You'd be hard-pressed to find a more comprehensive, engrossing and just plain fun-to-read guidebook than the Eyewitness Travel Guide: Italy. Spilling over with all sorts of useful information for the traveler, you'll find three-dimensional drawings, floor plans, and detailed neighborhood maps, as well as timelines, charts, and even popular Rome bus routes. Broken into several parts--"Introducing Italy," "Region by Region" (with northern, central, and southern chapters as well as impressive sections covering Rome and Florence), "Traveler's Needs," and "Survival Guide"--the guide provides the reader with a complete picture of the country. Readers will especially love the hundreds of color photos of everything from Rome's famous piazzas, Navona and di Spagna, to the red-roofed villages of Tuscany to room-by-room descriptions of the Uffizi Gallery and the Vatican museums (where you'll find the newly restored Sistine Chapel). There are also listings for the best pasta restaurants, wine bars, chic shopping streets, and some of the world's most romantic hotels. --Jill Fergus


From School Library Journal
YA?Today's students want pictures and more pictures, and they will not be disappointed with this series entry that provides similar coverage to standard travel guides. However, while other books describe a site or explain how to get there, Italy gives this information through maps, pictures, photographs, and cut-away drawings. Arranged by regions, it includes cities, villages, churches, food, museums, markets, and more. Many maps are illustrated so that armchair sightseers will know exactly what they would see on a visit. While visiting hours of tourist spots are listed, the costs, which are more likely to change, are not. All of the hotel and restaurant information is given in the back with prices shown in broad categories. Other material that will interest students planning a trip includes pictures of all the currency and directions for and pictures of telephone and rail-ticket machines.?Claudia Moore, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VACopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Filled with information literally from cover to cover, this comprehensive guidebook features the fresh, new approach that typifies entries in DK's "Eyewitness" series. The publisher uses over 1400 color photographs as well as high-quality color maps, three-dimensional aerial views, and cutaway models of museums, churches, and other landmarks. The book begins with a general introduction to Italy's location, history, and civilization. Next come 15 chapters on various regions as well as chapters on Rome, Florence, and Venice, highlighting the architectural styles, cuisine, and attractions. Finally, there are hotel and restaurant ratings and a practical information section. The guide will be of use more to independent travelers who want to experience it all and can afford it than to budget or tour-group travelers. An excellent resource for itinerary planning. Highly recommended for all travel collections.?William R. Smith, Johns Hopkins Univ. Lib., BaltimoreCopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Eyewitness Travel Guides are the original illustrated travel guidebooks-and they're still the best. Since 1993, the Eyewitness brand has established itself as one of the industry leaders, with sales of more than 6.5 million copies in the U.S. alone. Featuring more than 70 worldwide destinations, new titles are being added to the best-selling Eyewitness Travel Guides series each year. In 2003, to mark the 10th anniversary of the publication of Eyewitness Travel Guides, DK is re-launching the entire series, fully updated, and with a brand-new look.