1 comments about Rome : A Guide to the Eternal City.

1. I found this book useful in my visit to the city of Rome. This is intended as a guide for the Christian faithful to the eternal city. The book is divided into five parts, namely: I. Rome, Civitas Domini, II. Rome, City of Martyrs and saints, III. Rome, Cult of the virgin, IV. Rome, City guarded by angels V. Rome, City of Popes and jubilees. This division, of course is arbitrary. The history of the Church in Rome is well portrayed through its significant works of art, monuments and churches. It contains very useful maps, illustrations and photographs. But as a reference book I found it rather hard to use.

No comments about Authentic Italy.

5 comments about Dreaming Venice.

1. The most beautiful little book on Venice I have seen...
   The pictures are exquisitely taken. The composition of the pictures,
   perfect and the gold and rose colours of the city are gorgeous.
   
   If you want to see Venice as it perhaps once was, and perhaps in some
   areas still is, then this is the book to get.
   
   The first sentence in the book sums it up... 'Venice is a place
   in which you never know where dream ends and history begins'.
   
   The book is magical. Definately a book to pick up again and again.



2. The photographs in this book are beautiful and really give the reader a good feeling for Venice. However, the size of the book (something that I did not notice before purchasing) is only 6" x 6". Becuase of this small size, the photographs are not given their true justice. This book would be so much more effective if in coffee table size.



3. I have a few coffee table books on Venice, and none of them hold a candle to the photography in this book, which I originally bought in Venice last time I was there. there is a large hardcover version out there as well, but it may not be available on amazon. The pictures are LUSCIOUS -- if you are a lover of Venice, buy this book.



4. This lovely book combines photos and text, in Italian and English, to remind all lovers of this historic, artistic and romantic place of their enchanted time there. It is a fitting tribute to La Serenissima, by people who know and lover her.



5. I was just in Venice from November 8, 2007 to November 14, 2007, and it was very cold weather, bone-chilling and damp at night, but the city made you forget the cold with its beauty and uniqueness. It is a magical city of dreams, unreal and ethereal. While there I bought this little book with its wonderful evocative color photographs that make the city come to vivid life. These are stunning memorable shots of the city like no other. Venice shrouded in rare snow storms, with flood waters in San Marco Square, scenes at night along the canals, the Bridge of Sighs, the Bacino, water pageants, gondolas, the Rialto Bridge, reflections of the sinking houses on the canals, the Grand Canal, colonnades, baroque churches with great art, quiet secret gardens, cloisters and gardens, the stone wells that are everywhere, the lion symbols, the Doge's Palace. Two glorious churches among a hundred are Santi Giovanni e Paolo and La Basilica della Salute (the dome presently covered in scaffolding).
   Venice is a dying city, but its glories live in your memory forever in these pictures: the library in San Marco Piazza, , the marble statuary, the palazzos, the campos, seagulls, the feast days and Regatta Storica, the celebration of oared boats, Carnevale with its scary costumes and masks, magical sunsets, the city at night, and magnificent fireworks displays. The camera of Frenando Bertuzzi has caught in his lens the shimmering city where life is more fantastic and glorious than in any other city in the world.
   Nine Lives Too Many
   The Daemon in Our Dreams
   The Rice Queen Spy
   Clawed Back from the Dead

No comments about The Ancient Shore: Dispatches from Naples.

1 comments about I Wouldn't Leave Rome to Go to Heaven.

1. If you've ever loved a city, you'd know how easy it is to love Rome. And Joie Davidow describes Rome in a modern, highly lived-in way. If you've ever sat in a caffe' and learned to linger and wondered about the man with the big hat, the woman with the long scarf, the waiter with the look, this book brings all of them to life within the sinuous streets of the Trastevere of today -- where one is as likely to hear Moroccan accented Italian, Albanian and English mixed with Italian or Spanish, even romanesco if you're lucky! The personaggi 's lives --highly intelligent people they are, people who know much about themselves - rise out of those steamed cappuccini, take form and shape and lead us through the city that is heaven to Joie, and thanks to her, to me as well. Grazie Joie!

5 comments about Fodor's Italy 2007 (Fodor's Gold Guides).

