Italy Books

This is a great map of the city on water resistance paper. Will be with us while spending time in Venice. Have marked on it the location of items we wish to visit. We also have the Rome Rough Guide Map that we are taking on our trip.

The book filled in and added some supplemental information. The book was not used as much as planned as sufficient information was also available via the internet and the local residents.

I spent six days in Venice in April of 2006. After using the
excellent Rough Guide map of Barcelona, I purchase Rough Guide
maps when ever they are published for my destination. What I love
about these maps is that they are complete, accurate and very
tough. You can carry them around in your pocket, bend them and
sweat on them and they still remain as usable as ever.

You cannot get lost in Venice in the sense that you don't know
how to get back to somewhere familiar because there is always
a waterbus stop nearby that you can take to some place you know.
But the twisty pedestrian streets can be very confusing, ending
in canals, so it can be difficult to get from place to place
or to find a place you want to go to. For this you want the
Rough Guide map. I walked all over Venice, including some off
the beaten track areas where I saw very few tourists.

In summary: for Venice my advice is get a wasterbus pass for the
days you are in Venice and get the Rough Guide map. Oh, and
unless you like crowds and higher costs, don't stay in San Marco.

This was a great map! If you want to go anywhere in Venice other than the Rialto bridge or St. mark's square, you will need a map. I put this map through hell, folding it every which way and even dropping it in a rain puddle - oops :) the map stood up to my abuse perfectly and was great for getting us around. we didn't have to find the TI to get a map, and i liked it way better than the nice map our hotel gave us. I highly recommend this map and will use others when we travel!

I can't even count how many times we used it on our trip to Venice, because Venice is one of those cities that once you go off the main streets, you will get lost without a map.

I love that it's rip-proof and water-proof, because I've used other maps and hate when they get worn from folding and un-folding. And since we'll be going to Berlin soon, I ordered the Rough Guide Berlin Map.

It had every street in Venice on it, which when you're navigating your way back to a main street or canal it totally helpful.

The product was recommended to me by a friend from Italy who said her mother had one of the original books in her kitchen and purchased one for her daughter as well. The copy sold here is in English and a reprint of the one my friend has. I assumed it to be the same book. It arrived in a timely manner and looks very interesting. It speaks in a general nature and not recommended for very beginning cooks.

This is one of the maternal Italian cookbooks in a very impressive lineage. This puts perspective on modern Italian cooking that you see in books like the Silver Spoon. This is more of a read than a cookbook, dont expect amounts or details, this is the cooking your mother does, so this is only for advanced cooks who are daring, and devil may care, be prpared to do alot of testing and know what goes with what, if you are starting out pick a different book, like the Silver Spoon, thats easy peasy.

A masterpiece, it is up there with the Larousse Gastronomic, a must for anyone who is inspired by Italian cooking.

This is a fantastic book, not just for the recipes, but also for Artusi's interesting and humourous asides. It contains a selection of recipes ranging from complex to very simple, yet elegant. IMHO it is far more than "marginal" as a cookbook. Because it is non-specific about quantities, Artusi seemed to assume that the audience reading this book knows what is what. Quantities are always adjustable according to individual taste, and that is the nature of real cooking. So in that sense, it is not a connect-the-dots cookbook, but a very good way to experiment with different variations of flavour.

He obviously recognized that his readers already knew how to cook. This is a book to give the reader various ideas about recipes and menus. Beginners beware, it will not tell how many teaspoons of something to put into your sauces. We're supposed to know how much is too much or too little.

It's a great book, and very unique among a plethora of same old-same-old cookbooks.

`Science in the Kitchen and The Art of Eating Well' by Bologna native, Pellegrino Artusi, recently republished in English with a new introduction by American food writer, Michelle Scicolone is a work originally written in Italian and published by the author almost 115 years ago. I was drawn to it by a very positive reference to it in Paul Bertolli's cookbook, `Chez Panisse Cooking'.

If it were not for this recommendation, I may have been inclined to dismiss the book as irrelevant to today's cooks, given the wealth of Italian cookbooks from Marcella Hazan, Lydia Bastianich, Michelle Scicolone herself, and a dozen of scribblers on the cooking from the various regions (Tuscany, Lazio, Campania, Sicily, etc.) and `superregions' (north versus south) of Italy. So, here I am to say that there is much of value here for the foodie and the professional cook. For all you casual cookbook clients out there, you may want to give this one a pass. In spite of its title, it has absolutely nothing in common with the kind of kitchen science written by Harold McGee, Shirley Corriher, and Alton Brown.

