Italy Books

My daughter married a gondolier from Venice. I've been waiting 10 years for a decent set of maps of Italy. THIS IS THE BEST.

Michelin Travel Publications produced a spiral book of maps for Italian travelers. It is like a MAPSCO. The maps are written in Italian, which is very important. There is no confusion... cities are printed in Italian, like the road signs.

This is an atlas, not a travel guide, so there should be no reason for needing the various maps to be translated. All relevant text (Legend) is available in six languages, with English being one.

You don't realize how spoiled we are in America with good maps until you try to buy maps for other countries. This is the best roadmap that I have found for Italy. We experienced a few problems, but nothing major.

We used this map to cover a lot of territory in Italy. We went from the Veneto down the eastern coast to Ravenna and Rimini, then to San Marino and San Leo before heading to Florence, from there to Sienna and Pisa, then to Cassino on the way to the Amalfi Coast, and finally up the western coast and to Rome.

We found every landmark that we were looking for, and a few we didn't expect.

If you are planning to drive in Italy, you need to map. Of all the maps of Italy that I have used, this one is hands down the best that I have found. I highly recommend this product.

If you are going to select you own lodgings or restaurants, the Red Guide is a must. You can trust it completely.

Excellent advice with up to date information and easily red map directions. Find the ratings and prices advised accurate. Ideal for the European who probably speaks several languages. For those only English speaking from the southern hemisphere an extra effort is required to fully comprehend some advice in a foreign language. Why can you not purchase the guide translated into English? However it does encourage a better knowledge of the chosen language.There is no better information on accomodation and resturants in a concise publication so I will stick with Michelin to maintain a Bon voyage.

Once you figure out the various symbols, the Michelin Red Guide has the most relevant information in the least space of any guide...an excellent guide.

I love this book! It is so much fun to read aloud and kids love it. I've been fortunate enough to hear the author and illustrator read this book to kids and they were mezmarized. The language is as musical as its subject and the illustrations are true to the times and bring Bartolomeo to life. Kudos to Suzanne Guy and Donna Lacey.

I love this book. Any young person studing music should read this book. It not only familiarizes kids(not to mention adults) with the story of the most important person in the history of the piano, but it has a section that teaches about the piano and how it works. Ive read it a bunch of times and look back on it regularly. Parents dont always think their kid taking piano lessons needs music books like they need school books, but they do. This book goes well in a young persons bedtime reading library.

"The Music Box - The Story of Cristofori" is a unique educational story about the invention of the piano. In a wonderful and clear fashion, children (and adults) learn about music before the piano existed and discover the mechanical-musical genius of Cristofori's invention. Additional pages at the end of the book give more specific information about the piano and the inventor. Recommended for all children to encourage exploration. Also suggested for elementary classes and all music teachers...Dr. Kathleen Kain, scientist and educator.

The best yet on this phase of the war...

... More extensive review to follow soon.

Ray Moseley does an excellent job in bringing to light the final days of Italy under Mussolini. The Republic of Salo which is formed after the Nazi's free Mussolini from prison is a vague attempt to showcase that Italian people are still in control in Italy. As Moseley shows the Republic had no real power and Mussolini was consulted on almost nothing leaving the German military to run the state. The book jumps around on many topics and discusses Mussolini's stances on a variety of issues from anti-semitism to law and order in the fascist decrees he issued during this republic. The final fall of Mussolini and his capture amongst the mountains of lake Como are very well done and then the final part focuses on various myths related to Mussolini. While the book bounces around it is a great contribution to the last 600 days (594 to be exact) of Mussolini's empire and the tragic fall of Italy's most powerful leader.

As I listen to the nightly news about our own Governments actions, I find it interesting to read about others. Ours certainly does a bunch of stupid stuff. But then you look at what others do and have to agree with Churchill that a democracy is the worst form of government except that all the other forms are worse.

In this book on the last 600 days of Mussolini, you get a very clear illustration of this point. In his last days, Mussolini was a tyrant, yet at the same time he was utterly miserable in the grip of anger, shame and depression. The German forces that had been supporting were being driven from Italy by the Americans and British.

Mussolini had had the power, as it was said, "he made the trains run on time." But in the end he had failed, and he knew he had failed. He had tried to run a country. And he made some tragic errors. We have so many books on Hitler, it is nice to see that finally we are beginning to see what happened in another aspect of WWII.

I was also amused to see the points of controversy that remain sixty years later. I guess that like the killing of Lincoln and Kennery, and events like Pearl Harbour and the World Trade Center, mysteries will always remain.

