Italy Books

Lidia's Italy: 140 Simple and Delicious Recipes from the Ten Places in Italy Lidia Loves Most

Lidia Matticchio Bastianich, Tanya Bastianich Manuali

Amazon Price: $23.10 List Price: $35.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Cookbook - Model: BASTIANICH Amazon Marketplace: 65 new & used starting at $16.00

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Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Regional & International -> European -> Italian
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> General
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 32 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Ahhhhhh, BLISS 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Do you know how you can just about smell and taste Lidia's dishes as she prepares them on her show? Well, that's exactly what you'll get when you make her delicious and easy recipes in this divine book. She writes them out so well that it's almost like standing right beside her in your own kitchen. I have many, many cookbooks, as it's one of the things I collect, read from cover to cover, and then put to use -- but this is my all-time favorite for Italian fare. Put simply, it's pure bliss.

Lidia is the Queen 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The thing about Lidia's books and cooking show is she actually teaches me something. She tells me about the regional cooking and how to prepare authentic recipes - simple and straight forward. I love that she's not just another celebrity chef. She's the real deal.

Lidia and Mario Batali are true teachers of their craft. I constantly learn from both of them.

Editorial Review:

From the Tuscan countryside to the ruins of Rome, celebrity chef Lidia Bastianich takes you on a culinary tour of the ten places in Italy most near and dear to her heart... and stomach.

Rick Steves' Italy 2008 (Rick Steves)

Rick Steves

Amazon Price: $6.99 List Price: $21.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Avalon Travel Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 13 new & used starting at $4.91

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Subjects -> Travel -> Europe -> Italy -> General
Subjects -> Travel -> Europe -> Italy -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 26 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

"Rick Steves Most of Italy 2008" - he amputated the "foot". 1 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Don't buy this if you expect to find information on the southern Italian mainland.

The map at the front of this book sums up its disappointing lack of coverage of southern Italy. The map stops at the Amalfi coast and does not show the "foot" part of the country. Rick Steves' Italian mainland ends at a line drawn between Paestum and Manfredonia. So .... no Lecce, no Matera, no Otranto - there's absolutely nothing on Puglia. Truncated map = truncated coverage.

The title should be "Rick Steves Most of Italy 2008".

Editorial Review:

Who but Rick Steves can tell travelers the best way to see Rome, Venice, Florence, the hill towns of central Italy, the Dolomites, and the Amalfi Coast? With Rick Steves’ Italy 2008, travelers can experience the best of everything Italy has to offer — economically and hassle-free. Completely revised and updated, this guide includes opinionated coverage of both famous and lesser-known sights, friendly places to eat and sleep, suggested day plans, walking tours and trip itineraries, and clear instructions for smooth travel anywhere by car, train, or foot. America’s number one authority on travel to Europe, Steves' time-tested recommendations for safe and enjoyable travel in Europe have been used by millions of Americans in search of their own unique European travel experience.

Rick Steves' Italy 2009 (Rick Steves)

Rick Steves

Amazon Price: $16.29 List Price: $23.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Avalon Travel Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 52 new & used starting at $14.17

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Subjects -> Travel -> Europe -> Italy -> General
Subjects -> Travel -> Europe -> Italy -> General AAS
Subjects -> Travel -> Europe -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 122 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

MAP REVIEW: Not too bad as a reference 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I put "MAP REVIEW" in my title, as it seems that most of the reviews here are for the book? How does that make sense?

This map was good for us as it covered our itinerary - Venice, Florence, Siena, and Rome. The landmarks were helpful, as well as the designations for pedestrian areas and shopping areas. The map is fairly heavy paper, so it will last even if it's not laminated.

My main complaint is the map didn't have enough street level information. So if you're navigating by yourself, you may need another map if you're looking for a particular street location. Also, the maps are marked with the English version of the names of landmarks; for me, I find this confusing when walking around a city.

Editorial Review:

Marvel at the works of Michelangelo and Bernini in St. Peter’s Basilica, hike through Europe’s largest high-alpine meadow in Alpe di Siusi, and enjoy a slice of Pizza at it’s birthplace in Naples—Rick Steves’ Italy 2009 allows any traveler to experience all that the country has to offer—economically and hassle-free. Rick covers it all in his bestselling guidebook, from the must-see sights in Venice, Florence, and Rome, to the lesser-known destinations in the Italian Riviera and the Dolomites. Offering information on Italian history and culture, as well as expert advice on accommodations, transportation, and dining, Rick Steves’ Italy 2009 is the benchmark of European guidebooks.

