Customer Reviews

The Most Beautiful Villages of Tuscany (The Most Beautiful Villages)

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is more than a well-researched travel guide. It's also the most gorgeous tribute to Italy I've ever seen. I'm an Italian, living in Como, and have visited every one of the villages in the book and I can tell you, they are as gorgeous as the authors' interpretations. The photographs are some of the most beautiful I've ever seen, and, like a previous reviewer, I, too, get misty-eyed just looking at them. If you want to travel to Italy or just love Tuscany, you won't go wrong with this book!

This large format hard cover masterpiece squeezes all the natural beauty out of the Tuscan landscape. Hugh Palmer floods the pages with gigantic panoramic photos of almost forty villages in Tuscany, many of which are never visited by the average tourist. If nothing else, this book has convinced me to wander off the well-beaten tourist track to get a real taste of the rich landscape and architecture that hides there. This book is not only a magnificent inspiration for a magical tour of Tuscany, but after, the best possible way to remember the experience of being there.

I enjoyed looking through this marvelous and enchanting book. Bentley captures the beauty of the Tuscan hill towns. As I look through the pages, I get teary-eyed reminiscing of my extraordinary experience while in Tuscany.

Don't leave this book on your coffee table. Take it anywhere you can dream. The pictures are so clear you can smell the air and run your hands over the bricks. The copy is crisp and well written. The perfect book to sit with in front of the fire, when the wind is howling and dream of warmer climates and clear skies.

HAVING BEEN TO TUSCANY 4 TIMES AND OWNING MANY PHOTO BOOKS OF THE AREA, THIS BOOK IS "THE BEST".IT CAPTURES THE SOUL OF THE
VILLAGES AND COUNTRY SIDE. TO EXCEED THIS, HAVE TO BE THERE.

I got this book because i'm an architectural designer and a client wanted a "Tuscany" look. I like to review the authentic background of design concepts as opposed to taking the marketplace for its word, I guess. So I got this book for reference. The book didn't actually arrive till after the initial design, but it was great confirmation that we went in the right direction. I get the feeling it is relatively complete and makes a great reference or coffee table book depending on your needs. I look forward to getting the rest of the collection for my library.

I ordered this book last week and received it this weekend. I opened the cover and never put it down. I am not Italian nor have I been to Italy but it is my dream. I am constantly telling my husband this would be the trip of a lifetime, but until that time comes, this is the book I will cherish....the one I will flip through and dream with. The architecture is what inspires me to go, to take my own pictures. The photographs in this book are.....well, breathtaking.....absolutely breathtaking. If you share this dream, you must buy this book.

If you're planning a trip through Tuscany this is a great picture book to use in determining which of the smaller towns you want to visit. The book covers 36 smaller places and skips over large towns like Sienna and Orvieto. Each town also gets 3-5 paragraphs of very introductory text. The pictures are not postcard quality, but very modern with an "editorial travel" style giving you a good idea of what it will actually look like with you get there.

Tuscany is one of the most travelled places in all of Italy.
The Bentley/Palmer work is well researched with tens of pictures in full color. Each section is described in detail for the benefit
of first time visitors. Castelnuevo and Garfagnano are the celebrated sites of the Este family. The full color pictures describe both the history and culture of the respective areas.
The volume is well worth the price for cultural enthusiasts,
educators, travellers, historians and a whole host of constituencies too numerous to list.

This is a portable travel guide. The photos are beautiful and it makes you want to remain in Italy or return there.