Publisher's Synopsis
A story of village life - love , loss, visions, gossip and greed - set against the festivities and traditions of the Italian countryside. The villagers of San Lorenzo have much to gossip about - the widow Lea's affair with the mayor, her daughter Santarella's visions of the virgin Mary, the Ferrati family's financial decline, Alma Ferrati's affair with the lawyer Miso. As the seasons move forward, decisions are made about money, love and the future of the community. Will the bishop declare the village a shrine? Will Alma make the right choice? What will happen to little Santarella. The Shrine elaborates the tension between the old world and the new, between spiritual values and the greed that can drive the life of a small community. A compassionate portrayal of human weakness, this is a gentle and charming novel' Sunday Express.