Streetwise Rome Map - Laminated City Street Map of Rome, Italy - with integrated metro map including subway and railway lines, stations

Streetwise Maps

Amazon Price: $8.95 List Price: $8.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Streetwise Maps Amazon Marketplace: 30 new & used starting at $4.44

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Subjects -> Reference -> Atlases & Maps -> World
Subjects -> Travel -> Europe -> Italy -> Rome
Subjects -> Travel -> Europe -> Italy -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

The only map you need 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Just returned from eight days of walking in Rome. This is the only map we needed to find our way to everything that was of interest to us. It seems that just about every street and alleyway is listed and shown to scale (which is not the case with the free "tourist" maps). Experienced the joy of just wandering around following our noses to one interesting area after another, always knowing that our trusty "Streetwise Rome" would come to the rescue when we wanted to reach a particular destination. We ventured to the Borghese Gallery, the Vatican, to Trastevere, Palatine Hill, the Colosseum, Piazza del Popolo, Spanish Steps, Via Veneto, the Baths of Diocletian and from and back to the Termini Train Station. Including having the map out in the rain on several occassions, it still looks like new. The best thing is, it is only 4" X 8.5" when folded in your pocket and so easy to flip open to use (unlike so many other maps that you must unfold in several directions).
The map also has sketches of many of the sights you will be looking for to help you quickly find them. While we only used the Metro once, all the stations are clearly marked. If you want to spend less time folding and unfolding the map and more time enjoying the sights, you may find this product very much to your liking.

Editorial Review:

Streetwise Rome Map - Laminated Center City Street Map of Rome, Italy - Folding pocket size travel map with integrated metro map including subway & railway lines, stations

This map covers the following areas:
Main Rome Map 1:17,000
Rome Historic District Map 1:8,700
Rome Metro Map

American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza

Peter Reinhart

Amazon Price: $18.45 List Price: $27.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Ten Speed Press Amazon Marketplace: 41 new & used starting at $17.00

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Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Baking -> Pizza
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Gastronomy -> Essays
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 46 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Baking bread is mysterious enough. But creating truly great pizza--the transformation of next to nothing into something extraordinary--is downright alchemical. It is for no small reason that there are distinct words in Italian for those disciples of these mystic arts who bake pizza and focaccia, pizzaiolo and focacciaiolo. Peter Reinhart, he who gave us Brother Juniper's Bread Book and the multi-award winning The Bread Baker's Apprentice, takes the reader of American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza right into the heart of the matter.

Reinhart begins his inquiry into pizza with his baseline palate memory for what a great pizza should be. As a teenager he had worked in a pizzeria, Mama's, and instinctively knew this pie to be the best. Returning as an adult years later, he discovered otherwise. Had he changed, or had the pizza changed? Both, it happened, were true.

So what is the nature of perfection, and where do you go to find it? In the case of Peter Reinhart, this journey includes travels through Italy and across the US. This is Part One of the book, called The Hunt. It's not the most enlivening travel writing, which would have helped elevate the insights into the nature of great pizza and the people who make it happen. But it's only a third of the entire package. The best is yet to come. In Part Two: The Recipes, Reinhart comes entirely into his own. Here is the master at work. Chapters include "The Family of Doughs", "Sauces and Specialty Toppings," and "The Pizzas." Reinhart gives you the building blocks, no matter what your kitchen, tools, and oven might be like. And then he unfolds the roadmap--pizzas from the strictly classical to the strictly whimsical.

Work diligently with American Pie and in time you will be able to call yourself, without hesitation or rising color, pizzaiolo and focacciaiolo. --Schuyler Ingle

Speak Italian: The Fine Art of the Gesture

Bruno Munari

Amazon Price: $10.17 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Chronicle Books Amazon Marketplace: 35 new & used starting at $4.97

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Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Social Sciences -> Special Groups -> Ethnic Studies
Subjects -> Reference -> Dictionaries & Thesauruses -> Foreign Language -> Italian
Subjects -> Reference -> Foreign Languages -> Instruction -> Italian

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Terrific gift item in a compact format 5 out of 5 stars.
14 of 16 people found this review helpful.

This beautiful paperback is just over a hundred pages, but it packs a punch with the gorgeous black and white photo illustrations. Each is accompanied by text in both Italian and English explaining the technical aspects and the nuances of each gesture. This timeless guide was first published in 1958, and the 2005 re-release is a must-have for anyone studying Italian language and culture. (No vulgar gestures included.)

