Rating: 
Summary: Don't Leave the Hotel Without it!
Review: From planning our trip to sight seeing, this book was indispensable. The detailed information (especially the pictures) helped us to determine the places we didn't want to overlook and helped us to make the best of our trip once we were there. The other 3 guide books that we brought with us weren't worth leaving a pair of shoes behind.
This book points out the star sites and exhibits, so you won't fail to notice the most important things. The color photos, drawings, maps and floor plans make locating them a snap. Star sites like the Vatican have a 12 page tour and there are 4 pages dedicated to a tour of the Uffizi art gallery. The tours are very easy to follow and much more descriptive than the on-site pamphlets that are sometimes provided. It's the perfect companion for the taped "listening tours" you may wish to rent on-site. They are more in-depth, but usually difficult to follow with the map that is provided.
The index, color coded pages and 2 bookmark flaps make it easy to locate information quickly. The routes and procedures for using the vaporetti, buses and trains are made clear in the book (impossible to make heads or tails of them otherwise!) and the maps and street-by-street sections are incredibly easy to follow. The phrase book in the back is handy, and while it isn't extensive, it has the essentials and is easy to use. We also found the book invaluable for the general information on food, wine, banking, safety, public phones, shopping, purchasing theater tickets and more. The internet is more useful than the section on hotels, but the book offers an idea of where to start looking (even if you're on a tight budget) and general information on booking a room, checking in/out and what to expect.
We stayed in several large cities for 1 week each and found that the book covered more than we could see or do. While it went into the backpack every time we left the hotel, it was generally in our hands the entire day. We often wished we had two copies, as each time we read something aloud to each other we'd have a flock of other tourists listening in and asking us questions. At one point, someone actually tried to buy the book from us!
After wasting money on several other guide books, I've learned my lesson for future traveling: Only buy the Eyewitness Travel Guide and don't leave the hotel with out it!
Rating: 
Summary: Great Detail on Sites - Pricey Hotels and Dining
Review: My husband and I used this book along with the Rick Steves' Italy book on our 2 week tour in July. This is a great book for the many sites in larger Italian cities, as well as the smaller country towns. The book has wonderful colored maps and photos (as many other reviewers can attest to). I brought it with me while wondering around towns and for information on sites to see. The book is rather heavy for the size (I carried a backpack) and in retrospect, the City specific guides may be better if your not traveling through the country side. (Others suggested I solve my 'weight' problem by tearing pages from the book and carrying the pages from a specific area with me each day. I couldn't bear to tear pages from this beautiful book, so lugged the whole thing everywhere.) For hotels, we were trying to stay within a budget (but also wanted our own bathrooms) and the majority of the hotels and dining suggestions were a bit too pricey for our travels. (That's were the Rick Steves' book came in handy.) But all said, I've already bought the Spain edition for our next trip.
Rating:
Summary: Best Available
Review: I have to confess up front. I love these books. I must have over a dozen. I really like the Paris book, and the one for Prague, and Stockholm, and South Africa, and .... You get all the detailed material similar to other great travel books plus you get great visuals. I have bought travel books from all the competitors. I strongly prefer the book to those available from Lonely Planet, or Frommer, or others such as Rick Steve that have zero or few photos. Michelin of course has excellent guides but the visuals are better in the DK Eyewitness Guides. On a cold day back here in the USA (or Canada) or elsewhere, have a glass of wine and sit in a nice chair or in the garden on a warm day and read this book. For a moment you will be back in Italy. You are back in a small restaurant or museum.
The photos and descriptions and cutaway drawings are excellent which is ideal for a country like Italy with a lot of history. But there is lots of detail here. The book includes the history and many details on the art, art galleries, parks, cutaway views of historical buildings, and many other things of interest. The history is summarized at the beginning of the book with historical time lines and cross referenced to the culture and political figures. A solid 670 page effort - lots of stuff to see and absorb. It has the other things too such as maps, accommodations, transportation, and the rest. This book is one of the best for a visitor. You will be pleasantly surprised with the depth and quality of this book and it makes a nice souvenir to refresh your memory. Buy extra maps plus this book and you will be set. Jack in Toronto
Rating:
Summary: Great Travel Guide, Beautiful Coffee Table Book!
Review: Summary:
Every Dorling Kindersley Guide has been a great and interesting book... and delightful to have and use, even if you are not traveling to that location, but are only interested in learning more! The Guides are well organized in a logical and easy to follow manner. They are beautifully illustrated, well developed with accurate information (it is unusual for hotel and restaurant information to be that accurate), have enough history to help the reader understand the people and cultural background, and have a lot of useful travel information and useable maps in the appendixes. Specifics:
The guides are organized as follows: How to use this guide
Introduction to Historical and Geographical Information
Geographical Regions
............Introduction / History of Regions
............Specific Cities / Towns
........................Introduction to Towns / Cities
........................Map of specific Towns / Cities
........................Tour of Area of Towns / Cities
........................Specific stops, historical monuments, churches, buildings, etc.
