Bella figura: how to live, love and eat the Italian way

In 2008, Kamin Mohammadi found herself worn down - by the increasingly unrealistic expectations of her high-flying job in the magazine industry, by her fluctuating weight and health issues, and by her non-existent love life.

Made redundant from her job, she fled the bleak streets of London for a friend's sun-dappled apartment in Florence.

There, among the cobbled streets, the bustling, vibrant markets and the majestic palazzos, Kamin found a new lease of life.

Leaving behind her ascetic diets and compulsive exercising, she began to imitate the ways of the carefree Italian women she saw around her - the morning café rituals, the long lunches - taking pleasure in the finer things.

Within weeks she had regained her health, her natural figure and her zest for life - and even a lover or two.