No comments about Aeolian Islands: Sicily's Volcanic Paradise (Imago Mundi).

No comments about The imperial age of Venice, 1380-1580 ([History of European civilization library]).

3 comments about Permanent Italians: An Illustrated Guide to the Cemeteries of Italy (The Permanent Series).

1. liberal gardim/pascoa amet



2. Another fine addition to Culbertson and Randall's series of cemetery guides, this volume covers sixteen sites in Rome (including the Pantheon, St. Peter's Basilica and the Protestant Cemetery) and its environs, Umbria and Tuscany, Florence (including Santa Croce, the English Cemetery and the Duomo), Emilia-Romagna (Bologna, Ferrara, Ravenna, Predappio and Rimini), Northern regions (including Milan and Padua), and Venice (including the cemetery island of San Michele).

   This is an invaluabe guide for travel in Italy. There are directions for getting to each site, maps of the cemeteries, and many photographs. There is a good bibliography and a complete index.




3. Going to Italy? Be sure to check out "Permanent Italians".
   
   Delightful writing. Information packed. Great guide to take along to Italy to learn about another aspect of Italy.

No comments about Postcards from Italy (Postcards from).

No comments about Berlitz Tuscany and Umbria Pocket Guide (Berlitz Pocket Guides).

2 comments about Frommer's Walking Tours: Venice (Frommer's Memorable Walks Venice).

1. I found Frommer's walking tours of Paris invaluable, and the same proved to be true for this Venice book. I was there for eight days, and followed one of these walking tours every day. There was a superb sense of ambling around, seeing Venice in its everyday aspect, usually away from crowds of tourists. The book provided a focus for my walks, eliminating the feeling of wandering around and not knowing exactly where to go, and for me there were many wonderful moments -- lingering by canals, coming upon cats sunning themselves on unbusy walkways, seeing the whole of Venice from the top of the bell tower of San Giorgio. The point became not seeing the sights but soaking up the atmosphere. Using Frommer's (and other) walk books have made a huge difference in the pleasure I take in travel, and I urge all travelers to use them.



2. Venice is the perfect city for walking tours, with a myriad of twisting streets and alleys. This guide provides a series of great walking tours, allowing you to wander at your own pace accompanied by a "paper tour guide". Skip tour packages or local guides, and head out on your own with this guide in hand. My wife and I spent two days in Venice on our own, and basically followed almost every tour in the book. We spoke no Italian, had never been to Venice before, and yet we found our way around the city and discovered quaint squares and tiny cathedrals that most visitors never find. If you like to learn about a city as you explore, but hate following some tour guide leading a herd of fellow travelers, get this book and head out on your own.

No comments about When in Rome: The Ultimate Study-Abroad Guide.

No comments about Florence (Wonders of man).

2 comments about Walk & Talk: Florence (Walk and Talk).

1. Take this audio guided tour as you walk through Florence. The included maps and language instruction complete this all encompassing guide.



2. I highly recommend these audio tours! When we received the CDs, we loaded the files onto our iPod and printed out the map and directions. (Use the printed directions-- SO much easier to navigate the streets than the map.) We also had bought an earphone/audio-out splitter so we could listen to the iPod at the same time. We romantically walked through the streets arm-in-arm, listening to our walking tours.
   
   My husband and I opted to use these walking tours instead of a guided tour, and I'm glad we did. We were able to walk the tours at our own pace-- stopping to shop or eat lunch, or even skip by a few things we weren't interested in. So many times landmarks, museums, etc., were pointed out to us on the audio tour that we would have walked right on by. The narrator also encouraged us several times to go into museums and churches we might have been un-eager to enter, but were very glad we did! Each tour is about 1.5 - 2 hours, while the individual segments within each tour were 2-5 minutes long. You won't be disappointed!

No comments about Palaces and Churches on the Grand Canal in Venice.