This is not to say that there is no deep thinking about food in this book. The paperback has over 650 pages filled with 790 recipes plus an English and an Italian index. And, in all that space, there are hundreds of little observations about the right way to cook dishes. The problem for the amateur is that almost all the recipes assume you already know a lot about cooking, so lots of little details are left off. One of my favorite examples is in the recipe for veal saltimbocca (Veal cutlets, Roman Style). Artusi gives scant details on the size of the cutlet except that they should be a half a finger thick. He also gives no details about the sautee time except to say that the side with the procuitto should not be cooked for too long, lest it become too tough. On the other hand, the author takes the time to say that the veal should not be prepared with a whole sage leaf, as this would be too much. One wonders how large his sage leaves are, as I have made this dish several times and used a full sage leaf with no ill effects. To the good, I welcome the warning about not sauteeing too long. I just finished making a veal Marsala which turned out poorly, as the meat was too thin for my cooking time. Live and learn.

Probably the biggest disadvantage for typical American amateur cooks is that most measurements are made by weight. The fact that they are translated from metric into Imperial units does little good, as most kitchens are simply not equipped to weigh an ounce of butter or 2/3 of an ounce of grated Parmesan cheese. Thus, unless you use the book to provide supplementary insights to recipes from Mario Batali, I would place the book by your favorite reading chair rather than on the kitchen shelf between `The Joy of Cooking' and `Mastering the Art of French Cooking'.

As an historical document, this is really a great read. It was first published just after the unification of Italy and, while the book has many references to the geographical sources of these recipes, it does address the cuisine of Italy as a whole, at a time before Escoffier, when claims to dominance in the cuisine of Western Europe between Italy and France was a pretty lively issue. In fact, the author was criticized for being too French and by reflecting the practices of the French professionals working for the nobility rather than the practices of mother and grandma in the kitchens of Sienna or Leghorn. The most pervasive evidence of this French influence is that almost all sauces are strained before serving. I think Mario Batali would rather sell his firstborn before he strains an Italian sauce. But there it is. Artusi gives us professional Italian culinary practice among the nobility and restaurante chefs of 1890.

While the value of this book is unmatched, I give it only four stars to warn anyone to read the review carefully before buying this book with mistaken expectations.

If you are a died in the wool foodie, food professional, or cookbook collector, you must have this book. In addition to the recipes, there are dozens of stories, the kind which foodie readers really appreciate. For all others, consider a more modern encyclopedia of Italian recipes such as Michelle Scicolone's own `1000 Italian Recipes'.

Every descriptive word is poured out with honesty and passion. The author's flare and supreme knowledge of the language allows the reader to relive his fascinating journey with tears of saddness and joy!

In the beginning of the book, the author gives us a marvelous glimpse of the world he knew and loved as a child. He makes us feel also the pain that he felt during the times when he witnessed his father's violent behavior heaped against his mother.
The details of the indoctrination of the Italian youth into the Fascist ideology should be an eye opener for all of us.
In addition, the author offers us a clear and painful look at the reality of war and its wretched consequences, and he does that skillfully, sometimes using humor to tone down the pain.
It is evident, however, that from the first chapter of the book to the last,the author considers his mother the true heroine of the book. Her faith, her inner-strength, her courage and her selfless attitude are beautifully manifested with filial devotion and sometimes with poetic flair.
Cione is an unknown name in the world of writing. I suggest that you buy "Sicily On My Mind", and when you finish reading it you will ask yourself: "Why not?"

Boy, does this guy know how to write!
It's like riding a roller coaster of intense emotions: the moving, the humorous, the dramatic, the poetic. The author's mother comes through as a remarkable human being, whose love, faith and compassion are vividly woven throughout the book in a remarkable fashion.
The sections about the author's indoctrination into Fascism and the painful events of the war, are also painted with vivid strokes worthy of a masterful painter.
Pick it up and read it. You'll love it!

I am a history buff and "Sicily On My Mind" offered me the opportunity to learn some insightful details about the indoctrination of the Italian youth under Fascism, as well as some painful aspects of W.W.II.
The author related his youthful experiences in Sicily, from puberty up to his 21st year of age with a delightful style which oftentimes reads like poetry.
Joseph Cione is a marvelous storyteller.Page after page, he kept my interest alive to a point that I could not put the book down.I read the entire book in one evening!
I hope there will be a sequel to it. Will the author write one? Pleeeease!

