No comments about Welcome to Ancient Rome (Passport Books).

No comments about Atlas Pocket Classics: Italy: Italian Journey; Rome, Naples, & Florence; Italian Hours.

No comments about Tasting Italy (Armchair Traveller).

No comments about Baedeker's Italy.

2 comments about Unknown Tuscany.

1. I purchased Patrick Alt's Unknown Tuscany, after seeing its intriguing cover image of a pair of time worn shutters which attempt to cover a window which beckons one to look further. I have traveled to Tuscany and thought I had seen it well. However, Patrick has shown me more through his photographic gift. Patrick explains in his preface that he selects his subjects mostly based on how they affect him emotionally but also "since the images were all to be rendered in platinum, one of the most beautiful photographic processes, each picture had to work with its subtle and long contrast range as well." His statements reveal that after these selections have been made, his keen use of all his senses, as in his mind he identifies with each scene. He then, while rendering in the platinum media, transcends usual modes of communication and thereby brings to others in images a richness of experience, that would have been yet unknown. I highly recommend this book.



2. The book itself is a work of art and the photographs are extrodinary. I've collected platinum photographs over the years, including some by Alt, and the reproductions in this book are the closest I've ever seen to replicating the look and feel of platinum photographs. Alt has a unique sense of perspective and has captured the beauty of Tuscany in very interesting ways. The book has given me hours of pleasure.

No comments about Rome Revealed.

5 comments about Lonely Planet Rome.

1. This is one of the worst travel guides that I have ever used. It is very poorly organized...I found it confusing to use. It contains a lot of information if read cover to cover but, for example, when used at a site such as the Vatican, it was useless as a guide. When I needed it to help me find a very popular spot in Vatican City, it was of no help. I only had a few days in Rome and I wanted information on which sites were "must sees". it was of no help here, either. Save your money and get a better guide like the Insight guide or Let's go.



2. I have just come home after a week in Rome. Travelled there with a backpack filled with travel books and novels about Rome. I do travel alot, and usually the Lonely Planet guides have been very helpful. But this one was not. At least not helpful to take with me when I walked around. The book has alot of information, but it is hard to find the information when you need it, the text is usually quite boring, the maps are of very little use, and the book all in all looks dull.
   There is one exeption though, the boxed texts can sometimes be very useful and even written with some charm. The first day I was in Rome LP's Rome followed me in my backpack, but in the evening I took it out - it was of no use when I wandered around, and I had several books so much more interesting and helpful.

   I really hope the next edition of the book will be better, knowing other LP books I will give it another chance.

   Britt Arnhild Lindland




3. This book has major flaws as a guidebook. It is relatively rich in informaiton and interesting as a read if you want to know about Rome and useful if it is used as a referrence alongside other guidebook (which is what we did in the end), but if you want to walk around the city with this book in hand, you can hardly find what you want to see and figure out where you are and what it is in front of you.

   Because in places like Rome you have all sorts of historic things lying about all over, you need one, a useful guide how you can go about without missing "must sees" (model course with good map and good instructions), two, a clue/instruction how to recognise something important and not to go past it without realising what it is - many ruins and churches look similar if you don't know them (again good map that can be easily referred back to entries of the text), and three, you want to know what it is when you came across something interesting while roaming around the city. This book was no help in any case. Imagine - if you come across something interesting which has no tags saying what it is, which is often the case in Rome, especially where there are so many ruins in proximity, you have to determine either from your location (good map is needed) or marker (what is near-by). Neither of them is provided in the guidebook. Everytime we came across a church or ruins that looked interesting (some of them really famous), we had to spend quite a long time trying to figure out where we were and what it was, sometimes in vain (maps unclear and complicated, the text just listed items with no indication where are they, how to find them etc.) Later we realised that we had missed out some of the must-sees even though we visited places nearby because there are no clue on what we can see if we are in a particular place and the maps were quite useless. Also, in some occasions we actually saw a wrong thing believing it was what we wanted to see, to be later surprised to come across the real thing (again poor map and lack of a marker and proper guide) or just passed across something without realising what it was.

   We also found some of the information on restaurants were outdated. Once we entered this highly recommended restaurant, which was flooded with tourists and food was really bad (I had very very dry, hard steak - I could not believe it, as although I am not a big meat eater, I find meat dishes in Italy usually wonderful). The service was pretty bad too (sort of "be greatful we are feeding you" attitude). When we asked for a bill the server (I think he was owner as well) dared to say that "Service cahrge is not included", demanding for tips. We left without paying any tip, greatly regretting we missed one precious meal in Rome and relearning a great lesson - if there are a lot of tourists and no locals, just walk away.