50 year old book shows it! 1 out of 5 stars.
6 of 17 people found this review helpful.

If this book was any lamer, it would need crutches. Keep your fingers crossed (get it) that you do not recognize 90% of these "fine art" gestures as the same ones you see in the artless US of A. I give this book one star which is still an over rating since there is no half star.

If you are still considering this book, point the index finger
out and the thumb up and put it at your temple -- pull the trigger (page 64).

Editorial Review:

Attenzione!

They say that a gesture is worth a thousand words, and when it comes to speaking with your hands, the Italians speak volumes. This quirky handbook of Italian gestures, first published in 1958 by renowned Milanese artist and graphic designer Bruno Munari, will help the phalange-phobic decipher the unspoken language of gestures a language not found in any dictionary. Charming black-and-white photos and wry captions evoke an Italy of days gone by. Speak Italian gives a little hand to anyone who has ever been at a loss for words.

Rick Steves' Rome 2009 (Rick Steves)

Rick Steves, Gene Openshaw

Amazon Price: $12.21 List Price: $17.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Avalon Travel Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 50 new & used starting at $10.56

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Subjects -> Travel -> Europe -> Italy -> Rome
Subjects -> Travel -> Europe -> Italy -> General
Subjects -> Travel -> Europe -> Italy -> General AAS

Editorial Review:

Rick Steves’ Rome 2009 allows any traveler to enjoy the sights and appreciate the lively culture of Italy’s capital and the center of the ancient world, from the architectural wonder of the Colosseum to a great cappuccino at a local café. Rick offers expert advice on all of the must-see destinations, including the Pantheon, St. Peter’s Basilica, and the Sistine Chapel. With detailed tours of Rome’s best museums and historic sights as well as unique walks through local neighborhoods, Rick Steves’ Rome 2009 is the definitive guide to this world-class city.

Italy (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

DK Publishing

Amazon Price: $19.80 List Price: $30.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: DK Travel Amazon Marketplace: 66 new & used starting at $12.49

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Subjects -> Travel -> Guidebook Series -> Eyewitness -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 32 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Italy (Eyewitness Travel Guides)- a clear and concise travel guide 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

My family and I visited Italy for two weeks, and this travel guide was priceless. I borrowed it from a friend (his 1998 version) and had to purchase a more recent version from Amazon as soon as I got back.
DK Publishing has reasonables prices, and the delivery time is fast. Very fast. The book arrived in brand new condition, and I noticed that our hotel in Rome 'The Lancelot' is now listed in the directory of places to stay in Rome. There is so much information in this travel guide. Each tourist sight description is short and sweet and to the point. No pages and pages of details that might otherwise put you to sleep, as other tour books can do. And the pictures are just as wonderful. Looking at them again now that we've been back, is even more fun. They do a great job, and this seller is very good. I'll buy from them again. Ciao!

Editorial Review:

Italy offers an extraordinary kaleidoscope of regions and experiences for all visitors. Packed with photographs, illustrations and maps the Eyewitness Travel to Italy has mapped out all of the remarkable flavors of Italy. Use this guide to help you decide where to stay, eat, relax, and shop. Every page in the Eyewitness Travel to Italy has pinpointed the highlights of each fascinating region.

Rome (EYEWITNESS TRAVEL GUIDE)

DK Publishing

Amazon Price: $16.50 List Price: $25.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: DK Travel Amazon Marketplace: 48 new & used starting at $12.05

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Subjects -> Travel -> Europe -> Italy -> Rome
Subjects -> Travel -> Europe -> Italy -> General
Subjects -> Travel -> Europe -> Italy -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 69 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Too bad the essence of Rome can't be bottled and exported to a corner store near you. If it could, you could pick up a weekend's worth of Rome along with your pint of milk and Snickers bar, and you'd probably never get to repainting the stairs, doing the laundry, or watching that new video release. Instead you'd be gawking at St. Peter's, ogling the Temple of Vesta, devouring saltimbocca in a trattoria, and sipping Sangiovese at a wine bar. You might not even get to the Snickers bar. Okay, DK never said they're trying to bottle Rome. But they do a stand-up job of imbuing their guidebook with the spirit, attitude, and élan of Rome. They don't just provide information about where to stay and what to do when you're there (though they do, in fact, provide all those necessary details), they go beyond the pragmatic and mundane to revel in Rome's glory. They stimulate the appetite for a Roman holiday. The gorgeous pictures and engaging text draw you in. They inspire you to read and dream, set your travel date, and visit Rome for real. --Stephanie Gold