5 comments about Michelin Italy: Tourist and Motoring Atlas (Michelin Tourist and Motoring Atlas : Italy).

1. A very useful collection of maps to have in the car. It was especially useful in navigating at the regional level. However, the maps for some of the smaller cities are not as fully detailed as I would have liked. If you need a fine level of detail consider buying a map specific to that area of Italy.



2. Love this map. I have one for France and now Italy. Features are clearly listed and allows travelers to find great, scenic routes.



3. This product is great, very detailed. We should definately be able to find our way around Italy. Unfortunately, as with all maps, it cannot all be on the same page, and you have to follow on other pages. But as I already said great detail.



4. Having never been to Europe, my husband and I planned a driving trip through Italy. Hubby told me to buy the Michelin Map, so I sought out reviews on Amazon. Great reviews on Amazon led me to buy this one. Although the book does have close-up maps of all the major cities, they really are not very useful until you are in the main part of the city, and I did not use this as a walking guide because it was just to large to be practical to use while walking around. The maps are also full of numbers of "places of interest" but these numbers corespond to listings in a different book, so since I did not have the other book, the numbers were just polluting the map. Also, street names in Italy are hard to find, but the book does a lousy job of showing the names of streets that are there. Since I live in Texas, I am used to following street signs to get from one place to the other. In Italy, everything is signed by the upcoming city rather than letting you know the street. It would have been extremely helpful for a disclaimer to be put at the beginning of the book explaining this.
   
   Also, there is no place in the book where you have an indication of distance. Since you cannot determine distance, when you get lost (which is easy to do with these maps)it is terribly difficult to regain a sense of direction because you don't know how far you have gone.
   
   I feel that the book was also poorly organized, so it was very illogical to try to use the close up maps because you have to flip up to 4 different pages to get the proper directions, and when you are lost in the middle of Rome, dealing with 4 pages will just get you more lost and seriously threaten the vows of marriage. LOL.
   
   I will say that the book did a good job of getting us through the countryside to get us from city to city, but in fairness, if you can read, (even if you cannot read Italian), you can use the highway signs and do the same thing.
   
   The next major vacation we take, I will take an electronic navigation system with me, but if I must take a paper map, I will go to the book store and look at maps so that I don't take a chance of getting stuck with something like this again.



5. What I like about this atlas is that it lies flat and is sturdy...very useful while driving in Italy and trying to determine if you should turn right or left at the intersection!
   
   Remember that this is a MAP...not a guide book that will hold your hand and spell out for you what restaurant or museum is worth stopping at...those locations are clearly marked but it's up to you to do a little research or get out and explore on your own...my pick when traveling!
   
   The only thing that would make this atlas more useful is if it included a concise guide to Italian road signs...you can find a great guide at [...] but it would've been nice to have it as part of the atlas.

1 comments about Tuscany Umbria & the Marches, 9th (Country & Regional Guides - Cadogan).

1. My husband is from Marche, and we have made numerous trips to the province. We love visiting the surrounding area, and this is a great guide to use for information on places to see. We have discovered many little towns that we might have missed.

4 comments about The Hill Towns of Italy.

1. This book is mostly a picture book (and the pictures aren't that great) with little information. Having spent time in all of these towns, the pictures do not do justice. Also, the author concentrates on towns that are full of tour buses and very unpleasant - especially during season. There are so many more hill towns in Umbria and Tuscany that are more out of the way and charming. I guess I should be greatful that they weren't disclosed so that they stay less touristy!



2. OK, my grandfather, Richard Kauffman (now deceased), spent 12 years photographing the eternal beauty of the hill towns of italy and all of the photographs in this book, now in its second reprint, were lovingly color-separated personally by him in his garage. He wouldn't even trust another printer with the quality of his images, being a printer by trade himself. Family bias aside, having since travelled to the towns, he captures Sienna as if you were there. Enjoy it as we do...



3. The book is in good condition, and provides the information I need. It came very quickly. BUT -- it was supposed to be a paperback book and it is hardback. I wanted paperback so that I could take it with me when I travel!



4. While the information in this book is very interesting, we had hoped for a few more pictures of the Tuscan countryside.

2 comments about Italian Waters Pilot.

