2 comments about Travellers Puglia (Travellers - Thomas Cook).

1. Skimpy overview of Puglia. Virtually no details and no info about beaches etc to speak of.



2. There are very few books available about Puglia, so I bought this one. It covers the region in about 160 pages. It has a lot of nice color photos. I am not sure I learned more from this book than I had from indepth research on the web. I prefer the Insight and Eyewitness guides because they are indepth and have great maps. Don't get me wrong, this book will help you along, but it is not as good as it could be.

3 comments about Michelin Italy (Michelin).

1. Michelin's Green Guides are essential if traveling in Europe. The Italy Green Guide is colorful, detailed, and very informative. There are numerous maps that are easy to follow and the practical information at the back of the book is extremely helpful. Michelin's 3-star rating system is unmatched and makes it easy to prioritize your trip. I particularly enjoyed the background and historical info. for Milano and Firenze. I highly recommend it.



2. We used this map without incident to travel widely in the north. While it is accurate and contains lots of useful information, a larger type face would have made it easier to use on the fly.



3. The map is great and incredibly detailed. Instead of printing the whole county on one side, it might have been better to divide it into North and South, one on each side, just for ease of viewing.

No comments about Rome Pocket Map and Guide (Eyewitness Pocket Maps & Guides).

No comments about Ancient Rome: Documentary Perspectives.

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!

5 comments about Escape to the Amalfi Coast, 1st Edition: One-of-a-Kind Experiences in Capri, Positano, Sorrento, and the Bay of Naples (Fodor's Escape to the Amalfi Coast).

1. Esentially this is a book of picture postcards with writing so gushy diabetics reading it should keep their insulin handy. The "practical" information is useful but the lodging recommendations sounds like they were written by the Amalfi Chamber of Commerce. If you've been to Amalfi and weren't happy with your photos, you might want this book. Otherwise, skip it.



2. Having traveled on the Amalfi Coast numerous times, being able to open the spectacular pages and relive the memories is something both my husband I will enjoy for years to come. More indepth tour books are available, but nothing can capture the beauty and romance that is in Robert Fisher's book. It will never be out of date and can be treasured for a lifetime.



3. This is not the typical Fodor's guidebook one may have used for previous travel, but rather a compilation of beautiful photos coupled with minimal detailed information. If you are looking for wonderful snapshots of the region prior to travel - this book is for you. If you are looking for a book with even a bit of useful information, i.e. restaurants, hotels, "things to do", weather, shopping, etc. - pass and don't look back - you won't find it here.



4. The photos are beautiful. This is not a typical Fodor's travel guide book. They forgot the "guide". If you want to sit and "uuuu" and "ahh" and want a coffee table book this is good. If you want a guide book...PASS...you'll do better on your own.



5. In the introduction the authors tell us that the purpose of the book is to be both luscious magazine article and guidebook. In my opinion they have done both. However, I have been to the Amalfi Coast more than once, and it is possible that I am swayed by my love of the place.
   
   The photographs in this book are amazing. I love to take pictures of the Amalfi Coast myself. I think that the photographer does a magnificent job of capturing the beauty of the coast. In my opinion the Amalfi Coast of Italy is the most beautiful place on the planet. Once you have experienced it, you will want to return each year.
   
   You cannot use this book as your only source of information to travel to the Amalfi Coast unless you have a large budget that you are working with. The hotels that are referenced in this book are lovely, but they also come with large price tags.
   
   Overall I think this book is valuable as an inspiration to visit this magnificent place. For arranging lodging I would recommend a second book, or a travel agent to get the best bang for your buck. I found a lovely little hotel in Praiano named Onda Verde that is reasonably priced and is easy access to Ravello, Positano, Sorrento, and Pompeii. There is also a boat that leaves from the dock that goes directly to Capri. You can locate this hotel on the web, on send me an email and I will be happy to answer your questions from an American perspective.

4 comments about Access Florence & Venice : Plus Tuscany and the Veneto.

1. This book confuses succinct, targeted travel information with "informationals" about those who may have paid to get in the book. It is not a well organized book.



