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READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

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Enrich your travels with reading! Here's a hand-picked list prepared for your journey in conjunction with the book experts at Longitude.

Essential Reading

Item EXITL783. Buy these 5 items as a set for $84 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
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Etruscan Places, Travels Through Forgotten Italy

Etruscan Places, Travels Through Forgotten Italy

by D. H. Lawrence

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 176 PAGES

With essays on the haunting painted tombs of Tarquinia and other ancient sites, Lawrence's meditation captures the allure of travel in Italy. Often accompanied by the American painter Earl Brewster, Lawrence travels to Cerveteri, Tarquinia, Vulci and Voltera, all sites of Etruscan antiquity, conjuring the art, culture and vitality of a culture he clearly admires. (ITA211, $16.00)

Piazza San Marco

Piazza San Marco

by Iain Fenlon

  • HISTORY
  • 2009
  • HARD COVER
  • 224 PAGES

Fenlon reveals the dynamic, colorful, and noisy history of this grand square at the heart of Venetian civic life in this sophisticated pocket guide. (ITA113, $19.95)

Sicily, An Illustrated History

Sicily, An Illustrated History

by Joseph Privitera

  • HISTORY
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 145 PAGES

Privitera covers the scope of Sicily and its diverse civilizations in lively prose and well-chosen illustrations in this succinct history. (ITA158, $12.95)

Eyewitness Guide Italy

Eyewitness Guide Italy

by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • FLEXI-BOUND
  • 720 PAGES

This superb guide features color photography, dozens of excellent local maps and a region-by-region synopsis of the country's attractions. (ITL32, $30.00)

Italy Map

Italy Map

by Borch Maps

  • 2011
  • MAP

A handy, laminated map. (ITL19, $11.95)

 
Venice Map

Venice Map


by Borch Maps

  • 2008
  • MAP

A colorful, detailed city map of Venice, perfect for finding your way around the famously labyrinthine streets and canals. (ITL26, $8.95)

Blue Guide Sicily

Blue Guide Sicily


by Ellen Grady

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 479 PAGES

This in-depth guide to Sicily's ancient history and archaeology features detailed maps and site plans. (ITL125, $26.95)

Italy, A Short History

Italy, A Short History


by Harry Hearder

  • HISTORY
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 294 PAGES

Elegantly written, generous and informative, this compact book takes in the sweep of Italian history from the Roman Republic through the Renaissance, World War II and up to the present. (ITL56, $29.00)

La Bella Lingua

La Bella Lingua


by Dianne Hales

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 336 PAGES
  • NEW

Inebriated with the sounds of Italian, lovesick for its phrases and enamored of its earthy idioms, Hales, "a sensible woman of sturdy Polish stock," dives into the Italian of the piazza, literature, movies and streets in this charming memoir. (ITA26, $15.00)

Mysteries of the Middle Ages, And the Beginning of the Modern World

Mysteries of the Middle Ages, And the Beginning of the Modern World


by Thomas Cahill

  • HISTORY
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 343 PAGES

Cahill deftly evokes the historic glories of the major medieval (and the places they frequented) in this illuminating overview of philosophy, art and literature. (EUR239, $22.00)

On Persephone's Island

On Persephone's Island


by Mary Taylor Simeti

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1986
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES

Strong on the delights of rural life, Simeti's portrait of Sicily takes the form of a yearlong journal, capturing the spirit of the people, daily life, traditions and the land. (ITL03, $14.95)

The House of Medici, Its Rise and Fall

The House of Medici, Its Rise and Fall


by Christopher Hibbert

  • HISTORY
  • 1982
  • PAPER
  • 364 PAGES

A well-written, entertaining history of the Medicis in Renaissance Florence. Great to read before going to Florence, where the influence of the Medicis and the artists they supported is still very much in evidence. (ITL135, $16.99)

The Renaissance, A Short History

The Renaissance, A Short History


by Paul Johnson

  • HISTORY
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 196 PAGES

The history, background, literature, sculpture, paintings and architecture of the Renaissance in just over 200 lively, thought-provoking pages. (ITL774, $15.00)

Ancient Sicily, Monuments Past & Present

Ancient Sicily, Monuments Past & Present


by G. Messineo | E. Borgia

  • ARCHAEOLOGY
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 72 PAGES

In this illuminating overview, ingenious overlays depict 17 important sites as they appear today and how they may have appeared in the past. (ITL733, $29.95)

Art and Life in Renaissance Venice

Art and Life in Renaissance Venice


by Patricia Brown

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 176 PAGES

This compact volume evokes the spirit of Renaissance Venice with authoritative essays and 120 full-color illustrations. (ITL57, $40.80)

