“Can you *69 Genovia?” Ciao a tutti! Our next review of the miniseries The RomCom Roundtable Goes to Italy is here! We’ve got a special guest! Today, Kelly joins the pod! Caitie and Kelly have been long-time friends since high school and went to college and grad together! In this episode, we talk about Under the Tuscan Sun. Kelly studied in Florence, and Under the Tuscan Sun is one of her favorite films. We had a great time chatting with Kelly about her time in Italy and the connection of the film to her time studying in Italy. Set in Cortona, Under the Tuscan Sun is based on the memoir of Frances Mayes, who purchased a villa in Italy. The memoir includes her story about renovating the villa with her husband and living life in Tuscany, where she still lives today. Diane Lane stars as Mayes, who in the film takes the leap to purchase Bramasole while on a tour of Tuscany following her divorce with the hope that purchasing the villa will change her life and that she will find what she is looking for: home, love, and family. The film was written and directed by Audrey Wells. The film stars Sandra Oh, Lindsay Duncan, Raoul Bova, Vincent Riotta, Giulia Steigerwalt, Pawel Szajda, and Kate Walsh. In this episode, we talk about the differences between the memoir and the film, the themes and symbolism throughout the film, building home and finding community, and LGBTQ representation in the film. Under the Tuscan Sun is available for rent or purchase for streaming. Check out your local library to borrow the film as well. Check out your local library or independent bookshop to read Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes. More of Frances’ books are available on her website. Caitie recommends subscribing to Frances’ Substack: Frances Mayes | Substack! Thank you Kelly for joining us for the episode, sharing about your time in Italy and what Under the Tuscan Sun has meant to you! That’s what the pod is all about, sharing what RomComs mean to us and the impact they have on our lives! Don’t forget to follow the pod for future episodes and check out our socials on Instagram @theromcomroundtable. We’re growing our social media and in the future will have Patreon! We are also building our Letterboxd. Enjoy the episode! Comment below if you’ve been to Italy, if you watched Under the Tuscan Sun and what you thought about today’s episode. Thank you to Shop Broken Spine in Tinker & Trade and Arobone Adventures for sponsoring this episode! We have also launched a Buy Me a Coffee! If you’d like to contribute, we appreciate your support, which allows us to bring you the best content here on the pod! Thank you!! You have a seat at the table! Send us questions for a future mailbag episode; your favorite books, movies, and music, which could be on a future episode; and your feedback! This podcast features music created using Groovepad. Available on Google Play, Groovepad - Google Play & iOS Groovepad - iOS. Episode cover art is designed on Canva. Thank you to Justin (@reliable_sounds on Fiverr) for support in editing this episode. © 2025 The RomCom Roundtable. All rights reserved.