I live in Buenos Aires now, but I used live in Sicily during the same time that the author did.
I found the author's accounts of his life under Fascism and World War II accurate and fascinating.
The author's command of the language and writing style are outstanding, considering that English is not his native language. Cione has shown to be a remarkable storyteller.I hope he continues to write more books like this one.

I truly enjoyed this book. Even though I'm not Italian, I could appreciate the sense of sisterhood between the sisters. Read this book, you'll enjoy it!

The Sisters Mallone is simply one of the finest novels to appear in the last few years.

It is the story of three sisters and their grandmother as they deploy all their cleverness, determination, loyalty and love to find their way in the harsh and complicated world of New York of the 30's-50's. Their lives are woven into a tapestry of old Italian and Irish neighborhoods, glamorous nightclubs, gangland politics, the Catholic Church, easy money and hard labor.

The characters, their milieu and their stories are all rendered with great economy, wit and insight. Ermelio's prose sparkles and the books moves without any misstep. It is, as they say, impossible to put down.

The Sisters Mallone is wonderful in every way and certainly transcends any genre niche.

This takes care of Christmas presents this year.

What a wonderful and engrossing story. I could not put it down. The characters were so interesting and so well drawn. I really wish I knew them. Highly recommended.

This is a book about the ties of sisterhood. Mary, Helen and Gracie are completely different yet are bound together as sisters. They are tough and clever. When Gracie's husband is found to be a real loser, Mary and Helen put their heads together to teach him a lesson. I love these characters. The book is well written....I felt like I could have been one of the Mallone sisters.

What a wonderful book. The characters are so finely drawn and so interesting I wish I knew them. I literally couldn't put it down. Highly recommended.

I randomly got hold of this book from our church library & checked it out
for 3 weeks. After I got started reading it, I could not stop! This book is the next best thing to reading the Passion of Christ. I am now in the
middle of reading it the second time. I love the book so much I ordered my
own copy to keep & to share with friends. I would like to thank the author
for this awesome accomplishment. More power to you, Mr Gerard Thomas Straub! May your tribe increase!!

Much can be said about the quality of this book. Straub weaves together his spiritual journey and the stories of Francis, Clare, and the city of Assisi to produce a very readable, engaging, and inspiring work. Although somewhat long, there is much wisdom within its pages. Having read The Sun and Moon over Assisi, I am motivated to follow Francis' example in living out Christ's gospel.

This is an incredible book of one man's journey from Catholicism to atheism back home to Catholicism. Although I was not Catholic myself, I enjoyed the ride immensely. He has so much to offer Christians of all kinds. There is much to meditate on and he beautifully and accurately describes the places where Francis and Clare lived/ministered. I have bought copies for friends and will continue to do so. I will read this book again and again. It is a wonderful study and well worth the time. It took me quite a while to read it because I was savouring each chapter. Highly recommend!!!

When I pick up a book on spirituality, that is nearly 600 pages long, I find myself flipping back and forth, counting the number of pages I still have to read (yawn). Having admitted that, I will add that "religion" is probably my first choice when searching for new books. Conversely with this book, I found myself counting the pages to see how many pages were left, because I didn't want it to end. Straub takes us along on his spiritual pilgrimage. In his "Thoughts Scribbled While walking," we can almost chart his spiritual growth (like an ascending line on graph paper). This book will inspire you to follow his lead by pursuing a deeper relationship with God. I was skeptical upon reading his background as a TV/soap writer, but I found it (along with his honesty and humility),to lend credibility to his personal transformation . I have never read a book that inspired me to write the author to tell him how much his writing touched me. This is one author I would like to thank.

This is a book to be savored. As a resident of Southern California, I found his personal observations on the cultural values of Americans right on target. It's too bad this book may never make the N.Y. Times Best Sellers' List, it could change the world.

I love this book and, in fact, I'm buying copies to give to friends. The story of the ongoing conversion of the author is an example of the journey of any seeker of God: great awakenings, stumbles, doubts, reassurances, understanding.
The first portion of the book is compelling and hard to put aside. The other chapters, however, are so rich with material from additional sources that I found them best to meditate on, think of as you live your life, and then dip into once again. This is perfect as a devotional for the liturgical seasons of advent and lent.