....................................(Filled with great maps, architectural drawings / cutaways)
Travelers Needs
............Hotels
............Restaurants
Survival Information
............Local Info.
........................Police, safety, buses, trains, etc.
............Travel Info.
........................Maps, tours, currency, etc.
............General Index
............Phrase Book Discussion:
The book begins with "Introducing Italy", including a complete map, a review of Italy, Italy's history, and Italy thought the Year - including events, etc. Region with an "At a glance" overview, then has subsections of Cities / Towns, then specific locations, churches, historical monuments, bridges, galleries, etc.
But, the really great attraction to this book is several fold; it is: ............Very complete
............Easy to read
............Beautifully and artistically completed
............Good shopping, safety and other tips
............Gorgeous photographs too numerous to list Architectural reviews include various views, and cutaways; given greater understanding and better perspective. They are all attractive, if not works of art - honestly. The travelers' Info. offers good and valid info. on prices, currencies, customs, important words, etc. I used the reviews on hotel's restaurants and nightclubs, etc. and found they were useful and accurate, and helpful with my touring and site decisions The books are so well thought out that it has multiple maps, with various lookup tables, and the book's flaps are designed to be used as bookmarks for map pages. Negative:
The "country-wide" guides are by definition more general than the "specific city" guides. So, if you are going to Rome, get the "Rome" guide. If you decide to get the "Italy" guide for your 3, or 4 city tour of Italy, understand that this guide may be a little to general for all your local travel needs. Conclusion:
As the President, CEO of an International Meeting Planning Corporation we have many resources and techniques to learn about places we have meetings / groups at as well as the cities and sights. But, as a traveler, this book really is top notch and I would recommend it to anyone going on a personal trip, or wanting to learn about a city, or location.
Rating:
Summary: beautiful overview, less helpful for specifics
Review: What a gorgeous book. I fell in love with the Eyewitness series and decided to buy this book to learn as much as I could about as many places as I could in Italy, before I planned my trip. I also plan on collecting more, for future trips and because they are great educational books, even if one never plans on traveling. Great for the coffee table, too! Organized by region with an overview of each area and brief highlights about specific sites (most of which are churches). The map on Rome was a little confusing at first and I had to keep flipping page to page to navigate. Luckily, the book is designed with two flaps that can be used for page markers. Useful organization on the sites (such as which ones charge admission, open/closed times, market days for towns, etc.) Loved the sections on regional foods and festivals, useful travel info located in the back. Photographs are small but lovely and numerous, architectural cutaways give interesting perspective on the sites. Restaurant and hotel recommendations are well organized but I never really consulted them. (Stuck to the internet for finding rooms and our wanderings and recommendations from other travelers to find restaurants.) We went to the Amalfi coast, Capri and the Umbria area (staying in Gubbio) and found the book mildly helpful. It was most helpful in Rome. I saw many tourists with Eyewitness Italy and Rome guides everywhere in Rome, in many languages. I've also seen the Frommer's series and found that one to be more densely packed with useful information and suggestions for interesting (and often inexpensive) excursions. However, it lacks the stimulating layout of the photographs, maps and color coding found in the Eyewitness guides. I felt the need to get more specific local guidebooks as I traveled with more detailed information and photographs. For example, I bought a guidebook outside Pompeii in order to have more information on the sights as well as a more useful map. It turns out that much more of Pompeii was excavated since the Eyewitness book was written. Hardly any information was given on the excavation of Herculaneum, which we heard is even a better site to tour than Pompeii. We could have used information on navigating around Capri efficiently, too, considering a day trip allows little time to see many of the sights, which often are contingent on the weather (such as the famous Blue Grotto, inaccessible at high tide). Capri is also very expensive for just about everything. The only warning given is that it's a "tourist trap." Minimal, general information was provided for the Amalfi coast, so much had to be learned (such as driving hazards) by experience, which is one of the joys of traveling anyway. Overall, a beautiful,informative book, providing a good general overview of a variety of areas and sites. Decent maps, terrific photos, useful travel info (though limited description of bus and metro routes). Not detailed enough for many areas so local souvenir guidebooks, or a more densely informed and photo-poor book might be helpful for the more investigative traveler. A note to travelers: order foods that are specialties of the region. Foods adopted from other regions tend to be less than expected. (ex. Risotto in the south is often made with the wrong rice, pizza in the north is difficult to eat and has too thin a crust. Whereas gnocchi in the north is incredible.) What also would have been useful is a description of different shop names and what they sell so travelers know what to expect when they're looking for something specific. (Like a deli--"salumeria" for an inexpensive lunch of prosciutto and cheese) However, that is again some of the fun of traveling--finding these things on your own. Buon viaggio!
Rating: 
Summary: Useless... but great pictures!
Review: As a travel guide, this book is beyond useless! The pictures are amazing and they will definitly inspire you to take a trip to Italy but once your get there, if you depend on this book, your family will have to declare you missing! There aren't any directions to any of the places addressed in the book. And some of the places discussed would be impossible for the average person to go see on his/her own. I used Let's Go Italy as my travel guide for my 3-month italian excursion and it was the best! Yes, it wasn't without it's errors, but nothing too off the wall. I brought both my Let's Go and my Eyewitness Travel Guide with me on my trip. I gave the Eyewitness book to a British girl I met while working. She only liked it for the pictures too!
