The Rough Guide to Italy [Paperback]

Martin Dunford (Author), Celia Woolfrey (Author), Ros Belford (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 4, 2005

Visitors flock to Italy for its culture, culinary pleasures and awe-inspiring sights. Tuscany alone has more classified historical monuments than any country in the world and Italy as a whole has the world’s greatest concentration of art treasures. The Rough Guide’s 41 “Things not to Miss” introduce the authors’ highlights through stunning full-colour photos cross-referenced to the main section of the guide. The ‘Basics’ section covers all the pre-departure nitty-gritty to help you plan your trip and the ‘Guide’, the heart of the book, divided into user-friendly chapters gives accounts of towns, sights and reviews of places to eat, drink and stay all pinpointed on accompanying maps and street plans. There is detailed background on Italy’s history, art, architecture and a thorough further reading section with reviews of dozens of books relating to the country.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ros Belford first travelled to Italy when she was eighteen, and has written and edited several books and numerous articles about the country. Martin Dunford is co-founder of the Rough Guides and in addition to Italy he is author of Rough Guides to New York, Belgium, Brussels, Holland, Amsterdam and Rome. Celia Woolfrey writes on travel, design and gardens, and has contributed to The Guardian, Gardens Illustrated and Condé Nast Traveller.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1208 pages
• Publisher: Rough Guides; 7 edition (July 4, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1843534274
• ISBN-13: 978-1843534273
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,732,927 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great practical advice...combine with second book and you are set..., August 30, 2005

By 

10za "10za" (Alpharetta, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rough Guide to Italy (Paperback)

What I like best about the Rough Guides is that they give critical reviews. They will point out the tourist traps and will give negative reviews. I find that Frommer's and Fodor's rarely point out the negatives to a particular hotel or site. The rough guide is very critical and is a great balance to these other guides. I would balance your trip to Italy with a Fodors (or Frommers) book because the maps and illustrations are often better and there are more higher-end hotels listed.
This book will help you decide where is best to spend your vacation in Italy. There are clear critical descriptions of all the regions and great general info on getting around in Italy.
If you aren't interested in "roughing" it and staying in lower priced hotels. The guides are still very useful in rating attractions, and areas in which to stay... but you will need another book to look at more moderate and luxury hotels.

I would definitely read this book before going to Italy.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rough guide? A misnomer., October 23, 2005

By 

K. Scotti (CT, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rough Guide to Italy (Paperback)

Rough guide was recommended by a co-worker, whose suggestions I respect. I expected a guide that perhaps just stuck to basics.I PERUSED THE GUIDE for 4 days before my trip, and during air travel and stop-overs. I found all info accurate, especially appreciated history and language sections in back helpful. The only problem I encountered was the print was finer than the guides I had perused at the library, making reading in poor light situations difficult. Hostel info was accurate. Historical backround w was very helpful.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, nice guide, a few things are outdated - French one is better!, November 5, 2006

By 

Dennis Shirokov (Memphis, TN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rough Guide to Italy (Paperback)

We have purchased The Rough Guide to France before and loved it. It was a very accurate and extremely helpful guide. Every recommendation turned out to be right on the money. The Rough Guide to Italy is a good guide, but not as good as the one for France. While the Italian history, the maps, the general area descriptions were excellent, many village / city specific recommendations were outdated and many places (mainly restaurants) listed in the book were not there in reality. We believe such differences between the two books really depend on the writers, and those who visited France simply wrote a better book. We would still recommend this book, but if you do the combination travel to France like we did, please know that the Italy version won't be as thorough and accurate as the French one.