I have traveled to Italy many times and read all the travel books I could find. This guy gets it - this is the real Italy. A fun read.

It would be especially interesting to those who have traveled to Europe to visit their "roots" or to those who plan to. Be prepared to laugh a lot!

I am not Italian, but I loved this book. In an age of sentimental and sappy looks at Italy, this book combines humor, realism, and the joy of being Italian in an American context. I enjoyed the history involved in the story of growing up Italian in California, and the hilarity of traveling outside the usual tourist destinations in Italy. If you have been to Italy, you know these people. If you haven't, you will enjoy meeting them. I liked the "bite-sized" vignettes and the lack of pomposity.

Vino & Biscotti opened my eyes, forcing me to admit that I have denied myself extraordinary and lasting bliss by refusing to accept the temporary discomforts of air travel. The book is a joyous expression of family, food, and fun. It could only have been written by a happy man. Pelanconi shares his happiness by making Italy accessible, and more importantly, by making us believe that the culture of Italy can be internalized and brought home by anyone willing to become infused with the wonderful, emotional atmosphere his writing evokes.

If you've been to Italy, you can identify with every observation the author makes. If you haven't been, you're going to start planning your trip now. The book is funny and insightful. I laughed out loud all the way through it!

I GET THIS CALENDAR EVERY SINGLE YEAR BECAUSE IT HAS MULTIPLE PICTURES PER MONTH OF A PARTICULAR CITY OR REGION IN ITALY, WITH VERY UNIQUE PICTURES. I ENJOY THIS CALENDAR VERY MUCH.

This is a lovely depiction of the different areas of Italy and also pertinent information about the region including some recipes. I was in the area and the photography is wonderful.

If you love Italy then you will love this calendar. You have a specific area for the month but each day has a wonderful picture from a local town there. Had one last year and just had to get one for this year. It is a must have!

I am travelling to Italy soon and I wanted a calendar to make the waiting nicer. I really loved this one: it has large numbers (always important) and gorgeous pictures. It features one Italian region or city each month including information about the area and beautiful pics for each day of the month. A great buy!

One picture for every day of the month. (Literally 31 pictures on each page) Captions of where the photo was taken. So beautiful and helpful for travelers and dreamers alike!

Bought this book on-line 48 hours before heading to Tuscany, which I and other non-walkers do every 2nd year. Managed to do four of the walks and the descriptions: how to get to start, directions on the walk etc etc were excellent. Really opened up new parts of Tuscany for me. One of the best hillwalking books I have come across.

This will seem odd, but I'm the other Jeff Taylor. There are four or five of us, writing for a living and publishing books and articles.

But I came upon Jeff Taylor's book about Tuscany while looking for articles about hiking in Italy. By coincidence, Tuscany and hiking are two of my own interests, and the fact that the author's name is identical to my own makes this the kind of book that piques my interest. Weirdness to the seventh degree, Rod Serling standing at the crossroads leading to a little town somewhere in Tuscany ...

So when I say I loved this book, and it told me a lot about my life's future mission (to explore Tuscany), there's a certain degree of bias. But even if the author's name were Jones, it would still be THE book I'd buy before buying an airline ticket to Italy.

This is the best hiking book I have ever read. It is very user-friendly. Just about any question I might have has been anticipated. The book is arranged in a very concise orderly fashion. I will recommend it to my hiking friends. I look foward to purchasin books this author may write in the future.

What a surprise to find such a wonderful book for hiking in Italy!! I am planning a trip and hope to put this book to good use during my visit. I am sure that the scenery will only be more beautiful than the photos in black and white. Aside from the 50+ different hikes there are also tip's on traveling in Italy. I am sure that this will be a useful tool during my visit.

Ecologist, educator, and avid hiker who has traversed thousands of miles Jeff Taylor presents 50 Hikes In & Around Tuscany: Hiking the Mountains, Forests, Coast & Historic Sites of Wild Tuscany and Beyond, a combination hiking and travel guide to Italy's gorgeous Tuscan region. The fifty hikes featured cover Tuscan Hill Country, the mountains of the Alpi Apuane, the Cinque Terre and Ligurian Coast, the Northern and Central Apennines, and much more. Yet 50 Hikes In & Around Tuscany is supplemented with far more than information than simply descriptions, maps, and black-and-white photographs of hiking trails; also covered are the best times to visit, how to drive and travel around Italy, local customs, lodging establishments for overnight hikes, a list of useful English-Italian translations and navigating terms, insights into the region's natural history, flora, and fauna, and much more. Enthusiastically recommended for any hiker planning to visit the Tuscan area.

