Customer Reviews

Florence in Detail: A Guide for the Expert Traveler

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When it became known that Rizzoli and the International Herald Tribune were collaborating on a series of guidebooks to Rome, Venice, and Florence, I had great hopes. Alas, while this (and the other city offerings) are adequate, they fail to break new ground by providing useful information not already available from other sources, including the Internet.

The visitor to Italy minimally requires at least three types of information: Sites and Attractions; Lodging; and Food. Addiitionally, rampant consumerism also mandates information on Shopping.

The In Detail series touches all these bases, but most of the detail falls in that first category-- Tourist Attractions. In the latter two (or three) categories, In Detail provides thumbnail information on lodging choices, restaurants, shops, etc., but there are other books which concentrate primarily on food/lodging, and these cover those important decisions in greater detail.

What I found particularly disappointing is the graphic design of the maps, which should have been this series strongest point. Instead, too many green numbered sites seem lost in the fold of the pages or disappear into the greenery of the map. Finding a particular location sometimes feels like an all-green version of "Where's Waldo?"-- you know that numbered spot is somewhere on these pages, put where, dammit, where? Suffice it to say that because of poor graphics, the maps are very disappointing and difficult to use. And far below what one expects from Rizzoli, the renowned purveyor of high quality art books!

Another less critical cavil is that the overall quality of the photographs is noticeably uneven. Some are typical tourist bureau publicity shots, while others seemed to have been taken by your average disposable camera tourist . The composiiton, color quality, lighting, etc., leave much to be desired, and a glance at the photo credits would seem to indicate that in many instances poor snapshots instead of professional photographs were indeed utilized.

In summary then, as an entry into the "One Guidebook" race, this series competes with Cadogan, Eyewitness, Fodor's, Frommer's, Access, Let's Go, etc., offering much of the same information-- some new, some quite familiar. None are perfect; you pay your money, you make your choice.

At the same time, if you plan on staying in Florence (or Venice or Rome) for more than a few nights, then you might also want to seek out the more specialized guides, such as Duncan Petersen's "Charming Small Hotels" or Sandra Gustafson's "Cheap Sleeps" and "Cheap Eats," Faith Heller Willinger's "Eating in Italy," or Emily Miller's "Food Lovers Guide to Florence." These specialized guides are definitely worth considering-- and provide much more information to help you decide where to eat and sleep. (And Gustafson's maps are in legible black and white).

I've revisited my copy of this book, in preparation for another visit to Florence. I was surprised to read a reference to a Da Vinci sculpture: "That same year, da Vinci's statue Judith and Holoferenes was placed in front of the Palazzo Vecchio to symbolize the end of Medici rule." Huh? Never heard of such a sculpture, and can't find a reference to it when I searched Google. Another "small" historical error appears when the author mentions that Savonarola "took over" the city. Huh? I don't think he ever took over the city. Bottom line: read this book with more than a little skepticism, as it relates to the history of Florence.