1. MY DAUGHTER AND I GOT A FODOR'S GUIDE TO NEW ZEALAND LAST SPRING AND USED IT CONSTANTLY ON OUR JOURNEY LAST MAY. MANY HELPFUL "OFF THE BEATEN TRACK" IDEAS, AS WELL AS POPULAR TOURIST ATTRACTIONS. I BOUGHT THE FODOR'S GUIDE TO ITALY 2007 AS A BIRTHDAY GIFT FOR HER AS SHE PLANS TO SPENT SOME QUALITY TIME THERE THIS SUMMER. SHE HAS ALREADY STARTED MAKING NOTATIONS WITH THE FULL CONFIDENCE OF FODOR'S RECCOMENDATIONS!



2. This book, like all other Fodor's guides, is very well written, easy to understand and easy to use. We will be traveling to the Mediterranean this summer and it will be my Italian "bible". The enclosed map is very helpul as well.



3. An indispensible and comprehensive "Bible" in 1999, the current (2007) version is sorely lacking on restaurant and hotel recommendations in moderate to budget price categories (they do still exist). Missing altogether are Piombino (the quaint and scenic gateway to Isola d'Elba) and Porto San Stefano: close to Rome and a lively and picturesque alternative to Portofino without the hype. We could have left this travel guide at home.



4. Though we'll be spending most of our time on the Amalfi coast, we bought this for the big map and the information on Rome and Assisi. It has everything we need; we took notes on the two cities. We won't take this one with us because it's so heavy. (We're going to take along a guidebook on Amalfi.) But it serves our purpose well and is up-to-date on prices, current value of US currency and other information. I would give it a 5 rating if it also included information on getting to the airport hotel in Rome by train (from cities elswehere in Italy) and other things I found on the Net. It's useful to know that you can take the train into the internatinal airport and go by tunnel/monorail to an airport hotel if you have an early flight home the next morning.



5. You cannot go wrong with Fodor's travel books. They are so complete, up-to-date and accurate. I love the numerous photos. Lot's of info packed into the book. I feel very prepared to head out on a journey with Fodor's.

2 comments about Rocks in My Pockets: Travels with Dad.

1. A charming and frank storyline. A helpful exploration of how to avoid tourist traps, and experience, "the real Italy."



2. "Rocks" is both a travel guidebook and a life-attitude guidebook. I wish I had known about Claudia Crosetti's travelogue before my bookclub had read "Eat, Pray, Love". Both books explore the flavors of Italy amidst personal journeys. Comparing the two, I found that I could relate more easily to Claudia's "Rocks In My Pockets". Crosetti's writing is more down-to-earth: she's a regular person experiencing what she's been dealt in a straightforward manner. Claudia seems a familiar friend: after finishing her book, you feel as if you've laughed and cried and learned all about the best way to experience a foreign country over a bottle of vino (or due capuccini or due birre)!

2 comments about Pompeii: Monuments Past and Present.

1. I just returned from Pompeii last night and purchased this book. It has very useful information about the city, along with pictures of what each exhibit looks like now. Over each picture is a transparent sheet which shows what it looked like then. It was very, very interesting to see the difference between the present and what it was like before Mt. Vesuvius covered the ancient city. This book is very interesting for anyone seeking to learn about the city in a fun way. Also, it is similar and equally as interesting as Ancient Rome: Monuments past and present.



2. I visited Pompeii in 2006 and it was an amazing experience. At the time, I was reluctant to buy any of the books they had on-site and add extra weight to my travel bags, but was hoping to find this particular book when I got home--and was very happy to find it. Seeing Pompeii restored thru the "magic" of the overlay illustrations really brings the history of this wonderful old city to life. No matter how good your guide might be in Pompeii, it is hard to imagine the splendor of the city when faced with the incomplete excavated remains. I would highly recommend it to anyone before or after seeing Pompeii in real life. It would also make a great addition to the classroom in teaching about the ancient Mediterranean peoples.

1 comments about Venice Revisited (Orient Express Travel Series).

1. I'm leaving for Venice soon and this book makes me feel a familiarity with this city as though I've been there before. It covers everything that I'm interested in doing and seeing as well as even expl aining the # of the various vaporetto and water taxi lines that would get me from the hotel to wherever I want to go, and includes off the beaten track restaurants and bistros.

No comments about Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu.