Women in Sunlight by Frances Mayes

Three older women in North Carolina have reached the point in their respective lives where they're considering moving into a retirement community. They meet each other while on a tour of the place and a friendship sparks. Then they decide to move to Tuscany for a year and share a rented villa.  This is the story of that year. Part of the story is told by their next door neighbor, a poet named Kit, who lives with her architect boyfriend Colin. The women take to Italy like a fish to water and they all blossom, finding new careers, new interests, and new friends. They also eat food that sounds delectable.

Women is a good summer read. And it makes me really want to go to Italy.