Mary Tonetti Dorra

Born in Macon, Georgia, Mary Tonetti Dorra grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, and graduated from the Hockaday School in Dallas and Vassar College in New York with a degree in philosophy. After graduating from Vassar, she taught in Costa Rica and Uruguay before moving to Italy, where she spent three years studying at the University of Florence and working as a research reporter in Time-Life's Rome bureau. She returned to the United States, and after a brief time in New York at Harper's Bazaar and...See more

Born in Macon, Georgia, Mary Tonetti Dorra grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, and graduated from the Hockaday School in Dallas and Vassar College in New York with a degree in philosophy. After graduating from Vassar, she taught in Costa Rica and Uruguay before moving to Italy, where she spent three years studying at the University of Florence and working as a research reporter in Time-Life's Rome bureau. She returned to the United States, and after a brief time in New York at Harper's Bazaar and Revlon, Inc, she moved to Los Angeles and enrolled at UCLA, where she earned a master's degree in, and taught, Italian. She and her husband began their married life in 1965 in Santa Barbara, where they both taught at the University of California Santa Barbara. In 1980, Dorra returned to writing, as well as lecturing. Her articles have appeared in numerous periodicals, including Gourmet Magazine, The New York Times, HG, Elle D�cor, The Los Angeles Times, and Travel and Leisure. Her two previous books, Beautiful American Gardens and Beautiful American Rose Gardens, were published by Clarkson Potter. She currently lives in Santa Barbara, where she continues to write. See less