Because of the diversity of Italian cuisine, the food is, perhaps, best approached in terms of its regions. Two of the following books deal with the cooking of specific areas, while the third deals with country-style cooking in all of the regions.

Since venturing into the crowded U.S. pasta market in 1996, Barilla (Parma, Italy) has survived a rapidly thinning, but still viable, dry pasta market valued at $1.1 billion. The company has even managed to

Damiano Martin, 252 pages, New York: HarperCollins, $34.95. Author Martin is the son of restaurateurs Mara and Maurizio Martin, who opened Osteria da Fiore in Venice, Italy, in 1978. It since has become a destination for world travelers.

Dr. Cousens insists that raw eating is far from dull. Rainbow Green Live-Food Cuisine features more than 250 recipes that have been tested and perfected by chefs at the card located in his Tree of Life

Italy's charms-its people, its art, and especially its food-tend to cast a spell on visitors, and San Franciscans Donald Frediani and Renata Gasperi are no exception. They've been captivated by this seductive land, which they've visited 14 times in the past 25 years.