Return to Valetto
By Dominic Smith

This is the story of two Italian families of strong females. The story begins in the present, but the driving forces go back to a terrible crime done in the waning days of World War II. The surviving members of the Serafino family living in their villa in Valetto are: Ida, the grandmother who is about to celebrate her centennial, and her daughters, Violet, Iris and Rose. A fourth daughter, Hazel, had married and emigrated years before to America and is now dead. Hazel had one child, her son Hugh Fisher, a history professor and author.

As the tale begins, Hugh – who has lost his mother and his wife – is returning to Valetto for a six month sabbatical and to celebrate his grandmother's birthday. He is looking forward to staying in the cottage on the property left to him by his mother. Upon his arrival, he is informed that a woman has arrived with a rival claim to the cottage. Elisa Tomassi, daughter of Alessia Parigi. Alessia had been one of the refugee children sheltered in the villa during the war.

The story of what happened back during the war, as told to Hugh by various members of both factions, leads to revelations for both families.
This is an interesting book, in that the stories of all the strong woman are revealed through the eyes of Hugh, the only significant male character. It is well done and an unusual perspective.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Valetto sits atop a hilltop in Umbria, almost completely abandoned and certainly neglected. Earthquakes, landslides and the lure of a better life have reduced the population of this once thriving village to 10. We are introduced to Valetto by Hugh, a history professor concentrating on abandoned settlements. Hugh’s late mother, Hazel, was born and raised in Valetto, moving to the U.S. before Hugh was born. Hazel’s marriage didn’t last long, and she and Hugh would spend summer in Valetto, staying in the cottage behind her family’s villa. Hugh’s time spent investigating abandoned buildings became his life’s calling, and he recalls the time spent in Valetto as the happiest in his life.

Hugh’s grandmother, 99-year old Ida, and her three daughters, occupy the villa. While Hazel had always occupied the cottage and Hugh was led to believe it was passed on to him, there is a squatter, Elise. Unbeknownst to Hugh, Valetto had been a hub of resistance and refuge during World War II, and Elise claims that Ida’s husband, Aldo, bequeathed the cottage to her family. Aldo was a resistance fighter, disappearing during the war and leaving his family abandoned. Was it by choice? No one knows until Elise arrives and Hugh, Elise and the widows Serafino begin pulling threads that unravel multiple mysteries, revealing some dark and disturbing secrets.

The storyline was absorbing and kept me intrigued throughout. The author skillfully uses words to illustrate the surroundings, taking you to Valetto. His writing is clear and articulate with the thoughts, ideas and personalities of each character clearly and effectively conveyed, bringing each to life.

This was an excellent read, but be forewarned that there are a few dark themes.

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Widower Hugh Fisher is an historian who researches, writes and lectures on abandoned towns. As a young child Hugh spent his summers in Valetto, a town in Italy just outside of Umbria, that is now crumbling away and near abandonment. Hugh has returned to Valetto for his grandmother’s 100th birthday celebration. Hugh’s family owns what once was a beautiful, stately villa with a cottage on the property. Hugh expected to spend six months in the cottage writing and researching. However, when he arrives in Valetta a woman named Elisa is living there and is claiming that the cottage was willed to her by Hugh’s grandfather who had abandoned the family during WWII. Many questions about Hugh’s family history and their part in the war effort, his grandfather’s disappearance and his cool distant mother bring long hidden secrets to the surface. The characters are very believable, many of whom I felt I’ve known in my lifetime, especially Hugh’s mother’s three sisters Rose, Violet and Iris. I enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone looking for a book that doesn’t unfold as a typical WWII historical story.

Return to Valetto by Dominic Smith is a story about family, hardships, perseverance and takes place in a (fictional) place, high on a mountain top in the hills of Italy. Hugh Fisher grew up spending his summers at his mother's childhood home in Valetto. He is an American historian who researches and lectures on abandoned towns. Valetto was devastated by earthquakes and now after World War II, from a town of three thousand only ten residents are still there. He takes a sabbatical and returns to do research and gets to return to his beloved Valetto. His three aunts and grandmother are still living there. When he arrives he finds someone is living is his cottage. Elisa Tomassi who claims the cottage was left to her family by Hugh’s grandfather, Aldo Serafino, who left during the war and was sick when he returned. Elisa’s family took care of him until he died. Hugh sets out to find whether Elisa’s claims are true and why his grandfather would leave the cottage to her family. In his research, he discovers secrets about what happened to his mother and Elisa’s mother when they were young. Written so beautifully it was easy to be immersed into this world and these characters.