2. This is a great book if you only want to pack 1 travel guide on your vacation. All points of interest are listed in the same order you would find them as you walk through each neighborhood, and they're clearly labeled on the neighborhood maps. The writing is very engaging and candid, offering just enough art historical background to get a better understanding of points of interest, while restaurant and hotel reviews offer the "inside scoop." Contrary to the previous reviewer, I liked the "personal touch" of having residents list their favorite spots - who cares if they've been paid or not - their suggestions are still good. Color-coding also makes for very handy reference. I loved this book and highly recommend it.



3. This guide series is one of the easiest to use and especially if you have never travelled to the destination before. Broken both into regions or neighborhoods and color coded to distinguish restaurants, hotels, shopping and points of interest. This is very useful when one finds themselves hungry in an unfamilair part of town. The reviews are very good, with great recomendations. You will never want to use another travel guide after this series.




4. This guide is a keeper, if only for the great maps! Arranged by neighborhood, I can see myself needing them when I'm in Italy. Also, I like the "day-trips" section for each city. Other city guides don't have this information, and it's really helpful for that day out. The guide is a bit long, so you have to make sure that your day trip bag is large enough for it.

   What this guide does lack is depth - historical, artistic depth. If you are traveling in Venice or Florence, it is just essential that you know about what you're seeing. That's part of why we go to these amazing historic sites. I would suggest traveling with a Blue Guide for each city that you visit. They are a great packing size, and they offer so much more descriptive information. They don't offer too much practical information, so that's why I'll be taking the Access Guide with me too.

No comments about Memoirs of Hector Berlioz, from 1803 to 1865, comprising his travels in Germany, Italy, Russia, and England..

No comments about Travel Rome, Italy - illustrated guide, phrasebook and maps. FREE general info and a map in the trial version..

5 comments about Palladian Days: Finding a New Life in a Venetian Country House.

1. 
   Informative, amusing, thoughtful, analytic, on occasion sentimental - strikes a perfect balance, a great pleasure to read - unforgettable . . .
   
   Story in brief: Upon stumbling by chance over a classified advertisement Sally goes nuts over the idea of buying an Italian historic monument on sale, a real Palladian villa she can scarcely afford. The grand place is on sale and Sally gets really obsessed over it - she manages to drag her beloved, nonchalant, husband Carl into this too. A noble obsession indeed; Sally eventually overcomes all obstacles and succeeds in making her dream come true: she manages to buy the thing, and the rest is history. No, this is no fiction. Sally and Carl Gable are real persons. American, too - (sigh . . . .).
   
   The book provides a lively and very personal account of the Gables' adventure of taking hold of the renowned Villa Cornaro, built by Andrea Palladio in 1552 for the wealthy Venetian patrician Giorgio Cornaro, the restoration jobs they had to undertake, their process of adapting to life within a rural Italian community, making friends, Veneto adventures and misadventures, history, local customs, culinary delights - and what have you. Along the way the reader gets a lot of information on the villa itself, its immediate surroundings and its history, as well as an overall historic and local background.
   
   I ordered Sally's book almost as an afterthought, bundled to my order of Palladio's "The Four Books on Architecture" (translated by Robert Tavernor) and Tavernor's own "Palladio and Palladianism" (two absolute "musts" on the subject of Palladian architecture, along with Vitruvius' "The Ten Books on Architecture"). That proved to be a lucky day. Sally & Carl Gable's book details original Palladian architecture as seen from the perspective of the actual inhabitants of the architect's creation, and its surrounding community and history - a rare human-centric first-hand account, perfectly complementing scholarly publications on the subject. Informative, interesting and lively, never a boring moment, a lot to learn, a joy to read.
   
   When you are sad that a book is over, you know it has been a great book . . . .
   
   Highly recommended (if that has not been apparent from the above).



