural gem of Florence. Aesthetically pleasing, from its medieval streets, to the exquisite art and galleries, it’s no wonder that much literature has been written, evoking the Italian region.

The Dead Season, by Christobel Kent

Every August, Florence shimmers in the summer heat. But this year the heatwave is fiercer than usual, and the city’s inhabitants have fled to the cool hills and beaches of the surrounding countryside. Amidst the shrubbery of a normally busy roundabout, a corpse lies unnoticed, bloating in the humid air. Sandro Cellini, former policeman turned PI remains in the city to solve the case. Who dunnit?

Under The Tuscan Sun, by Frances Mayes

In this memoir of her buying, renovating and living in an abandoned villa in Tuscany, Frances Mayes reveals the sensual pleasure she found living in rural Italy and the generous spirit she brought with her. She revels in the sunlight and the colour, the long view of her valley, the warm homey architecture, the languor of the slow-paced days, the vigor of working her garden and the intimacy of her dealings with the locals. Cooking, gardening, tiling and painting fill her days.

The Savage Garden, by Mark Mills

Behind a villa in the heart of Tuscany lies a Renaissance garden of enchanting beauty. Its grottoes, pagan statues and classical inscriptions seem to have a secret life of their own – and a secret message, too, for those with eyes to read it. Young scholar Adam Strickland is just such a person. Arriving in 1958, he finds the Docci family, their house and the unique garden as seductive as each other. But post-War Italy is still a strange, even dangerous place, and there are dark skeletons hidden away.