Ok, I will. This book has so many recipes that I want to try! Last week I tried out the Bruschetta with Ricotta and Herbs to rave reviews! Not only does the book contain numerous delicious recipes, it also accompanied by short paragraphs about the author's own experiences with the recipes. I can't wait to show up this Christmas with a batch of the Honey-Glazed Fritters, that is if I can leave the house without my dad eating them all first!

The photos in the cookbook are so gorgeous! I've tried a couple of recipes in the book and they turned out well. I'm not the most experienced cook and this cookbook does a really job at explaining things step-by-step. I think it'll definitely come in handy for my dinner parties!

Anna Callen journeys to Naples to explore Neapolitan cuisine in a cookbook packed with details on traditional and regional dishes. The author's background as a cooking instructor lends to easy dishes which pepper color photos with dishes ranging from Polenta Casserole with Sausage to Spicy Vesuvius Chicken and Noodle Soup with Meatballs. Any general-interest library selecting international dishes will find this packed with appealing regional fare reflecting the author's love for Naples, and spiced with lovely color photographs.

This is a masterwork by Dr. Wilhelmina Feemster Jashemski and Frederick G. Meyer that looks at the Roman cities destroyed by Vesuvius in 79 AD from the perspective of the Bay of Naples area's natural environment of the time. The many color plates in this large work also portray the artwork that was preserved in hundreds of houses and public buildings in Pompeii and Herculaneum. But the real focus of the book is the landscape, gardens, and fauna that existed in the Roman period. Millions of natural, as well as man-made, objects were preserved in the molten ash that fell on those towns and the authors have provided hundreds of illustrations of these items which add up to a comprehensive look at Pompeii's everyday surroundings--street, garden and rural hinterland. It's an amazing work the will be of interest to anyone who is a student of Roman history, architecture, botany or horticulture.

Dr. Jashemski is a professor emeritus of the University of Maryland which is currently involved in the excavation of the last town major town still completely covered by Vesuvian ash--Stabiiae. The potential to find some spectacular artworks on that site is considerable as it was the most upscale neighborhood on the Bay of Naples in that period.

Jashemski has worked for many years in Pompeii's gardens - and produced many publications. This volume not only brings together a summary of all of her work, it is complemented by robust ancilliary studies from experts in paleosols, pollen and fauna. Beautiful pictures, well-referenced - an academic book that also is of interest to other readers. THE must have of all Pompeii publications in recent times.

Partly art history, partly botany and zoology, and partly forensics, THE NATURAL HISTORY OF POMPEII is a beautiful comprehensive work including the writings of archeologists and others who have examined the ruins at Pompeii and Herculaneum with the goal of establishing the nature of daily life as lived by the inhabitants of the two doomed settlements. This collection of scholarly papers was assembled into a fine book edited by W.F. Jashemski and Frederick Meyer. Jashemski is Professor Emeritus of Ancient History at the University of Maryland, College Park, where she pioneered the field of ancient Roman garden archeology, and a former senior fellow at Dumbarton Oaks in DC which houses a wonderful collection of Pre-Columbian Art as well as stunningly landscaped grounds. Dr. Meyer is the former Supervisory Botanist in charge of the Herbarium at the National Arboretum also in Washington DC.

Selected chapters from the book cover a description of the site before the eruption in A.D. 79 based on the archeological, literary and Epigraphical Evidence. We know some of what we know about the fateful day owing to correspondence between Tacitus and Pliny the Younger, whose uncle Pliny the Elder perished in the catastrophe. Other chapters cover the flora and fauna of the area (both Pompeii and Herculaneum were affected). Archeologists have determined the identity of extensive numbers of plants (including trees, vines, edible foodstuffs and culinary and medicinal herbs), mammals, amphibians and reptiles, birds (grey parrots and love birds were kept as pets).

The book is filled with drawings and illustrations, as well as photographs of human and other animal, and plant remains; frescos from the villas and public buildings; jewelry and household items; and site shots including photos of the area surrounding the forum in Pompeii (including those taken from a balloon - with buildings clearly marked), as well as pictures of the archeologists at work capturing and preserving the natural material uncovered at the two sites.

If you are about to embark on a trip to Pompeii, have an interest in Roman life as it was lived in the first century, or an interest in archeological forensics, you will find this book enlightening, but perhaps it is more suitable for the Art History or Classics section of a school library than a coffee table book as one of my colleagues suggested.

Mary Ann Esposito's cookbooks are EXCELLENT. Nella Cucina, Ciao Italia and her Celebrations books all contain very authentic recipes that are easy to follow and delicious. Depending on what part of the country you live in, a few ingredients might be hard to find but overall the recipes are well adapted for a typical American kitchen. If you grow your own vegetables in the summer, there are some wonderful ideas on how to use them.

