Buzz through Rome on a scooter, cook up a feast in Tuscany, float down Venice's Grand Canal and hang out with the glitterati on the Amalfi Coast - Italy is the real deal. Make sure you are pointing in the right direction with this best-selling guide.

Long before northern Europeans started buying homes in Tuscany they were traversing the Alps to feast on Italy's countless wonders. From Durer to Dickens, artists, writers, grandees and dandies descended on Italy for the Grand Tour.

United only in 1870, the history of Italy is more a fable book of histories than a single, linear tome. Some seek out the splendour of Imperial Rome and its ancient forbears. These are evident in the city itself, but can also be found in magnificent vestiges such as Verona's Arena, the lava-preserved town of Pompeii and the Greek temples of Paestum and Sicily.

The Authors

Gettinq Started

Itineraries

Snapshot

History

The Culture

Environment

Italian Artistic

Tradition

Food & Drink

Rome & Lazio

ROME

History

Orientation

Information

Dangers & Annoyances

Sights

Walking Tour

Courses

Rome for Children

Tours

Festivals & Events

Sleeping

Eating

Drinking

Entertainment

Shopping

Getting There & Away

Getting Around

LAZIO

Ostia Antica

Tivoli

Etruscan Sites

Civitavecchia

Viterbo

Around Viterbo

The Lakes

Castelli Romani

Palestrina

Anagni & Alatri

Along the Coast

Isole Pontine

Liguria, Piedmont

& Valle d'Aosta

LIGURIA

Genoa

Around Genoa

Riviera di Levante

Riviera di Ponente

PIEDMONT

Turin

Valle di Susa

& Valle di Chisone

Southern Piedmont

Eastern & Northern

Piedmont

VALLE D'AOSTA

Aosta

Aosta Valley Castles

Courmayeur

Parco Nazionale

del Gran Paradiso

Valtournenche

VaIIe d'Ayas, Val di

Gressoney & Valsesia

Lombardy

& the Lakes

MILAN

History

Orientation

Information

Dangers & Annoyances

Sights

Tours

Festivals & Events

Sleeping

Eating

Drinking

Entertainment

Shopping

Getting There & Away

Getting Around

SOUTH OF MILAN

Pavia

EAST OF MILAN

Bergamo

Valtellina

Brescia

Cremona

Mantua

……