Italy Books

I had this book when I was a kid. It's about a man who has repeated nightmares until a witch gives him a potion that allows him to "snatch" things he sees in the nightmares. But after the nightmares end, he finds he has another problem, and that problem is temptation.

I'm not sure where the story takes place. From the illustrations it looks like a bt like Russia.

I recently used a copy to find my way around Malta and Gozo. The entries are concise and focused. No unnecessary detail. I enjoyed the historical basics about the places I visited - just what I needed to know. The entries are precisely indexed - a really easy guide book to find your way around! My uncle has been living on Gozo for the last year and has decided that a copy of Baedeker's Malta is just what he needs.

The Baedeker guides are less well known in America than they deserve to be. They are harder to find in bookstores than the very good Rough guide or Michelin Green guide series or the awful Fodor series.
This guidebook very pleasantly surprised me. There is a wealth of information here with profuse colour illustrations and details I haven't seen in other guidebooks. The book provides excellent in-depth supplemental information in the Baedeker's special sections. In this book there are helpful sidebars about the Mafia and the famous tonnara off Favignana (refereed to here as the "mattanza.") The small mountain town of Corleone made famous in the Godfather movies is nowhere to be found in other guidebooks but is given ample attention here. The fabulous Norman sites of Palermo are described in great detail. I was inspired to read John Julius Norwich's excellent history "The Normans in Sicily" by the information presented in this book. The short lived Norman dynasty of the 11th and 12th century left monuments in Sicily and especially Palermo that are still important features today. William the Conqueror's (Guillame le Conquerant) half brother Otho, bishop of Bayeux (who commissioned the Bayeux tapestry) came to Sicily after falling out of power in England. He died in Palermo in 1097 enroute to participating in the first Crusade.
The guide gives well-deserved great detail to the fabulous Greek ruins of Sicily. I became less satisfied with my other Sicily guides after seeing all that they left out compared to this book. The Baedeker guide is a pocket sized 16mo and comes with a plastic jacket and a small map that is inadequate for driving directions but okay for familiarizing yourself with the geography.

I used this guidebook on a recent trip to Europe to explore Vienna. I recommend it for its compact size and many convenient maps. I really like the Fodor's travel guides and usually use one of their country guides to learn more about where I am going and where I would like to visit. Those can be a little unwieldy to tote around a city though. These Baedeker's city guides (also put out by Fodor's) are perfect for that though. The pages of my guide were made of a sturdier than regular book material that repelled having gluewien spilled on them. Using the many maps included I managed to navigate my way around the city and various attractions fairly easily. A separate large fold out city map also came with the guide. My only negative comment is that the hotel and restaurant information is by no means inclusive or detailed. I usually have my accomodations all planned before I go and find places to eat either through recommendations or exploration so these things don't matter as much to me. Expanding this information would also undermine the guide's convenient size. If you are planning a trip to visit a foreign country I would recommend getting the larger country guide and then maybe one or more of the smaller city guides for the major cities you plan to spend any time exploring.

I was really impressed by this discussion of basically a snapshot of banking in small community. The description of market day loans and three day interest free loans, not to mention the signatures and signet rings of slaves as witnesses to contracts. This was a very enlightening piece of scholarship based on very careful analysis of the evidence.

Not knowing much about Florence, I purchased the Whitehot Audio Guide and visited their suggested sites. Everyone was magnificent and the audio descriptions were superb. The background music was enjoyable and timely. It gave my wife and I a moment to reflect upon and better appreciate what we had just seen before moving on to the next item. We particularly enjoyed the Baptistery and the Ghiberti's fabulous Gates of Paradise

Barbarossa in Italy, a Latin historical epic from around 1160, was written by an unknown author from Bergamo, Italy. It covers the events of Emperor Frederick I's (Barbarossa's) two Italian campaigns (1154-1162) and the history of Bergamo's conflict with Milan. The text (the Latin is sadly not included) is written in almost perfect dactylic hexameter (the same meter as Vergil's Aeneid). Barbarossa in Italy, although a piece of poetry, contains a large amount of information not found in other sources. The editor claims that this is "one of the earliest, if less detailed, independent sources of Frederick's Italian journeys, and it should have equal status with the Gesta Frederici of Otto of Freising," (pg XXIX). This work is the result of the so-called Twelfth Century Renaissance a time which saw a rebirth of Classical sources (not THE Renaissance of the 15th century). The author has a distinct bias towards Barbarossa for he omits many of the Emperor's military and political disasters during his campaigns. The text is chalk full of references to Homer, Statius, Vergil, Lucan, and has a few references to the Bible.

Historical background:
Barbarossa ruled what we now call Germany from 1153-1190 during a period of civil war between two important families and the lengthy Investiture Conflict with the Pope. Barbarossa saw the expedition to Italy were he was to be crowned by the pope as a way to gain recognition, power, and military conquest. Also, he saw himself as an heir to the glory of Constantine and other great Roman Emperors. The first expedition began in 1154 as a result of the Treaty of Constance where it was agreed that Pope Eugenius III was to crown him emperor and in return the German king was to defeat the communal revolts occurring in Northern Italy. The rise of communes is a common event in Italy (and northern Europe) at this time. The wealthy members of the city (such as Milan) would band together and promote the independence of their city and impose their will on surrounding areas. The campaign was a disaster (besides the coronation). The second expedition achieved equally little (although a few military victories) since it failed to defeat their primary rivals for power in the Italian peninsula, the Normans.

Thomas Carson's Introduction:
The introduction to this epic is immense and relatively easy to read for those who are not very familiar with the time period. The historical background is provided along with other historian's interpretations of the importance of the text, the editor's perspective on the historical importance, the literary merit, a map etc. The only missing analysis from this amazing introduction is a detailed paragraph or two on the actual Latin used. For Latin readers, such as myself, this would be an interesting and valuable section. This type of analysis is present in most other scholarly introductions to Latin primary sources. All in all, this is a remarkable source in both its literary and historical facets. The introduction explores all pertinent background information, even the character of Barbarossa (through the text), discussion of possible authors, and detailed analysis of the reasons for the author's bias.

Barmi is an imaginary city, but it is typical of many smaller cities in the northern Mediterranean. This book recreates the history of the city from its earliest settlement through today, in stages that clearly illustrate how the past of a city remains imprinted in its later forms. The book was evidently intended to help European high schoolers understand their own cities; but the drawings are so lavish and intricate that they have instant appeal to any reader. It's easy to become lost in the back alleys of Barmi at some point in its history, or to follow a detail (a Roman amphitheater gradually converted into an oval Baroque piazza) through its architectural development over a long period of time. This and the other volumes in the series are one of the best introductions I know to the study of urban geography, especially in cities with a history stretching over millennia. Highly recommended!

My husband and I just returned from a wonderful trip to Venice italy. We bought Whitehot Productions Self Guided Walking Tours from Amazon a few weeks before we left and we were so thankful we did. The Frari Basilica is a wonderful Cathedral that we may have have not visited if we had not purchased this audio guide. The beauty of its interior is absolutely amazing. It contains some remarkable art and the tomb of Titian, as well as many other famous Venetians. The narrator, in easily understood English, clearly explained the history and importance of everything we were viewing. We only wish that Amazon had offered these audio guides for Rome as well.

As an art history major who lived and studied in Italy, and saw this magnificent church before the earthquake, this book provides an excellent history. How wonderful to have photographic evidence of it's prior beauty, and the video clips of the destruction. I visited the church again this October (1998), and it was so wonderful to see the careful restoration. This book will not dissapoint those of you who want photographic history.