I loved this book. I especially loved the author's Acknowledgments which explains his travels to Italy to explore abandoned and semi-abandoned towns and villages to research for this book. I truly believe this is what made this book so amazing.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

a man returns to his village after being away for years and finds someone living in his house. Started a little slow but was a great book.

In a short space of time Hugh has lost his wife and also his mother, two of the most important people in his life. He’s struggling, and though he’s had professional counselling it hasn’t really helped him. Now he’s decided to travel to Perugia, Italy, from his American home. He’ll stay for six months with his elderly grandmother and three aunts, in a medieval villa where he often spent the summers of his youth. Hugh’s daughter supports his decision, hoping it will stop him from continuing to wallow in the past.

The villa is situated in a largely abandoned village, on the top of an elevated piece of lad which itself in is the centre of a valley. It’s like a small island, with steep drop-offs on all sides (note: the author based the imaginary village of Valetto on the real life town of Civita di Bagnoregio, situated in the neighbouring province of Lazio). Hugh plans to spend his time in a small cottage he’d been bequeathed by his mother, located in the grounds of the villa. But upon his arrival he discovers that the cottage already has an occupant, a lady who claims that Hugh’s grandfather had previously gifted the property to her family.

There’s a good deal more to this story involving preparations for a grand birthday celebration and events of past, largely those occurring during the German occupation of the area. But in its essence, it’s a novel about loss and the grief and renewal; it a story about Hugh and whether it’s possible for him to find something that will free him from the shackles of his own broken-heartedness. It is, in truth, a magnificent tale, full of interesting characters of wonderful descriptions of the place and its history. I loved it from start to finish and I’m already missing the story and its people very badly.

The author’s last novel The Last Painting of Sara de Vos was one of my favourite reads of 2016, so I was very eager hands on a copy of this one. It certainly didn’t disappoint and is sure to be one of my favourite reads of 2023.

A nostalgic story set in an Italian town virtually deserted during World War II. The three aging sisters are quite the characters. There are some moments where the grisly moments of the war are described. Plot is predictable yet sweet.

Thanks to NetGalley and the folks at Farrar, Straus & Giroux for providing me with a free ARC in return for my honest review.
For his 6th novel, Dominic Smith takes us to the fictional abandoned Umbrian town of Valetto, Italy. This is a tale of family, mystery, secrets and follow the interconnecting stories of an abandoned town, a woman's 100th birthday party, and a secret that has laid hidden since two young girls were found wandering in a chestnut grove after having gone missing for three days. Hugh Fisher is an American Historian who has returned to Valetto to spend time living in a cottage his mother resided in prior to her death. It is there we meet his soon to be 100-year old grandmother, and his three aunts reside (4 of the 10 who remain in the city). Unfortunately he is greeted by Milanese chef Elisa Tomassi who claims to have a letter written by Hugh's long dead grandfather and in which he wants to give this cottage to Elisa's mother for all she did for him during WW2. The Serafino sisters oppose this and doubt the story behind the letter, as well as the document itself. Aldo Serafino was a partisan during WW2 and had to hastily leave Valetto and worked in the Italian Alps helping his compatriots fight the Nazi's plus the Italian Fascist allies. Two years later Aldo has died and the Serafino family has heard nothing from or about him for over 70 years until Elisa arrives with the letter. The letter prompts a family investigation and eventually they discover the truth about the mysterious disappearance. The truth resides in the memory of the two ladies, one dead and the other Elisa's mother, as well as an aged pensioner now living in Rome. And it is at Ida Serafino's 100th Birthday party that secrets are revealed to all who gather for what was to be a glorious gala. World War 2 is over but even today old passions and history comes to the forefront in this dazzling work by Smith. Smith's knowledge of Italy and Italians hits and mark, and it is rare that any books are written about how everyday Italians both coped with and suffered during that war. Smith tackles with remarkable sensitivity and crafts a novel that is a worthy addition to his body of works.

Hugh, widower, father and historian, has returned to the Italian village of Valetto to celebrate his maternal grandmother’s one hundredth birthday. A party is planned; 200 guests invited from all over the world. He arrives in the middle of a controversy; Elisa, the daughter of a woman sheltered during the War by his mother’s family, has moved in, presenting his grandfather’s letter that bequeathes a cottage in gratitude to her family for saving his life. To please his aunts Hugh accompanies Elisa to meet her mother and get to the truth. On his trip north a heinous secret involving his mother and hers and the retired town pharmacist is revealed. Pledging to get justice for the two women, he sets a trap for the old man involved to be exposed. Dominic Smith’s storyline is supported by history; his characters touch us. Their lives stay with the reader beyond the final page.

