By the winner of the John Burroughs Medal for nature writing.

"Gary Nabhan went to walk in old Italy like a pilgrim. . . . This is a story about moving from sad uncertainty to part-time joyousness. It is a great book."--William Kittredge

"In part to ponder my Mediterranean roots and in part to learn of the land of my saint, San Francisco," Gary Paul Nabhan, one of America's finest nature writers and author of The Desert Smells Like Rain decided to walk the two hundred miles from Florence to Assisi. Along the way he met peasant farmers eager to share the love of their plants and seeds, recipes and customs. The fruit of this pilgrimage is writing that imaginatively traverses the boundary between nature and history.

"Unusual but important . . . entertaining and informative . . . the book afford s] an evening retreat as satisfying as a shot of grappa with a plate of anisette cookies."--The New York Times Book Review