I've started cooking using this book and the recipes are varied and delicious. I just cooked the "Shrimp with Spicy Tomato Sauce" for guests last night and everyone loved it. It was a really simple but wonderful recipe. Most recipes in the book are not difficult and the explanations and layout of the ingredients are very clear and easy to follow. Ms. Esposito's writing style is entertaining and approachable. If you like cooking Italian food, I'd get this book, "Mangia Pasta", "Ciao Italia" and "Ciao Italia -- Bringing Italy Home" by the same author as I have done. I have been reading them every day since I got them. Great fun!

A great cookbook. Directions are easy to understand and the recipes are wonderful. This is a cookbook I use often

This much anticipated (by me) followup to Mr. Morrison's first book: ANTONIO'S APPRENTICESHIP,is a delightful story and beautiful to view. As his only brother/sibling I've grown up watching him (Taylor), flip over placemats at restaurants, draw in books, and bring home steadily more beautiful work from school. But as a psychiatrist, I appreciate the affect of his work. In a time of "in-your-face attitude", there is quiet times in his book: in the story, and the paintings and (my favorite) the drawings. Sometimes the body language reminds me of times working with Taylor and my dad around our house (I know one painting has the sky from our backyard). My recommendation is to find a kid (preferably 3rd-4th grade) struggling with homework, soccer, and music practice, read this book together, and enjoy the quiet time

Morrison has captured the essence of the apprenticeship program in Renaissance Italy. Illustrated and written by Morrison, the book describes the process used in sculpting massive pieces and the quarry process. Fully illustrated in Morrison's inimitible style, this fictionalized account describes the life of a young apprentice in his quest to learn the "art."

Fully illustrated, historical fiction, includes full glossary of art terms used.

Of interest to young artists, Renaissance Italy buffs and children in grades 4-6.

An enchanting story of a boy's dream and his realization of the importance of patience takes place during alandmark period in art history.

The Neptune Fountain/The Apprenticeship of a Renaissance Sculptor by Taylor Morrison recreates seventeenth century Italy in glorious detail.

Descriptions of the famous Carrara marble quarries and the painstaking steps involved in creating a sculptural fountain's main figure are vibrantly authentic.

I love to travel but I have never added to the sales of those memoirs of hapless outsiders who renovate a barn or farmhouse in Provence, Tuscany or Umbria. No matter how well-written, most are self-conscious narratives recycling the same ingredients: coping, making friends--and enemies--and eating well. Joan Marble's book is refreshingly different. She and her husband built rather than renovated, and in Etruria, off the touristic track; they nurtured unforgiving soil producing delights for the table. But it is the delight of armchair gardening that makes this book such a good read. There is humor and pathos in how this couple celebrate life. Highly recommended.

A truly delightful book about Italians, human behavior, history, travel, and gardening. The author paints a picture with her words, captures your imagination, and makes you chuckle at the unique Italian way of living. From buying land and building a house to sinister business deals, to marriage contracting, gardening fetes and disasters, this book will charm and delight you on many different levels. I enjoyed this book so much more than "Under the Tuscan Sun." This is truly a gem of a book.

Joan Marble has created a work of great beauty in "Notes from an Italian Garden." She has a profound knowledge of gardening and the countryside of central Italy, of Italian history and the Italians of today, and all this is reflected in her book. From my own years in Italy I can testify to the book's accuracy; far beyond that, it reflects a rare sort of felicity and civility. I want to believe that in future centuries people will come back to this book to read how two Americans led such pleasant and productive lives in the Italy of our time.

One learns an enormous amount about the buildings and the man from this beautiful book. Indeed it is the place to go for Alberti as master builder.

Alberti's buildings were mostly left incomplete, altered, or unfinished by others, his original intentions often impenetrable. Tavernor goes further than previous scholars in untangling this confusion in his impressive, handsomely illustrated study. Though complex and learned, his book has a clarity and consistency of aim in its analysis of the process by which theory is related to architecture.

Robert Tavernor's On Alberti and the Art of Building is a book for which every student of Renaissance history in my young day would have sold his soul, for it presents this seminal theorist as an architect of rich intelligence and aesthetic sensibility, his excitement irresistibly infectious. With Tavernor's help we see through the alterations, false completions and unfinish of the buildings and comprehend Alberti's original intentions; reconstructions, models and photographs of astonishing documentary clarity support the exhilarating text. This book will no doubt pass unnoticed except by those few art historians whose imaginations were touched by Alberti when they first discovered him in Florence, Mantua and Rimini, and stood in awe of flawed perfection, but this monograph is, for me, the best art book of the year. Brian Sewell, Art Critic, London Evening Standard, 11 December 1998.