   Having said this, with more thoughts into how to make things more clear, I think it can be turned into a good guidebook. Improved quality of the maps (and probably more maps to highlight important areas), which can be easily referred back to the text and vice versa, and reworking structure of the text and giving more instructions/markers where and how to find monuments will be absolutely necessary. But if you're looking for a propper guidebook to take you through Rome, you better wait for a revised edition or get something else.




4. For some reason, Lonely Planet just cannot win with any Italian destination. Tuscany, Venice, and now Rome - all just plain bad. The book is more or less unusable: the good photo of the cover is probably the best thing of the guide. The rest is worthless waste of paper: "deep thoughts" and irrelevant ticket and accommodation advice (should be called "How To Pay More For Everything"), recycled and reused from all other LP guides, a fair bit of pinko rhetoric coupled with tired, uninspired and amateurish writing about the very things that make Rome enchanting. I do not know any other guide which would be just so hopelessly incompetent about sightseeing information as Lonely Planet. This is a triumph of cheap "been-here-done-that" backpacker, the swan song of the great unwashed.

   Other guides are like well-informed friends that tell you about all the breathtaking sights of the most beautiful cities in the world. This one would be just a grumpy old malodorous fella who volunteers to spend his time with you: you've heard all his stories and he is a prejudiced and annoying smelly bore, but he'll spend time with you as long as you keep buying him drinks.




5. They left out a lot of history and a lot of landmarks in favor of "gee whiz" and cheap, nasty eateries. The hotel reviews were worthless as well. I would not recommend this as a travel book unless you are going the el-cheapo backpacker route. Even then, I'd say look for something else: perhaps the "Let's Go" for Rome would have been better. My main criticism of Lonely Planet is that it concentrates on the low-cost and the low-brow. This one failed at proper low-cost education, and didn't provide anything to make up for it. The maps were crummy as well.
   
   I mean, it's Rome. Granted, Rome is huge and wonderful, but I could have written a better book based on a few week visit.

No comments about Venice Sketchbook.

3 comments about Blue Guide Southern Italy, Tenth Edition.

1. As an Italian who comes from Southern Italy I found the Blue Guide covering this area to be absolutely on target and extremely detailed. I have been so impressed by the Blue Guides, that it has become the first item I pack when ready for travel



2. is there any mention in this book regarding the region of cosenza in calabria, my mother's hometown? i would be most pleased if i could find anything about cosenza in this book or any other you may know of. in the very near future my husband and i will want to visit and it would be nice if i could get any information prior to our going there. thankyou for allowing me to ask this question. linda tremonti



3. The American traveller to southern Italy should be warned that this region is much different from the more heavily visited and promoted areas of Tuscany, Cinque Terre, and the Amalfi Coast. While those northerly provinces are focussed on tourism and cater to visitors, the south in general can seem almost indifferent. That is not to suggest that it be avoided. The Mezzogiorno is a charming, down-to-earth region that has much to recommend it, particularly to the visitor interested in obtaining a more realistic, everyday sort of insight into Italian life and culture.
   That said, because most of the larger guidebooks that give an overview of the entire Italian peninsula provide only sparse information about the southern third, I would not recommend venturing there without Blue Guide Southern Italy. This little volume provides invaluable background and detail about the major cities such as Bari and Lecce, and also covers the lesser known, smaller towns, beaches, and countryside. From the Sassi of Matera to the Trulli of Alberobello to Bitonto's beautifully maintained, 1000 year old cathedral, Paul Blanchard's readable, accurate, entertaining text is enriching and invaluable.

2 comments about The Independent Walker's Guide to Italy: 35 Breathtaking Walks in Italy's Captivating Landscape (The Independent Walker Series).

1. We spent 2 weeks in Italy and did 6 walks. We would love to do more. This was a very easy guide to follow and you could make this the only book you need. Can't wait to try another one soon.



2. We spent 6 days in Italy, and ended up only doing 2 of the walks (plus visited the site of a 3rd), but found this book a great resource for getting away from the crowds, without being in the back of beyond. It provided ideas for some truly unique places to go that weren't on the usual "tourist's map" of Italy. Also, one of the hotel recommendations in the beginning (there aren't many -- the book is not at all a comprehensive guide) was a great find. We did find at least one discrepancy in a trail marking (at the end of the Florence walk), so be alert and flexible!