Death in the High City first anniversary

A successful year for crime novel set in Italy

Death in the High City, the first British detective novel to be set in Bergamo in northern Italy, has had an exciting first year.

The novel, which was published in Kindle format on Amazon 12 months ago today, has sold copies in the UK, Italy, America, Australia and Canada. A paperback version of Death in the High City was published in July 2014. Author Val Culley has had some heart warming emails and messages about the book from readers both in the UK and abroad and has been delighted with the level of interest in her first novel.

Book on display in Piazza Vecchia

In October 2014 Val was a guest at the fifth anniversary celebrations of Bergamo Su e Giù, a group of independent tour guides in the city. She was invited to present Death in the High City to an audience in San Pellegrino Terme and sign copies of the book and she also made an appearance on Bergamo TV to talk about the novel with presenter Teo Mangione.

In November the book was purchased by Leicestershire Libraries and is now in stock at Loughborough, Shepshed, Ashby de la Zouch, Coalville, Castle Donington and Kegworth Libraries and is going out on loan regularly.

In April this year Val was invited to Bergamo again to present her novel to a group of 80 Italian teachers of English and to sign copies. She made a second appearance on Bergamo TV and also formally presented a copy of Death in the High City to the Biblioteca Civica (Civic Library) in Piazza Vecchia, a location that is featured in the novel itself.

Death in the High City centres on the investigation into the death of an English woman who was staying in the Città Alta while writing a biography of the composer Gaetano Donizetti.

The novel is the first of a series to feature the characters of Kate Butler, a freelance journalist, and Steve Bartorelli, a Detective Chief Inspector, whose family is from Sorrento and has just retired from the English police.

Val Culley signs copies of her book

The victim had been living in an apartment in Bergamo’s Città Alta and much of the action takes place within the walls of the upper town. The local police do not believe there is enough evidence to open a murder enquiry and so Kate Butler, who is the victim’s cousin, arrives in Bergamo to try to get some answers about her death.

Kate visits many of the places in the city with Donizetti connections and her enquiries even take her out to Lago d’Iseo and into the countryside around San Pellegrino Terme. But after her own life is threatened and there has been another death in the Città Alta, her lover, Steve Bartorelli, joins her to help unravel the mystery and trap the killer.

The novel will be of interest to anyone who enjoys the ‘cosy’ crime fiction genre or likes detective novels with an Italian setting.

Val is now working on a sequel, Death in Sirenland, set in Sorrento in southern Italy.

Death in the High City by Val Culley is available on Amazon.com.

Santa Maria delle Grazie Sorrento

Church bears testament to fascinating history of Sorrento

Tucked away in a quiet street in the oldest part of Sorrento, the baroque church and adjoining Dominican convent dedicated to Santa Maria delle Grazie is well worth a visit.
The church can be found in Via Santa Maria delle Grazie just off Piazza Sant’Antonino, a street which follows the ancient Greek layout of the town.

Archway leading to historic church

Santa Maria delle Grazie was built in 1567 on the orders of a noble Sorrentine lady, Bernardina Donnorso, who decided to found a convent to accommodate young girls from the area who had chosen to follow the strict rules of life in a nunnery.
You will find the church on your right hand side as you leave Piazza Sant’Antonino after passing through an arcade surmounted by an arch. It was built in typical baroque style with a single nave and still has a beautiful majolica floor, a 17th century wooden choir for the nuns and many works by southern Italian artists painted between the 15th and 17th centuries.
Over the altar is a painting of Santa Maria delle Grazie among the angels with St John the Baptist and Santo Domenico by Neapolitan artist Silvestro Buono Junior. Bernardina Donnorso died and was buried in the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in 1597 but the convent she founded has survived.

Doorway of the church

Entry to the convent is still strictly forbidden. The door from the street, which has a beautiful stone pediment bearing the date 1567 above it, leads into a small, plain room and the nuns have to remain behind gratings.
The convent is surrounded by tall walls, which adds to the peaceful atmosphere of the street as you walk along, even though some of the busy bars, restaurants and shops of the resort are close by.

Cloisters make a romantic wedding venue

It is hard to imagine a more idyllic setting for a wedding than il Chiostro di San Francesco, a beautiful 14th century cloistered area just a short walk from the centre of Sorrento in Piazza Gargiulo.

The peaceful setting within the cloisters

The cloisters are next to the baroque church of San Francesco and close to gardens with trees and abundant bougainvillea well away from the main road and the traffic.

It is one of the most peaceful parts of Sorrento and the rectangular open area in the middle provides an ideal space for seating the wedding guests.

The adjacent  garden, known as Villa Communale, has a terrace with a panoramic view over the bay of Naples making it a perfect backdrop for wedding photographs after the ceremony.

On a sunny day, surrounded by the intense colour and fragrance of the flowers and within sight of the sea, it is a magical place for couples to make their vows.

As well as wedding ceremonies, the cloisters are sometimes used for art exhibitions and concerts during the summer.

They were built in the 14th century on the site of a seventh century monastery and are one of the oldest monuments in Sorrento that can still be visited today. The cloisters represent a fusion of architectural styles featuring two different types of arches as can be seen from the two pictures shown here.

