by N. Shroyer Howard "That morning. on a hill far away. the day had begun far from evil. for Cinta. He had managed to fill his tummy beautiful black bruised apples fourteen. twenty-six soft figs. ten sprouted potatoes. beans and sweet two pomegranates ... " Mischief in Tuscany. or the incursions of a pig in a famous Sienese fresco: the age is that of fairy tales. and like a fairy tale. the pig will be in our greatest adventure of his life. the journey into town. But Cinta is not a piglet any: he was born seven hundred years ago by the brush of a great painter. Ambrogio Lorenzetti. who represents it in the magnificent frescoes in one of the most famous of Siena. Palazzo Pubblico. Not only that his descendants are equally famous. though for other reasons. The fact is that his race of the Cinta Senese. as evidenced by his black coat adorned with a white band that runs around the back. a breed that needs no introduction. and who the Sienese boast one of the best in the world ...Greedy and lazy. but carefree and curious. Cinta launches into an endless series of pranks between the colorful characters who crowd the city fourteenth century. only to re-evaluate the magnificent Tuscan countryside. which its creator painted around him.Nancy Shroyer Howard has worked as an educational preparation for the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and The Museums at Stony Brook in New York. Author of children's books devoted to art. to play Mandragora published in Florence (2000). a city guide for families and Exploring Tuscany's Chianti Countryside (2003). four routes through the Tuscan countryside illustrated by paintings and watercolors' s artist Richard Mello. Nancy and Richard share their life between Chianti and Colorado.