Award-winning “Piazza: Italy's Heart & Soul” Presentation and Book Signing by Marybeth Flower and Joe Bauwens: Book Passage in Corte Madera, CA, November 4, 2007, 7pm.

Photographers Joe Bauwens and Marybeth Flower will show their favorite photos of Italy’s undiscovered destinations and well-known places at their presentation for their award-winning book, “Piazza: Italy's Heart & Soul,” at Book Passage in Corte Madera, CA, November 4, 2007, 7pm.

During their many trips to Italy, photographers Marybeth Flower and Joe Bauwens fell in love with the life that takes place in the piazza — the center of every Italian town. "For 2,500 years, the people of Italy have been gathering in town squares to hear political speeches, shop at markets, attend weddings, collect water, play sports and spend time with neighbors," said Flower. "We kept saying, 'Someone should capture the life that takes place in the piazza."

Bauwens and Flower, not being photographers, took workshops, honed their photography skills and then published their award-winning book, “Piazza: Italy’s Heart & Soul.” Donald George, former Lonely Planet Global Travel Editor, wrote in his review, “Piazza …presents a living, breathing, jostling, sometimes rough-edged and always robust portrait of Italian life at its center, lived and evoked in all its sensual splendor. By the time I finished this book. I could smell the espresso in those cafes, hear the pealing of church bells and the cries of budding soccer stars, and feel the country's stylish pulse all around me.” “Piazza” was awarded the IPPY Gold Medal for Best Coffee Table Book of the Year at the 11th Annual Independent Publishers Awards at the 2007 Book Expo America in New York City http://www.independentpublisher.com/article.php?page=1157 [2007 IPPY Award Winners].

Bauwens and Flower will show their favorite photos of Italy’s little-known gems and well-known destinations at their presentation and book signing for “Piazza: Italy’s Heart & Soul,” at Book Passage in Corte Madera, November 4, 2007 at 7pm.

"I'm betting you'll be on the phone with your travel agent by page 15," said Joel Siegel, Entertainment Critic for Good Morning America. Elaine Petrocelli, the owner of Book Passage (http://www.bookpassage.com) bookstore in Corte Madera, CA and the founder of the world reknown Book Passage Travel Writers and Photographers Conference said, "Give this book to someone you love along with tickets to Italy."

“Piazza: Italy’s Heart & Soul,” features 250 dazzling photographs in vivid color of Italy's town squares. Experience the historic moment in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican as the gigantic crowd explodes with excitement when the new Pope is introduced, and see brides on their wedding day dressed intheir intricately-laced Italian gowns. Witness Siena's famous horse race, the Palio, and behold the sumptuous Renaissance costumes handmade by local artisans. Tour Gubbio, see photographs of the unique Ceri Marathon, a wild festival that has been held every year since the twelfth century, and discover Norcia, a small town snuggled high in the Apennine Mountains all through the lens of looking at life in the piazzas — the center of life in Italian towns, large and small.

In their IPPY award-winning book, “Piazza: Italy's Heart & Soul” (http://www.piazzabook.com), Flower and Bauwens bring Italy to life with their dazzling photographs in vivid color taken in the piazzas of towns — large and small. National Geographic photographer, James L. Stanfield, said, "From intensely personal moments to shared public events … Joe and Marybeth have succeeded at making us feel we've been there." Join Flower and Bauwens for their presentation of little-known Italian gems and well-known destinationsand book signing for their new coffee table book, Piazza: Italy's Heart & Soul, at Rizzoli Bookstore in New York City, May 14, 2007 5:30 - 7:00 p.m.