2. I had the distinct pleasure of experiencing a private tour of this wonderful villa, with art and architecture students from the University of California at Berkeley, and enjoyed meeting Sally and Carl Gable in June 1997. I waited for years for this volume to appear. The wait was worth it all! I recall the splendor and excellent porportions of the Villa. And the welcoming presence of the Gables. You cannot completely understand their quality as people, and their commitment to preservation of this historically indispensable home, until you stand in their presence. Their knowledge of the history of the Villa, and the renovation and restoration techniques, is limitless. And above all, their understanding of European and Italian workers, and their families, and the town setting in which the Villa sits, is amazing. Here within this book, you have Sally as your affectionate guide. I had no clear idea, until I read the book the first time many months ago, that she would prove to be such a fascinating writer. Such clear and evocative writing! Those of you who are familiar with that zany and rich animal otherwise known as the "Italian Character" will understand immediately that she has penetrated into the core and spirit of the Italian social world that swirls around her home. She and Carl opened themselves up to the intimate worlds of all persons that intersected with the Villa, its most recent preservation, and its month-to-month upkeep. The details of that progressive seeping into that social world are fascinating. And the pacing of the unexpected calamities and expensive surprises which awaited them, spilling down on them without warning, will be familiar to any of you who know Italy, and Italians, well. Because what happened to the Gables happens to all residents of Italy. This life force emerging from the Italian Volcanic Soil could be summed up this way: "Why worry about the future? It's going to smack you in the head soon enough. So, lighten up in the meanwhile. Have some wine, and some vegetables and soup and pasta, and sit down and watch the sunset, and see what's happening with the neighbors." LIFE will coming crashing down upon you, soon enough. Ms. Gable captures the sequences of her learning about this in individual chapters that hang in the mind. With wit, great clarity of understanding of character, and tons of humor knitted into all of her stories.
   
   I encourage all readers of this book to go to this Villa, which is unusual in its double-height Reception Hall, in the absence of original painted fresco "paintings." Ms. Gable has it correct that the Cornaro family brandished their immense wealth and influence in daring to incorporate intensely expensive real sculpture into the Reception Area, in carefully calculated placements in niches set into the plaster walls. They lavished more expense, in the first building of this Villa, in their country home's Reception Room than most nobles could have mustered in their entire City Villa! It was a "knock your socks off" room then. And it still astonishes visitors today.
   
   Sally will also show you two qualities that static photographs just do not capture: (1) How perfectly proportioned each of the rooms is. And how they relate very calmly to adjacent rooms. In perfect balance. And (2) exactly where the original canal travel passage was, in relation to the "front" of the Villa--which today is the "back veranda porch" area. Visitors arriving from the canal would have been greeted with great ceremony, and then ushered directly into the double-height grand Reception Room. From which unfurled the various smaller suites of rooms. With a view outward to the rear garden and walks (which at this date comprises the "front yard" and garden, directly facing the street and modern entrance walks). When you tour the Villa in person, the relaxing and balanced human scale of it all just melts into your Soul. And all of the detail that Palladio put into the overal balance and scale of the design suddenly strikes a clear bell ring in the mind. And you remember that clarity thereafter as long as you shall live.
   
   I warmly recommend this fascinating and entertaining book for all lovers of travel, cultural and architectural history, and for explorers of the warmth and chaotic charm of the Italian social world. Additionally, when you see all of the other surviving Palladian Villas in the Veneto Region and beyond, you will realize how special the home of Sally and Carl is in the overall scheme of things that survive as Palladio's corpus of work.
   
   As a future companion to this volume, I would certainly welcome a future book from the talented pen of Sally Gable. Will she grace us with another book, perhaps describing her further adventures in the village world there? And further details of the expensive upkeep of a 470+ year homestead?
   
   I have one final word of comment regarding other posters who are perhaps not famliar with the Italian character, and have felt cheated because Sally and Carl did not provide a neat expected-by-intrusive-Americans set of tables in the back of the book, tabulating every single US Dollar that they spent on everything they had to shore up, replace, strip down and replace, cajole back into place and/or have artisans conjure up from scratch.....In the Italian social world, the village's most wealthy occupants, who derive status from their character and strength, as well as their wealth and real estate or business holdings, would never ever think of posting a billboard in their yard listing what they paid for the place, and what they spent month-by-month for its upkeep. Such an open-book revealment would be considered, rightly so, tacky. Too forward. Racy. Poor form. And wicked....So, Sally, in her approach to exploring how to communicate details about this, chose the High Road. Yes, we all want to know that info. But Sally remains the Gentlewoman of the Villa. And dares not wag those details before public eyes.....Yet, I have thought of a return visit during which I entrance her with multiple sweet drinky-poos in her side parlor. And pry the details out of her.....I'm left with the fantasy of that lingering interrogation, amidst smiles, in that perfectly proportioned room. Meanwhile, I await her next book(s).



