Need book suggestions for Italy
 

Hi all,

Well after chatting extensively with my parents we have decided to condense our European vacation to one coutry - Italy. We plan to go September of 2004. Although I'd love to visit Paris for a day or two as well. Can any of you recommend some good books or other resources on Italy? My mom and I have never been there but my stepdad did when he was in the army. He does remember a few things about it and longs to return. He has spoken to us about Venice.

My knowledge of Italy is quite raw so I'll need some good tips. Is it possible to see a good portion of the country in 2 weeks? I'm a bit scared of renting a car for fear of getting lost and wasting too much time trying to understand maps. IS train travel the way to go and is it easy?

I know for sure we want to visit Rome and Venice. We are all architechtural people so viewing magnificent monuments and vistas is high priority on our list. I'd also like to go to little quaint towns to get to know the culture a little bit better - I know not possible in two weeks but whatever we can soak in will do.

Thanks in advance for your expert advice.

If you're interested in architecture, then Rome and Venice do deserve to be on the top of your list. Rome has a bit of everything, and the architecture in Venice is very unique. Don't forget Florence for its Renaissance architectural masterpieces. My opinion only--you need a minimum of 4 days in Rome, 3 in Venice, and 2 in Florence. 5 in Rome and 4 in Venice would be much better, and 3 in Florence if someone is a real Renaissance nut. Assuming you have a full 14 days in Italy, either schedule would give you some time for smaller places.

You wouldn't have to drive unless you really wanted to get out on your own in the countryside.

In 2 weeks you can get a good start. The big 3 art cities will take 10 to 12 days of your time and are easily done by trains. The ideal scenario is to fly into Venice and depart Rome or reverse.
You can hire a tour guide to see the Tuscan hill towns by car while staying in Florence. You can also day trip by train to Lucca and/or Siena from Florence. That will kill 2 weeks real fast. It really takes 6 weeks to see Italy, but you will have time for some of the highlights. Good luck !

It sounds like you're looking for travel guides, as opposed to novels or biographies. If you want to get a feel for the country from your easy chair at home, try the Insight Guide. Lots of information, lots of history, and sumptuous photographs.

I've been using several guide books to plan our upcoming trip to Italy, but have found the Rick Steve's guides to be wonderful and very well organized. So, I've essentially used them the most.

I've been using his guides for both Florence and Venice, and I know he has others for Italy, as well. You might want to give those a try.

If you are interested in architecture, I wouldn't rely on Rick Steves' books as I have found them to be sorely lacking in accuracy. The best books for people interested in art and historical detail would be the Blue Guide series. There are Blue Guides for Rome, Florence and Venice. I would pick up a good overall guide to Italy (Eyewitness, Cadagon) and use it to research what I want to see and then bring the three Blue Guides with me for the architectural information.

Livette:

I'll take a different tack. If you want to read about the ambience of Italy try Frances Mayes' 3 books: Under the Tuscan Sun, Bella Tuscany and In Tuscany (beautiful photos!).

My public library has all 3 in book and CD form...you might check yours. The library is a good resource for guide books, too.

Mayes has an intriguing writing syle which transports me to Italy every time I read or listen to her books.

topping

if you are going to florence you might enjoy "brunelleschi's dome" by ross king.

We're going on our first trip to Italy in a few weeks. I simply went to my local mega-bookstore and browsed all the available guidebooks over a cup of cappucchino, looking for the ones that seemed to have the best coverage of what interested me most (I didn't need info on upscale hotels and restaurants, for example).

Because my husband and kids know nothing about art history or architecture, I also browsed the bookstore's bargain racks for cheap books on Italian art. I found an $8 book on Michelangelo that has good photos and discussion of his major works. Art books can be expensive, so look for them in your public library too.

I also splurged $25 on the Knopf guide to Florence because of its beautiful color photos of all the major artwork and sights there. The photos will really help my family figure out which sights they most want to see.

I swear by the Rough Guides. Every hotel, restaurants, sight I have got out of there has been nothing less than fantastic. They always have a great range too. Cheap to moderate to exensive so you can lash out if you want or go budget if you're not fussed. They give extremely accurate reviews of places and will go so far to say 'best out of the lot'.

Whenever I think of going somewhere I pop out and buy the rough guide for the destination.

I regaled my travelling companions with interesting stories on Tuscany and Umbria last time I went. From the history of St Francis to the story behind the Ufizzi bombing.

http://www.roughguides.com/

I must admit that I'm a travel guide junkie. I enjoy all of those listed and also use the access guides. There's a new Rome one being published this month!
Lisa

I swear by Rick Steves.

Re what you might see in two weeks, here's what I wrote on your other thread:

Author: cmt
Date: 05/30/2003, 01:19 pm
Message: If you have just two weeks I'd stick to just ONE country, or at most adjoining regions of two countries. I think Italy is a very good choice for a two-week trip in late September, but it would be best not to try to cover bits and pieces of the country from north to south in such a short time. One possiblity in the north-central part of the country might be: Florence, plus smaller towns in the Tuscany region, plus a few places in the Umbria region. If you want to cover more territory, but do it superficially, you could add Venice and maybe parts of the Emilia-Romagna region (e.g., Bologna, Ravenna, Ferrara). Or a great southern option for a two-week trip would be just Sicily. Or again, if you wanted to cover more territory in a two-week trip to the south, you might visit Sicily, plus parts of the Puglia region or parts on the Campania region (e.g., Pompeii, Amalfi coast).

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However, if you'd rather see the most famous three cities--Rome, Venice, and Florence, that could easily fill your two weeks, and that would make a perfectly good first trip to Italy. You would absolutely not need a car if your plan is to see those three cities, since they are well linked by regular trains service. I haven't been to Rome since I was 25, and that was a long time ago. Of the three, Rome is by far my LEAST favorite, and I'd much rather spend time in Venice and Florence. However, that may be a minority opinion.

Re travel guides: I agree with the person who said Blue Guides are the best if you're serious about architecture and want to read details. I do not like Rick Steves guides at all. I like many guide books in different ways, for different purposes, but my favorite basic guides are usually Cadogan and green Michelin. Eyewitness guides are also nice because you can see what the places look like and that might help you decide where you'd like to go, but they're too heavy to carry.

Maybe it's just me, but didn't you feel nickeled and dimed by Rick Steves. I found that he spent to much time in his Italy book giving a little information and telling you if you want more information to buy another one of his books on italy that provided more detail. What's up with that? I was disappointed and by the time I finished his book I wanted nothing to do with him, but having paid for the book I took it with me and not one person I spoke to was very happy with it. His hotel recommendations leave a lot to be desired and his directions are questionable. I would reccommend national geographic, lonely planet as well as fodors before I would recommend a Rick Steves book.

Rick Steves books are excellent for a first time traveler. We use Michelin Green for information on sights.