Table of Contents
1 Experience Italy 10
25 Ultimate Experiences 12
What's Where 22
Italy Today 26
Best Hilltop Villages in Tuscany and Umbria 28
Best Beaches in Italy 30
Best Vineyard and Wine-Tasting Experiences in Tuscany 32
Best Ancient Sites in Rome 34
The Best Places to Discover Volcanoes 36
Fantastic Cooking Classes in Italy Architectural 38
Wonders in Venice 40
What to Watch and Read 42
Making the Most of Your Euros 44
2 Travel Smart 45
Know Before You Go 46
Getting Here and Around 48
Essentials 52
Contacts 55
Helpful Italian Phrases 56
Great Itineraries 58
On the Calendar 67
3 Rome 71
Welcome to Rome 72
Eat Like a Local in Rome 74
Planning 76
Ancient Rome with Monti and Celio 80
The Vatican with Borgo and Pratt 91
Piazza Navona, Campo de' Fiori, and the Jewish Ghetto 106
Piazza di Spagna 123
Repubblica and the Quirinale 137
Villa Borghese and Environs 144
Trastevere 150
Aventino and Testaccio 156
Esquilino and Via Appia Antica 162
4 Side Trips from Rome 165
Welcome to Side Trips from Rome 166
Planning 169
Viterbo 171
Bagnaia 173
Caprarola 174
Bomarzo 175
Ostia Antica 175
Tivoli 177
Palestrina 179
Frascati 180
Castel Gandolfo 182
Ariccia 184
Nemi 186
5 Venice 187
Welcome to Venice 188
Eating and Drinking Well in Venice 190
Planning 192
San Marco 197
Dorsoduro 214
San Polo and Santa Croce 224
Cannaregio 231
Castello 240
San Giorgio Maggiore and the Giudecca 247
Islands of the Lagoon 250
6 The Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia 255
Welcome to the Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia 256
Eating and Drinking Well in the Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia 258
Planning 261
Padua 263
Verona 271
Vicenza 278
Marostica 282
Asolo 284
Treviso 286
Udine 290
Cividale del Friuli 294
Aquileia 296
Trieste 297
7 The Dolomites 303
Welcome to the Dolomites 304
Eating and Drinking Well in the Dolomites 306
Planning 309
Trento 312
Rovereto 317
Bolzano (Bozen) 317
Madonna di Campiglio 323
Bormio 325
Merano (Meran) 326
Naturna (Naturns) 330
Caidaro (Kaltern) 333
Bressanone (Brixen) 333
Brunico (Bruneck) 336
Misurina 338
Canazei 339
Ortisei (St. Ulrich) 340
Corvara 342
Cortina d'Ampezzo 344
8 Milan, Lombardy, and the Lakes 347
Welcome to Milan, Lombardy, and the Lakes 348
Eating Well in Milan, Lombardy, and the Lakes 350
Planning 353
Milan 355
Bergamo 390
Pavia 392
Cremona 393
Mantua 396
Lake Iseo and Franciacorta 398
Sirmione 399
Malcesine 401
Riva del Garda 402
Gargnano 403
Gardone Riviera 404
Bellagio 407
Tremezzo 409
Cernobbio 410
Como 411
Stresa and the Isole Borromee 413
Verbania 416
9 Piedmont and the Valle D'Aosta 417
Welcome to Piedmont and the Valle d'Aosta 418
Eating and Drinking Well in Piedmont and the Valle D'Aosta 420
Planning 423
Turin 425
Asti 434
Alba 436
The Barolo Region 439
Bard 440
Breuil-Cervinia/The Matterhorn 441
Castello di Fénis 443
Aosta 443
Courmayeur/Monte Bianco 445
Venaria Reale 447
Rivoli 448
Sacra di San Michele 448
10 The Italian Riviera 449
Welcome to the Italian Riviera 450
Eating and Drinking Well in the Italian Riviera 452
Planning 455
Riomaggiore 457
Manarola 458
Corniglia 463
Vernazza 464
Monterosso al Mare 465
Lerici 467
La Spezia 469
Portovenere 469
Levanto 471
Sestri Levante 471
Chiavari 472
Santa Margherita Ligure 473
Portofino 474
Camogli 476
Genoa 478
Finale Ligure 489
Albenga 490
Imperia 491
San Remo 491
Bordighera 492
11 Emilia-Romagna 495
Welcome to Emilia-Romagna 496
Eating and Drinking Well in Emilia-Romagna 498
Planning 501
Piacenza 503
Busseto 505
Parma 506
Modena 510
Bologna 518
Ferrara 526
Imola 530
Faenza 531
Rimini 532
San Marino 533
Ravenna 534
12 Florence 539
Welcome to Florence 540
Eating and Drinking Well in Florence 542
Planning 544
Around the Duomo 548
San Lorenzo 562
Santa Maria Novella 568
Santa Croce 575
The Oltrarno 587
A Side Trip from Florence 593
13 Tuscany 595
Welcome to Tuscany 596
Eating and Drinking Well in Tuscany 598
Planning 600
Lucca 602
Pisa 607
Chianti 611
Volterra 618
San Gimignano 620
Colle di Val d'Elsa 623
Siena 624
Arezzo 631
Cortona 633
Montepulciano 635
Pienza 637
Montalcino 638
Abbazia di Sant' Antimo 640
14 Umbria and the Marches 641