Hugh Fisher is American born but with the deepest ties to his mother’s ancestral home in Valetto, Umbria, Italy. Here he remembers summers spent with his aunts and grandmother and the people of their crumbling villa. Here he wandered the countryside and kept up his Italian. Hugh became a well-regarded historian with a narrow focus: towns that are abandoned because of war, natural disasters, or population shifts. What becomes of them? What are their legacies? The same can be asked of Hugh. He is still navigating the loss of his wife due to illness and the more recent loss of his mother. It is she who leaves him a cottage adjacent to the villa. Hugh returns intent upon claiming his memories and inheritance on a sabbatical that will allow him to explore his historical passions, while keeping his real emotions locked in.

When Hugh arrives at Valetto it is in turmoil. Grandmother is planning a massive 100-year-old birthday celebration, the three aunts are enraged because a female interloper from the north is claiming Hugh’s cottage as part of her inheritance and the villa is crumbling all around them.
Hugh steps into this scenario with his grief, an open mind and a historian’s curiosity.

The best thing about this book is everything! The descriptions of the countryside, Hugh’s take on history, the wonders of Valetto from its past to its possible future, the aunts so alike but so different and quirky, and the grandmother’s compassion and tenacity. Then there is the mystery of the interloper: what is her story and why does her claim resonate with the history of Valetto?
Lastly, there is the description of the food: how it provides comfort and provokes memory.

This reader had an inkling of where the story would wander and could not wait to get there!
I would happily read it again just for the descriptions and the build-up. Highly, highly recommended. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this title.

There are so many things I loved about this book! Starting with the quirky characters who seemed very real, the complicated story and the incredible setting in Italy. Such an interesting book the Professor was writing about abandoned Italian villages and then his familial connection to one. I loved reading in the author’s note that Valetto was loosely based on Civita de Bagnoreggio, because I’ve been there!

DNF - not particularly engaging. I got to a point where I realized I just didn't care what happened.

Set in the fictional village of Valetto in Umbria, Italy, Return to Valetto is a gorgeously-written novel about family, history, secrets, justice, trauma and healing. Author Dominic Smith based Valetto on pretty Civita di Bagnoregio in Lazio. For me Valetto itself is a character as it is described so vividly and plays a prominent role in the story, namely Italian culture and tradition which goes back many centuries yet displays snippets of modernity. The cover encapsulates the breathtaking mystery and beauty which enshroud Italy. The writing adds vibrancy and life. As an expat who lives adjacent to Italy, I am happy that Smith stays true to details.

Historian Hugh Fisher leaves America for Italy for six months to do research on abandoned villages including Valetto which now has only ten residents. His trip becomes a pilgrimage of sorts as he plans to stay in the house he summered at when he was a child and connect with his eccentric great aunts and grandmother, the Serafino family. Preparations are made for his grandmother's 100th birthday party, a huge affair. Meanwhile, Hugh discovers Italian Elisa is living in the family home as she is convinced it belongs to her family as payment from his family for help during WWII. She has a history, too. As the two discover peel back the layers of history, they find trauma and the need for familial healing. Hugh is also grieving and processing the loss of his wife which adds a dimension of sorrow and grief.

My favourite aspect of this slow-paced book is the setting. Pure magic. Those who are particularly enamoured with Italy will appreciate this. However, it is not necessary for enjoyment of this wonderfully atmospheric book.

My sincere thank you to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for providing me with an early digital copy of this outstanding novel.

OMG I loved this book! A fabulous story of an Italian family that spans decades with a modern love story running through it.
The author showed great insight into the Italian social constructs and the importance of family. Also, the land of Italy - its forests and farmland and lakes and mountains and villages and cities - becomes an integral part of this novel.
A widower from Michigan returns to his mother’s family’s villa in Umbria for a six month sabbatical where he intends to live in his inheritance from his mother. When he arrives, he finds a woman from Milan is claiming to be the rightful owner of his inherited cottage on the grounds of the villa. What neither of them knows is their meeting will trigger a discovery of their mothers’ shared past.

I was pleasantly surprised when I read this book. I loved it. It would not have been on my reading list but I thought I might like it and requested it on NetGalley. This novel thoroughly encaptivated me. It held my attention until the very end! Thanks NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel.