3. Have you ever wondered what it might be like to live* in a major monument--a building considered one of the ten most important in the history of Western architecture? Sally and Carl Gable, an American couple from Atlanta, Georgia, found out when they purchased Villa Cornaro, an imposing structure built in the 1550's as a summer residence for the Venetian aristocrat Giorgio Cornaro. The architect was Andrea Palladio, whose influence dominated Western architecture for three centuries. About two decades after that purchase, the Gables have written a memoir of their experiences as only the sixth owners of this remarkable place in its more than 450 years of existence, and it's among the best books of its kind that I've ever read.
   
   This isn't another tiresome memoir of the type popularized by the insufferable Frances Mayes--one of those "I'm rich and I own a villa in Italy and you don't" volumes that drips self-congratulation. Obviously, people who can take on the responsibility of a Palladian villa have to be wealthy, and the Gables consider themselves fortunate to own such a treasure, but what comes through so clearly in their memoir is the enormous sense of responsibility they feel toward Villa Cornaro.
   
   They don't see it as a status symbol, a possession to be flaunted. Rather, they see it as "a force of nature," a living entity; they know they're the caretakers of something far more important than themselves. Yes, they enjoy the Villa they inhabit for two months during the spring and another two months during the autumn of each year, but they're also aware that they are entrusted with one of Italy's most precious buildings, and that they have a duty to maintain it and pass it on to their children and grandchildren, just as the original owners did.
   
   A gratifying feature of this book is the account of the Gables' efforts to become a part of the life of the town where the Villa is located--the tiny Veneto hamlet of Piombino Dese. When the Gables first arrived in 1987, hardly anyone there spoke English, and Sally and Carl had only a sketchy knowledge of Italian. They could have isolated themselves, spent only a minimal amount of time with the locals and never bothered to learn the language, which is what many Americans do when they buy property in Italy. Instead, they made themselves part of the community, made friends, involved themselves in local issues, and learned Italian and the Venetan dialect spoken in the region.
   
   And never* do the Gables display the slightest condescension. Rather than treating the local people as potential servants and providers of services (as Frances Mayes does) they regard them as fellow custodians of a property that is a common heritage.
   
   Although neither of the Gables was trained as a scholar, they're both well educated and intelligent people who have made great efforts to learn as much as they can about the Villa--its structural secrets, its place in Palladio's development as an architect, and its relationship to Venetian society in the 16th century. Sally Gable even began doing research on the Cornaro family in the archives of Venice, trying to get a sense of what their lives were like in the 16th century, although she was wise enough to realize that such research, if seriously pursued, could become the work of a lifetime. As a result of their efforts, the Gables become experts on their own property, and can hold their own in the rarified discussions of the eminent scholars who often visit.
   
   The writing is engaging, down-to-earth and seasoned with revealing personal anecdotes, as well as lightened with self-effacing humor. The illustrations are mostly photographs the Gables themselves have taken, and they offer glimpses of the Villa as a lived-in home*, rather than an impersonal historical monument. The book is a joy to read.



4. This is an absolutely delightful read - not necessarily an easy one if you don't grasp the intersticies of the Italian names and places, but well worth slogging through. I was loaned this book by a friend and had to purchase a copy to keep!



5. The introductory remarks set the tone of this book. The Gables were thinking of buying a summer home in the eastern U.S., and ended up with an architecturally significant villa outside of Venice!
   Their joys and trials of renovating the villa in a small town with limited BUT ENDEARING craftsmen is wonderful. Sharing their adventures and acceptance in this small town are a joy to anyone who has ever visited the such towns of Italy.The characters are unforgettable, not to mention the honor of living in a Palladian home.
   Thanks to the Gables.