Welcome to Umbria and the Marches 642
Eating and Drinking Well in Umbria and the Marches 644
Planning 646
Perugia 648
Assisi 654
Gubbio 662
Deruta 663
Spello 664
Montefalco 665
Spoleto 666
The Valnerina 671
Todi 673
Orvieto 674
Urbino 677
Loreto 679
Ascoli Piceno 680
15 Naples and Campania 681
Welcome to Naples and Campania 682
Eating and Drinking Well in Naples and Campania 684
Planning 687
Naples 690
Herculaneum 707
Pompeii 710
Vesuvius 711
Oplontis (Torre Annunziata) 712
Ischia 720
Procida 723
Capri 723
Sorrento 731
Positano 735
Conca dei Marini 739
Amalfi 740
Ravello 742
Paestum 745
16 Puglia, Basilicata, and Calabria 747
Welcome to Puglia, Basilicata, and Calabria 748
Eating and Drinking Well in Puglia, Basilicata, and Calabria 750
Planning 753
Bari 755
Trani 757
Polignano a Mare 760
Castel del Monte 761
Mattinata 762
Vieste 763
Alberobello 763
Ostuni 765
Ceglie Messapica 766
Martina Franca 767
Taranto 768
Lecce 769
Otranto 772
Gallipoli 773
Matera 774
Maratea 778
Diamante 779
Castrovillari 781
Cosenza 782
Camigliatello 783
Crotone 785
Tropea 786
Reggio Calabria 788
17 Sicily 789
Welcome to Sicily 790
Eating and Drinking Well in Sicily 792
Planning 794
Palermo 796
Monreale 806
Segesta 807
Erice 807
Trapani 810
Marsala 811
Selinunte 812
Agrigento 813
Enna 816
Piazza Armerina 817
Caltagirone 818
Ragusa 819
Modica 820
Scicli 822
Noto 822
Siracusa 825
Catania 831
Acireale 834
Mount Etna 835
Taormina 838
Castelmola 841
Messina 843
Lipari 844
Salina 845
Panarea 846
Stromboli 846
Filicudi 847
Cefalù 847
18 Sardinia 849
Welcome to Sardinia 850
Eating and Drinking Well in Sardinia 852
Planning 856
Cagliari 857
Pula 863
Sant'Antioco 865
San Pietro 866
Costa Verde 866
Barumini 867
Oristano 867
Tharros 870
Nuoro 870
Fonni 872
Alghero 873
Sassari 876
Castelsardo 877
Santa Teresa Gallura 877
La Maddalena 878
Porto Cervo 879
Olbia 881
Index 883
About Our Writers 895
Maps
Travel Times by Train and Ferry 50-51
Rome Metro and Suburban Railway 84
Ancient Rome with Monti and Celio 88-89
The Vatican with Borgo and Prati 94-95
Piazza Navona, Campo de' Fiori, and the Jewish Ghetto 110-111
Piazza di Spagna 128-129
Repubblica and the Quirinale 140-141
Villa Borghese and Around 146-147
Trastevere 152-153
Aventino and Testaccio 158-159
Esquilino and Via Appia Antica 163
Side Trips from Rome 170
Ostia Antica 176
San Marco 206-207
Dorsoduro 216-217
San Polo and Santa Croce 226-227
Cannaregio 234-235
Castello 242-243
Islands of the Lagoon 251
Padua 266
Verona 272
Vicenza 279
Treviso and the Hillside Towns 283
Friuli-Venezia Giulia 293
Trentino and the Western Dolomites 313
Bolzano (Bozen) 320
Alto Adige and the Heart of the Dolomites 327
Duomo 358-359
Castello, Sempione, Brera, Sant'Ambrogio, Fiera and San Siro 368
Quadrilatero 372
Porta Garibadli, Repubblica 378
Cinque Giornate, Palestro, Porta Venezia, Buenos Aires, Loreto, Bicocca 382
Porta Romana, Ticinese, Navigli, and Tortona 386
The Po Plain, Lake Garda, and Lake Iseo 394
Lakes Como and Maggiore 406
Turin 426
Piedmont 433
Valle d'Aosta 440
Cinque Terre and Riviera di Levante 468
Genoa 480-481
Riviera di Ponente 489
Emilia 505
Bologna 520
Romagna 530
Ravenna 536
Around the Duomo 550-551
San Lorenzo 564-565
Santa Maria Novella 570-571
Santa Croce 576-577
The Oltramo 588-589
Pisa 610
Chianti 612
Volterra 618
San Gimignano 621
Hill Towns West of Siena 624
Siena 628
Arezzo 632
Cortona 634
Val d'Orcia and the Crete 636
Northern Umbria 649
Perugia 652
Assisi 655
Southern Umbria 667
Spoleto 670
The Marches 677
Centro Storico 692
Toledo and the Port 698
Chiaia, Santa Lucia, and Nearby 702
Bay of Naples 708
Capri 725
Sorrento and Amalfi Coast 732
Puglia 758
Basilicata and Calabria 776
Palermo 799
Western Sicily 808
Siracusa with Ortygia Island 826
Eastern Sicily, the Tyrrhenian Coast, and the Aeolian Islands 836
Cagliari and the Southern Coast 859
Su Nuraxi to the Costa Smeralda 868
Heavens Above:
The Sistine Ceiling 98
The Basilica di San Marco 198
Hiking the Cinque Terre 459
Emilia: One Taste at a Time 511
The Duomo 554
Who's Who in Renaissance Art 581
Assisi's Basilica di San Francesco 659
Ancient Pompeii 713