The Architecture of the Italian Renaissance

The Architecture of the Italian Renaissance


by Peter Murray

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

A classic, informative guide to Renaissance architecture throughout Italy. with black-and-white photographs and site plans. Ideal for travelers to Italy with an interest in architecture. (ITL34, $20.40)

The Art of the Renaissance

The Art of the Renaissance


by Peter Murray

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 1992
  • PAPER
  • 286 PAGES

A classic, illustrated survey of the world of the Renaissance and its art. With chapters on Florence and its artists, the Netherlands, early illustrated books and many individual artists. (ITL14, $18.95)

The Arts of Tuscany, From the Etruscans to Ferragamo

The Arts of Tuscany, From the Etruscans to Ferragamo


by Marina Belozerskaya

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2008
  • HARD COVER
  • 272 PAGES

Lavishly illustrated and rich with stories of Tuscan arts and their creators, this handsome book is an excellent introduction to the history and culture of this celebrated region. (ITL973, $50.00)

Midnight in Sicily, On Art, Food, History, Travel and La Cosa Nostra

Midnight in Sicily, On Art, Food, History, Travel and La Cosa Nostra


by Peter Robb

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 400 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

Combining interviews, research and essays on Sicilian history and culture, this vivid report by journalist Peter Robb is a superb introduction to Italy's glorious, corrupt and troubled south. (ITL74, $18.00)

On The Road with Francis of Assisi

On The Road with Francis of Assisi


by Linda Bird Francke

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

Assisi wandered for 20 years, affording Newsweek editor Francke and her patient husband plenty to see and do in the piazzas, sanctuaries and chapels of Assisi, Siena, Bologna, Venice, Gubbio, Rome and other choice spots. (ITL647, $15.95)

Palmento, A Sicilian Wine Odyssey

Palmento, A Sicilian Wine Odyssey


by Robert V. Camuto

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 312 PAGES

Camuto visits vineyards and vintners from Palermo to Marsala and the rugged slopes of Etna in this year-long celebration of the culture and spirit of Italy's largest and oldest wine region. An American journalist living in France (his previous book Corkscrewed was about the new French winemakers), Camuto is an astute, entertaining guide to the diversity of Sicily itself. (ITA205, $18.95)

The World of Venice

The World of Venice


by Jan Morris

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 315 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

Morris displays her talent for research, anecdote and well-wrought prose in this spirited history of a beloved city. (ITL12, $18.95)

Equal Danger

Equal Danger


by Leonardo Sciascia

  • MYSTERY
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 119 PAGES

In an imagined country reminiscent of Sciascia's native Sicily, Inspector Rogas is sent to investigate a series of murders whose targets are high-level judiciary officials. Rogas suspects the Mafia but is encouraged instead to pin the crimes on the Leftists. (ITA259, $14.00)

Sicily, Through Writers' Eyes

Sicily, Through Writers' Eyes


by Claire Horatio

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 306 PAGES

Homer, Herodotus, D.H. Lawrence, Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa and Elio Vittorini Peter Robb are also represented in this magnificent tour of Sicily, its history, culture and allure. (ITL780, $33.95)

The Day of the Owl

The Day of the Owl


by Leonardo Sciascia | Archibald Colquhoun | Arthur Oliver | George Scialabba

  • LITERATURE
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 136 PAGES

A mesmerizing description of the Mafia at work, Sciascia's beautifully paced novella traces Captain Bellodi's investigation of a man shot dead as he runs to catch a bus in a small Sicilian town. (ITL596, $12.95)

The Ruby in Her Navel, A Novel of Love and Intrigue in the 12th Century

The Ruby in Her Navel, A Novel of Love and Intrigue in the 12th Century


by Barry Unsworth

  • LITERATURE
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 416 PAGES

Unsworth transports the reader to the 12th century in this richly imagined novel of love and intrigue set in Norman Sicily, where Christian knights, Anatolian belly dancers, Jews and Arabs mix and mingle. (ITL760, $14.95)

The Shape of Water

The Shape of Water


by Andrea Camilleri

  • MYSTERY
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 224 PAGES

The first of Camilleri's wildly popular Inspector Montalbano mysteries, nicely translated and shot through (pun intended) with not just memorable characters but also with Sicilian lore and politics. If you like the series, it continues in 12 more installments -- and counting. (ITL528, $14.00)

More Recommendations

Here are some other groups of books that might be of interest

Longitude provides recommended reading for travelers in partnership with the leading tour operators and travel programs for hundreds of destinations worldwide. We've got the classic, new and hard-to-find books and maps to help you get the most out of your adventures.