Cemobbio, Italy

• The surpassingly lovely Villa d'este, a luxury hotel in an elegant 16th-century villa on the shores of Lake Como, has published a lush coffetable cookbook. Written by Jean Govoni Salvadore, who has been public relations director of the hotel for 30 years, the Villa d'este Cookbook offers 100 recipes that are specialties of the hotel's chef, Luciano Parolari. It's published by Smithmark Publishers.