If you are planning a trip to northern Tuscany (Florence, Pisa, etc.) and want to do some hiking, you must check out this book! It is a goldmine of information on hikes in the Tuscan Alps -- all carefully described and ranked by difficulty, scenic beauty, elevation gain and duration, etc.-- as well as recommendations for places to eat and sleep at the end of your tiring day. I will update this review after putting the book to the test in May 2000.

The level of detail in this guidebook is astonishing. I have walked and climbed this area for 23 years but still found new ideas. I can confirm the accuracy of the descriptions from my experience of many of the routes followed in whole or in part. In this area it is essential to use detailed maps to supplement the route description if only to find starting and finishing points. The maps recommended within this guide are not wholly adequate for the purpose, and maps of the series "Edizioni Multigraphic, 1:25 000" are really indispensable.

I just returned from a trip to the Apuan Alps, where I put this book to the test, and it was quite useful. The hikes are very well described and are very accurate in terms of the terrain and the time and distance. I also agree with their rankings of the various hikes in terms of difficulty and the overall experience. However, this book should be used as a "starting point" coupled with detailed road maps and trail maps, as the directions to the trailheads (and on the trails themselves) can be a bit vague at points. Still, it was an excellent tool that made for a great hiking experience.

This book, which I received as a present in anticipation of a trek to Italy, is fantastic. It is very interesting and well written with lots of good information. I agree with the above reviews; I especially love the menu recommendations for various spots and the guide to Italian behavoir. My one complaint is that it does not have much information for extended (multi-day) hikes, and while it has useful information on trains, the book as a whole is geared towards those traveling by car. All in all a delightful book, that is a fun read even if you aren't actually going hiking.

This guide gives detailed information about 31 hikes in Italy's Liguria region and the Apuane Alps of Tuscany. As an example of its useful detail, it rates the difficulty of each hike as Easy (up to 8 km, up to 500 m elevation gain) Moderate (up to 10 km, up to 800 m elevation gain) Strenuous (up to 14 km, up to 1200 m elevation gain) and Very Strenuous (over 14 km, over 1200 m elevation gain).

Five of the hikes are more strenuous than the climb from Phantom Ranch, at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, to Grand Canyon Village, at the South Rim. And there are just two easy hikes.

The reproduction quality of images is very good. This catalogue allows to know some masterpieces of this genius, that like Caravaggio still remains one of the great realist painters.
This is a precious catalogue because it's difficult to find other Mancini publications.
Don't miss it!

Mancini is one of the most amazingly unknown artists of the 19th C. The texture that gives his paintings such a powerful presence also makes them impossible to reproduce, but I think this book does a decent job. It is a compelling read -- Mancini's story is very engaging. I hope this marks the beginning of more notice to one of
the greatest talents ever to pick up a paint brush.

This is a must have book for any lover of painterly naturalism.
Few artists have ever possessed the combination of the subtleness of Mancini's modelling and sensitive drawing with his highly expressive use of paint. His painterly talents are in par with Titian and Rembrandt. Among more recent painters, he can be compared to Nicolai Fechin. I wonder if Fechin was familiar with Mancini's work; it appears as if he was. However, this book and a book I have on Fechin by Mary N. Balcomb do not mention the link.

I had seen Mancini's "Resting" at the Art Institute of Chicago for years and marveled at its beauty and its mystery. Who was Antonio Mancini? Cudos to the Art Institute for their insight and willingness to hang this fairly unknown artist on it valuable wall space. This book answers all those questions. Mancini is first and foremost an excellent artist. The closest I can think of might be Fechen (Mancini's later work esp.) Fairly loose with tighter work in the face and hands. Every painting in this book has people as its subject matter. This book goes into detail about the artist fairly difficult life. He had a few mental problems. The reproductions are well done and most are in color. Considering this is the only book in english on the artist, we take what we can get. If you are at all into the current "Clasical Realist" or "Representationist" movement, get this book. You will finish it wanting more. Which is how a great book should be.

VERY rare opportunity to read a well written review of this artist and his life. After seeing the show, the reproduction leave a little to be desired but most publishers only do an adequate job at this price level. Overall, an excellent buy and tremendous research aid in the study of this enormously talented artist.