After an endless hunt for an affordable one-bedroom in Florence, Italy, ran her ragged, Mary Gray launched her “Rental Diaries” column on all things apartment-related. Triumphs. Disasters. Minor inconveniences. Meddling neighbors. This compilation of the column’s first 30 volumes is no flowery manifesto about the healing powers of la dolce vita. But it celebrates the dual joy and despair of renting in the Renaissance city—and the unexpected sweetness of building a home when you’re unsure where or what “home” really is.
