Berlitz Handbooks: Italy by Pam Barrett

Berlitz Handbooks: Italy by Pam Barrett

Berlitz Handbook Italy is the ultimate practical, inspirational guide to this fascinating destination, with 304 pages combining authoritative narrative detail and stunning color photography. What sets the guide apart is the illuminating Unique Experiences section, packed full of practical advice on how to make the most of all the opportunities unique to Italy - from indulging in food and wine to shopping in style and taking to the ski slopes.

The guide starts with a rundown of Italy's Top 25 Attractions, ranging from the iconic Colosseum in Rome to Tuscany's beautiful landscapes. In the Trip Planner you'll find itineraries outlining how best to maximise your time in Italy, whether you're embarking on one week absorbing great art or a fortnight around Naples.

The Places Section divides Italy into eight regions - starting in the Eternal City of Rome and finishing up in the sun-scorched Mediterranean islands of Sicily and Sardinia. Each chapter is color-coded for easy reference, and features everything you'll need to know about the sights and attractions in the area as well as maps to help you get around and carefully chosen listings of the best places to sleep, eat, drink and get active. The Places section is interspersed with fully mapped tours, suggesting a classic route such as a walk through Venice's eastern Castello quarter or the Lake Maggiore Express cruise-and-mountain-railway; and Cultural Spreads that give a striking insight into an element of Italy's culinary, artistic, sporting or popular culture, from gorgeous villas and gardens in northwest Italy to Siena's frantic Palio horse race.

Further practical advice is provided in a chapter dedicated to accommodations, transportation, health and safety, money and budgeting, responsible travel, and family holidays. The Setting the Scene chapter is devoted to Italy's historical and cultural background, plus information on the country's cuisine.
Finally, a handy 8-page Phrasebook section provides a wealth of language expertise for which the Berlitz brand is famous.

Adele Evans, a travel writer and presenter from the United Kingdom, fell in love with Italy when she was 12 years old. She visited the 'small continent' for the first time roughly ten years later. The magnificent melting pot of the Grecian with the Norman, Baroque, and beyond, with each wave of invaders adding to the cultural--and culinary--mix, was where she had her 'Eureka' moment in Ortygia. The pleasure of enjoying snow from Mt Etna mixed with rosewater and jasmine, much as the Arabs did when they made ice cream, the fusion of flavors set against gardens of lemon and olive trees, and the scented nero d'avola wine lure her back again and again. This intriguing, moody, mesmerizing crossroads of Africa and Europe is unlike anywhere else on the planet for her.

Adele writes for a number of major newspapers (ranging from the Sunday Mirror to the Sunday Times), publications, and websites when she is not traveling the world.