The abundant bougainvillea provides colour

For more information about holding a civil wedding ceremony at il Chiostro di San Francesco contact il Comune di Sorrento, whose offices are in nearby Piazza Sant’Antonino.

Alternatively, couples can engage the services of a wedding planner based in the resort who will sort out all the paperwork and provide translation services for them.

There are many good restaurants within walking distance that could provide a superb meal for your guests after the ceremony to round off the day.


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Bar Ercolano

Pause for a break at historic Sorrento bar

At the heart of all the action in the middle of Sorrento, Bar Ercolano is open from early in the morning till late at night and is a great place to visit for a drink or a snack.

Sheltered under awnings at one end of Piazza Torquato Tasso, Bar Ercolano serves, coffee, wine, beer, ice-cream and a good range of snacks.

Bar Ercolano is at the hub of things in Piazza Tasso

You get fast and efficient service from the waiters and complimentary nibbles are served with your drinks. Although there is only a small, green hedge separating the bar from the swirling traffic, it is still a pleasant place to sit and relax when taking a break from shopping and sightseeing.

Many visitors have posted reviews on the internet praising the coffee at Bar Ercolano and recommending it as a great place for people watching.

There is a long history of a bar on this spot. In the 1904 edition of Italy from the Alps to Naples by Karl Baedeker there is a listing for 'Caffe-Birreria Ercolano, Piazza Tasso, opposite the Circolo (club)'.

Bar Ercolano is as much a Sorrento institution as the statue of the poet Torquato Tasso, which is in the garden area opposite, and is a venue for refreshments not to be missed during your holiday.

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Sorrento lift

Let the lift from the port do the hard work for you

The long, tiring climb uphill from the port or beach is a thing of the past for Sorrento visitors and residents.

Sign for the lift in
 Villa Communale

Two lifts now connect the centre of town with Marina Piccola and the nearby beaches.

Travellers returning from a day trip to Capri, Ischia or Naples can be whisked up from the port to Piazza Gargiulo in the Villa Communale in 20 seconds.
From there it is just a few minutes walk to Piazza Tasso and the shops, bars, restaurants and hotels in the centre of the resort.
A single trip costs 1 euro but you can also buy a return ticket for 1.80. Between May and September the lift runs from 7.30 in the morning till midnight. For more information visit www.sorrentolift.it.

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Death in the High City

Brand new detective story set in Italy

A new crime novel with an Italian setting has just been published on Amazon.

The novel is the first in a series featuring detective duo Kate Butler, a freelance journalist, and Steve Bartorelli, a retired Detective Chief Inspector who is of Italian descent. His father’s family are from a village just outside Sorrento.

Believed to be the first British crime novel to put the spotlight on Bergamo in Lombardia, Death in the High City centres on the investigation into the death of an English woman who was writing a biography of the composer Gaetano Donizetti.

Of interest to anyone who enjoys the cosy crime fiction genre or likes detective novels with an Italian setting, the book is currently available as a Kindle edition, but can also be read on smartphones, tablets and computers using Amazon’s free Kindle app.

The dead woman had been living in an apartment in Bergamo’s Città Alta and much of the action takes place within the walls of the high city. The local police do not believe there is enough evidence to open a murder inquiry so Kate Butler, who is the victim’s cousin, arrives on the scene to try to get some answers about her cousin’s death.

Kate visits many of the places in Bergamo with Donizetti connections and her enquiries even take her out to the beautiful Lago d’Iseo. But after her own life is threatened and there has been another death in the Città Alta, her lover, Steve Bartorelli, joins her to help her unravel the mystery and trap the killer. The reader is able to go along for the ride and enjoy the wonderful architecture and scenery of Bergamo and the surrounding area while savouring the many descriptions in the novel of the local food and wine.

Death in the High City by Val Culley was published in May, 2014 and is now available on Amazon.

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Take home a decorative souvenir of Sorrento

If you would like a beautiful memento of your holiday in Sorrento, why not treat yourself to an article made from inlaid wood.

Intarsia, the craft of inlaying a decorative, design in wood, is an ancient Sorrentine tradition. You will see wonderful old examples of this type of marquetry work illustrating religious subjects inside Sorrento’s Duomo in Corso Italia.

If you wander along Via San Cesareo, the ancient street that runs parallel with the Corso, you will see shops selling pictures, boxes and small tables decorated with inlaid wood that have been hand-made by artisans in Sorrento.

A shop specialising in objects made from inlaid wood.

Turn down one of the side streets that go off Via San Cesareo at right angles and you will see the artisans at work creating these items in full view through the open doors of their workshops.

In nearby Via San Nicola you can visit il Museobottega della Tarsialignea and see precious early examples of the craft and pieces of furniture and pictures from the 18th and 19th centuries, when these items were sought after by the rich and famous people who visited Sorrento on the Grand Tour.

The museum is housed in an 18th century palace, where courses and events for people wishing to learn the craft take place. The palace also has an exhibition of paintings, prints and photographs by artists from Sorrento and abroad depicting the coastline and scenery around the resort over the centuries.

The museum is open Monday to Saturday from 9.30 to 13.00 and 16.00 to 20.00 between April and October. It closes an hour earlier during the winter.

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