Valetto a small (fictional) town in Umbria sitting high on a clifftop of volcanic rock, was ravaged by an earthquake in 1971 and mostly abandoned by its inhabitants with only a handful remaining. It’s where the three Serafino sisters, Rose, Iris and Violet, live with their mother Ida in their crumbling, but once magnificent villa. All widows, they have separate apartments in the villa and handyman Milo to look after them along with his wife Donata who cooks for them. The fourth Serafino sister, Hazel married an American, but would visit with her son Hugh in the summer, staying in a cottage on the estate.

Hugh, a historian, grieving the loss of his wife not long after that of his mother has been left the cottage in his mother’s will. He has come to spend a sabbatical in Italy, planning on staying in the cottage to write, visiting his aunts and grandmother and celebrating Ida’s 100th birthday. However, just before he arrived, he was told there is a woman squatter in the cottage, Elisa Tomassi, who claims his grandfather Aldo, Ida’s husband, left the cottage to them in return for sheltering him during WW2. The family never knew what happened to Aldo after he left to join the resistance in northern Italy, however Elisa, claims to be the daughter of Alessia, one of the refugee children sent to stay with the Serafinos after their village in northern Italy was heavily bombed.

This a novel about the unearthing of long held secrets and their ability to resonate down the ages. As a historian, Hugh is driven to travel north to investigate Elisa’s claims and learn about what happened to Aldo after he left Valetto. While Elisa doesn’t have a legal claim to the cottage, the family also need to decide if she has a moral claim that should honour. He will also discover a side to his own mother that he never saw as well as a dark secret and a war crime committed by a fascist collaborator hiding in their midst.

Beautifully written, the prose is rich and descriptive, painting an atmospheric picture of the abandoned village, the decaying villa and the rugged and wildly beautiful countryside. The characters are exquisitely drawn, especially the Serafino widows, who are individual mixtures of volatile women who know their own minds, sometimes cantankerous, especially with one another, but also humorous and generous and totally united when the family is under threat. The description of Ida’s birthday is a complete delight with its description of the decorating of the village, the donkey procession and the sumptuous feast comprised of traditional Italian recipes, followed by an expertly plotted, well timed delivery of revenge for crimes of the past. Highly recommended.

If you love to travel in books this one is the perfect book for you. It takes place in an almost abandoned village in Italy. I was completely transported there. The writing was beautiful and so atmospheric. It often made me hungry for Italian food and left me longing for a visit back to Italy.

Hugh is a historian who returns to his mother’s hometown where his grandmother and her three sisters still live. When he gets there a woman has arrived and claimed the cottage that his mother willed to him. This sparks an investigation that unearths a mystery and eventually long-held secrets from the past that lead Hugh to understand his difficult mother.

This is my first Dominic Smith book and it will definitely not be my last.

4.5/5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and Farrah, Straus, and Giroux for an eARC of this book.

I literally stayed up until 2 AM to finish this book. I have enjoyed the Italian setting and family dynamics of the novels of Adriana Trigiani in the past and this book is very similar in style and substance.
Set in a bereft village of Valetto which is down to a handful of inhabitants, we find the Serafino villa in which centenarian Ida and three of her 4 daughters are living out their lives. College professor grandson, arrives to spend hi sabbatical preparing for his grandmother's 100 birthday celebration and do more research on abandoned hilltop villages of Italy. One problem, the cottage he planned to stay in has been taken over by a usurper who claims his grandfather bequeathed it to her family for their help during the war.
In the attempt to oust her, deeply hidden family secrets are revealed and a dramatic ending is in store. And a little romance.

"Return to Valetto" by Dominic Smith is a beautiful story of how the present cannot ever truly escape the past. The author's way with words transported me from a bustling American city to a mostly-abandoned village in Italy, immersing me in its crumbling buildings and hauntings from its history. The story unfolds slowly, but I was never bored but instead swept up and along by this family saga. I was completely invested in the characters and shed a few tears when a horrible family tragedy was revealed. I recommend this book to readers of historical fiction who prefer atmospheric reads and highly detailed descriptive writing. This was my first book by Dominic Smith, but it certainly will not be my last!

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the privilege of reading an advanced digital copy of this lovely book in exchange for my honest review.

The setting is a fictional village in Umbria but it could serve as a model for the countless towns throughout Italy occupied only by the aging as the younger generations have migrated either to the big cities or to other countries. So many emotions and sub-plots evolve -love, loss , family loyalty,betrayal during the war by a fascist traitor 50 years previously and its after effects on two families -you would have to read the book to appreciate them all. A personal “ read” for me. I visited my father’s small town of 5000 in Italy 55 years ago, and returned with my wife and daughter 5 years ago. Yes, there are cars now and modern amenities, but the author’s Valleto could have been my family’s town today. A very emotional book for me.