1. Heikell is still having some sort of a monopoly on that subject. So if you are going to sail in that water, you could not avoid this book. There is simply nothing else! Despite the fact that it's professionally done with a lot of research and work behind it, I found it very limited on human insights. And if there are any, it tends to be all the same ("the port is very crowded - don't go there") comments. I still remember my Greece sailing experience (wonder who is the author of The Greek Water Pilot You bet, - Heikell) - if I would following Heikell suggestions we would never anchor in "extremely crowded" port of Hydra, and we would miss one of the most beautiful Greek islands, everybody still remember. Everything is crowded in Mediterranean. If it's bothers you, don't go there!



2. Thia book is excellent and a must for mariners sailing in Italian waters. It is easy to use plus it gives details of all ports in an organised manner.

No comments about VENETIAN VIEWS, VENETIAN BLINDS.English Fantasies of Venice.(Internationale Forschungen zur Allgemeinen und Vergleichenden Literaturwissenschaft 37) (Internationale ... & Vergleichenden Literaturwissenschaft).

No comments about Later Travels (The I Tatti Renaissance Library).

3 comments about A Traveller's Wine Guide to Italy.

1. Now in an updated, revised and expanded third edition, Stephen Hobley's A Traveller's Wine Guide To Italy is an indispensable guide for the wine loving tourist to the sunny climes of Italy. Enhanced with "user friendly" maps, the text is informative, definitive, reliable, and ideal for anyone wanting to visit wineries, wine fairs, and take tours of the wine growing vineyards of the Italian countryside. Hundreds of wineries that welcome visitors are listed, along with essential contact information such as addresses, telephone and fax numbers, e-mail address and websites, opening times, and more. If you enjoy the diversity and splendor of Italian wines and are planning a trip to Italy, take along your own personal copy of Stephen Hobley's A Traveller's Wine Guide To Italy to help you plan and achieve a truly memorable itinerary.



2. There is a much better book that has much more information about this subject: The Italian Wine Guide by the Touring Guide of Italy.
   
   This book is too short to give the kind of information you will need to actually visit some Italian wine regions and the wineries themselves. There are only a few pages devoted to each region with very little specifics given about visiting individual wineries. There are some nice pictures included. Think of this book as a useful overview for someone who knows nothing about the subject but don't rely on it as your sole source of information.



3. The book arrived on time and the condition matched how the seller described in Amazon.

No comments about The Rough Guides' Rome Directions 2 (Rough Guide Directions).

1 comments about In the Footsteps of Popes: A Spirited Guide to the Treasures of the Vatican.

1. As a Jew, I knew nothing about the Vatican.
   
   This book helped me out alot.
   
   Enrico is quite the expert.

3 comments about Venice.

1. Morris writes like the city she is describing -- layer upon layer of rich, vivid, historical detail that sounds more like a family memoir than a history book. In so doing, she manages to recreate, in writing, the exact sensation of being happily lost for an indeterminate time amid the paths and bridges that comprise this amazing place.



2. Cities like Rome and Bologna have been important centers for hundreds or, in Rome's case, thousands of years. Today they are active cities that not only attract tourists, but have modern industry and culture. Venice is the old bones of an imperial power. The palaces, churches and art that exists in Venice are the relics of Venice's past wealth and power. Today Venice exists as a cultural tourist attraction.
   
   In planning to visit Venice, I've worried that it is a sort of cultural Disneyland. A place that exists only for tourists.
   
   When I think about traveling somewhere, I hope that it will be a wonderful experience. So I try to learn as much about a place as possible. Travel essays provide at least one person's view of a place. Venice by James Morris is a rich account of Venice and its history. Reading the book, I felt that I could feel the city through Morris' perspective.
   
   James Morris was one of the early transexuals and became Jan Morris, the noted travel writer. Venice was originally written when Jan was James and she did not change the authorship with later editions. From reading the introduction, I think that this is because in Jan's view James really did write the book. This was an earlier avitar of Jan's and she wishes to honor his perspective.
   
   Jan Morris is a wonderful, lyrical writer. Reading her writing, I feel a bit like I'm walking the canals and experiencing Venice. Reading this book made me much more sure about my decision to visit these old bones of empire.



3. Good reading. Arrived in good shape and in a timely fashion. Thanks.