Hi
for Italy, I've used the Michelin Green guide. Very good for descriptions and drives. Last year in Rome I used the Cadogan Guide. Like them both very much. I've also used Fodors for basic information. My problem with the DK Eyewitness guides are that the descriptions are not complete. It reminds me more of eye candy. I bought my first last year when I went to Croatia as well as Footprints and used the Footprints for the historical sights more.
alan

I always read Rick Steves first, because otherwise, I get overwhelmed by all the possibilities. I use Rick to get ideas for a manageable itinerary, then I look to other sources to flesh out and (invariably) modify the itinerary.

Are you totally new to Italy? If so, then you might benefit from, believe it or not, Italy for Dummies. It's less obnoxious than it sounds! It's all about practicalities, without a lot of local color, but if you're starting "cold" that might be beneficial. Ideally you could get it from the library, and the "graduate" to a more evocative book. For that, the above recommendations are excellent.

rsb99,
Yeah I'm pretty green when it comes to knowing where to begin. Thanks for the suggestion. I just bought the Eyewitness guide and Frommers and will give them a good going over. A friend also suggested I watch Rick Steve's videos on Italy. This is going to be fun.
-Bill

We use the Eyewitness Guide along with our friends'recommendations who know what we like.

I vote for Lonely Planet. The Green Guides put me to sleep and the DK books---like ALL DK books (esp. texts for children) are a commercial triumph of style over substance.

I agree with kswl about Lonely Planet. If you want details on all of the regions, Lonely Planet talks about all of them, and you can get a good idea about all of Italy.

With Rick Steves, you only get his list of cities and places to visit, which is a small list that leaves out many of Italy's regions. If you are interested in getting a sense of all of Italy, it, in my opinion, is not the place to start.

Another good guide is Rough Guides, but they go into quite a bit of detail, and therefore leave it a little hard to decide where to go.

iamg,
Don't waste your money on picture books, I don't know where these people are coming from that recommend that...what a sheer waste of money. Do your initial search for info online as there are way too many regions to really get a good detailed book without having 10+ books. Once you've done that the best books that really concentrate on areas and give more than the top tourist attractions, good info on off the beaten trail options are Cadogan's and Rough Guides.

Clarification: I recommend big picture books as a place to start for inspiration - - and I recommend borrowing them from a public library.

Like Rex, and I asume many others, I use picture books (mostly from the library) to inspire and give me ideas.

Its sorta of a "I'll know it when I see it" approach. Going sight unseen can set you up for disappointment.