Italian Chronicles

A horrifying encounter drags soon-to-be-married Maria Landro into the shocking world of religious corruption and an unrelenting village code of honor that threatens to rob her of everything she holds dear. Shunned by the very people who should have embraced her, she withdraws into the confines of Bella Terra, her family's farm, and remains there for several years... until she is forced to leave to ensure the formal education of her son. In a desperate attempt to protect her child from vicious tongues and malicious hate-mongers and her family farm from bankruptcy, she determines to seek vengeance against the one who ruined her life. But, when Luca Tonetta enters her life, Maria learns a powerful lesson about forgiveness and grace.

The dream of a better life for himself and his family drives Luca Tonetta to the American Promised Land with his wife Maria and their three children. But the new Promised Land is nothing like what Maria had imagined. Forced to live in a roach-infested tenement house in the seedy section of Brooklyn, Maria faces hardships, prejudice, and slanderous assaults as she struggles to reconcile a life torn between two worlds. When her husband Luca is accused of a crime he did not commit, Maria learns that a dream must first die before it can live.

A mother, her son, and the man, who threatens to come between them... When Maria Landro Tonetta receives word that Mama is terminally ill, Maria travels to her Sicilian homeland with her son Nico. She finds herself yearning for the life, she once knew as a child on Bella Terra, the family farm, now on the verge of bankruptcy. Caught between two worlds, Maria dreams of moving back to Sicily with her husband and children to save the farm. When, however, Nico's biological father unexpectedly appears at Mama's funeral, Maria faces a new enemy to her dream. But, is there an even greater enemy within her own soul?

Now, all three novels of THE ITALIAN CHRONICLES Trilogy in one book! Follow the page-turning saga of Maria Landro as she faces losing her fortune, her family, and her faith.Book 1: THE MADONNA OF PISANOA young woman, a priest, and a secret that keeps them bitterly bound to each other….A young, 19th-century Sicilian woman, Maria Landro, has a bright future ahead of her. Engaged to be married to her childhood sweetheart, Carlo Mancini, Maria is suddenly blindsided by her pastor and former teacher, Don Franco Malbone, a ruthless cleric bent on fulfilling his own selfish ambitions. When he brutally turns her world upside down by raping her, resulting in the conception and birth of their illegitimate son Nico, Maria faces the cruel double standard of a village whose code of honor reviles her and her innocent child and forces them into seclusion while allowing Don Franco to continue in his hypocrisy.In the depths of her profound suffering, Maria comes face to face with demons she never knew existed within her, demons she does not know how to handle. When, however, she meets Luca Tonetta, she discovers the courage to face her demons by embracing the truth that demons must bow to the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ.Meanwhile, Don Franco secretly wrestles with demons of his own. An only son forced into the priesthood by a demanding father, Don Franco sees the priesthood as nothing more than a means to be the somebody he's always wanted to be. When his sin nature emerges in full force, revealing his utter depravity and sending him reeling toward destruction, he must make the choice every human being must make: Will he choose his own way or God's way?Book 2: A SICILIAN FAREWELLA young woman, a new land, and a dream that threatens to destroy her, her marriage, and her family . . .When Maria Landro Tonetta reluctantly follows her husband Luca to the New World, she encounters obstacles unlike anything she could ever have imagined. Not only does she meet with rejection and isolation, but when Luca is unjustly accused of a crime, her whole world falls apart. Will she be able to trust God to see her through?Book 3: RETURN TO BELLA TERRAA mother, her son , and the man who threatens to come between them . . .When Maria Landro Tonetta receives word that Mama is terminally ill, Maria travels to her Sicilian homeland with her son Nico. She finds herself yearning for the life she once knew as a child on Bella Terra, the family farm, now on the verge of bankruptcy.Caught between two worlds, Maria dreams of moving back to Sicily with her husband and children to save the farm.When, however, Nico's biological father unexpectedly appears at Mama's funeral, Maria faces a new enemy to her dream.But is there an even greater enemy within her own soul? MaryAnn Diorio writes award-winning fiction from a quaint small town in New Jersey where neighbors still stop to chat while walking their dogs, families and friends still gather on wide, wrap-around porches, and the charming downtown still finds kids licking lollipops and old married folks holding hands. A Jersey girl at heart, MaryAnn loves Jersey diners, Jersey tomatoes, and the Jersey shore. You can learn more about her and her writing at maryanndiorio.com.