Rating:
Summary: GOTTA SEE THIS!!!!
Review: So you are looking for a travel guide to Italy!? Well you have found one of the most helpful books out there. DK Travel books, if you have never used one, are extremely well written guides to getting around almost any european country, and are organized as follows...First the book is divided into 17 sections, one for each area of the country (Tuscany, Umbria, etc), with a section on Rome, Florence and Venice as well. Then each section has a beautiful hand drawn map with roads and mini castles drawn in, which is numbered...for example, Tuscanys map will have 28 numbers on it with San Gimignano being 24. You then look a bunch of pages later for number 24 and there is a whole page on San Gimignano, including 5 pictures from around town and a 3d drawing of the town with the important sites marked and a proposed walking tour of the town. That is what makes this book...the attention to detail. The drawings are very numerous and very helpful and are only outdone by the wonderful photography that allows you to see where you are going to go. Also included are sections on driving in Italy, sleeping in Italy (hotel prices and numbers included), eating in Italy, etc. The eating section is even unique in that there are little pictures of the different dishes you will run into so, even if you can't pronounce Pesto Figitaloni(sp?) you will know what it looks like. A section is devoted to the different wines you will find and one on the most beautiful buildings and castles throughout the country. What all these benefits give you is not only an awesome tool to plan your trip but a great picture book to keep on your coffeetable! Only weakness I found with this book is that most of the accomodations listed are fairly expensive...hotels +75$ a night and restaurants +20$...this is over my budget so... One word of advise...Couple this book with 'Rick Steves Italy' (For the real intimate details of each of Ricks favorite areas of Italy) and if you still need info on hotels, restaurants and tips of what to see than settle for Let's Go Italy or western Europe. This combo of books will tell you all you need to know while planning your trip and while travelling around in Italy...Enjoy and have safe travels...
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Rating:
Summary: A Treasure for Travelers
Review: After purchasing many books on Italy, I have found that this is one of the best for your money. Eyewitness does a great job of covering the entire country, and does not sacrifice information. This book appeals to both travelers and those who simply wish to learn more about the country and its history.
The information provided ranges from maps to the cultural and historical value of the country. As you go through each city or town, famous buildings and pieces of art are depicted as well. For those who are planning a trip to Italy, the maps of each city are helpful, as well as the directory of hotels and restaurants provided. Overall, this was an extremely well made book that presents lots of information in an interesting way and is filled with beautiful pictures. This is the book to get for covering a variety of aspects of Italy!
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty pictures, but...
Review: Too heavy and too complicated to be of much use. Maps are confusing and disjointed. If you do buy, rip out the sections that you like and leave the rest at home. Buy Rick Steve's and Rough Guides instead.
Rating: 
Summary: 5 stars for beauty, 2 stars for usefulness
Review: I think the title of my review wraps it all up: the eyewitness guides are a work of graphic art. Their highlight is probably the great work on the maps, both small and large scale, which are of great help as you navigate around the cities and country looking for sights. As a tool for reaching all of the sights you want to see, I would say that the Eyewitness Guide is among the best, with its regional maps, street maps, neighborhood maps and Metro/subway guides. In addition to this, as another positive comment I would say that it is a great guide to take on a trip if you don't have much time and you need information presented in an easy-to-read, simple manner. The drawings and photos, and the way they are laid out, is very appealing. In fact, this guidebook is almost better just for getting an idea of what Italy looks like than as an actual guidebook to be used in the city itself. You might want it more as a keepsake after your trip than as a tool on the trip. The advantages stop there, however. If you really want to get to know a city, you simply need more in-depth historical and cultural information on the sights you are seeing. Most of the locations described in the Eyewitness Guide do not stretch beyond a paragraph or two, which is quite superficial in my opinion. If you really want to know about the history behind the church, monument, museum, castle or park you have traveled so far to see, you will definitely need another guidebook to give you any kind of detail. When I went to Italy, I rented a car and thought that the pictures would help me choose whether to travel to one town or another, due to the photographically oriented focus of the book, but in the end, even the pictures are a bit superficial: for many towns, the only pictorial representation is part of a panel from the façade of a church, or a photograph of a fountain. Hardly enough to make a decision on whether to spend your next day in one Tuscan town or another. Harsh critique also for the hotel and restaurant information, which is limited to places designed for the rich and famous, or at least the very upper of the upper-middle class. The best guides give you a little info. on all styles of lodging and food, from low budget to luxury, but these guides make little effort to do so, and even the information on the laps of luxury is limited to little symbols, instead of providing descriptions like other guides do. With this combination of characteristics, I think Eyewitness is good to take along for a short trip in which you have little time to spend seeing places and you don't really care about getting any deep information on what you're seeing. Otherwise, keep looking for another guidebook, especially for a country like Italy, where background information and history are just as fascinating as the actual monuments and buildings.
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