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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 EXITL550. Buy these 4 items as a set for $61 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
With free shipping on anything else you order.

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Cadogan Guide Lombardy & the Italian Lakes

Cadogan Guide Lombardy & the Italian Lakes

by Dana Facaros

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 345 PAGES

Cadogan brings travelers Lombardy and the Italian Lakes in all their glory, from the powerhouse of Milan to the idyllic beauty and tranquility of Lake Garda and the Renaissance cities of the Lombard Plain. (ITL44, $19.95)

La Bella Figura, A Field Guide to the Italian Mind

La Bella Figura, A Field Guide to the Italian Mind

by Beppe Severgnini

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 288 PAGES

Italians themselves love this guide to the Italian character, which addresses the apparently never-ending passion for beauty, disorder and high emotion. Severgnini opens the book with a snapshot of the hubbub at Malpensa Airport, then moves on to Tuscany, Rome, Naples and Sardinia. (ITL718, $14.00)

D.H. Lawrence and Italy

D.H. Lawrence and Italy

by D.H. Lawrence

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 495 PAGES

This omnibus Penguin Classics edition includes Lawrence's three travel tales, each very different in tone and all wonderful: Sea and Sardinia is a nostalgic look at traditional ways of life; Twilight in Italy, an evocation of Lawrence's memorable stay on Lake Garda; and Etruscan Places his musings on ancient sites, including the painted tombs of Tarquinia. (ITL62, $18.00)

Italian Lakes Map

Italian Lakes Map

by Litographia Artistica Cartographica

  • MAP

A detailed map of the Italian lakes region, including Orta, Lugano, Como and Maggiore, at the excellent scale of 1:100,000, produced in Italy. (ITL431, $12.95)

 
Milan Map

Milan Map


by Streetwise Maps

  • MAP

A detailed travel map of Milan. (ITL65, $8.95)

Eyewitness Guide Milan and the Lakes

Eyewitness Guide Milan and the Lakes


by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 240 PAGES

This superb guide to Milan and the Italian lakes features color photography, dozens of excellent local maps and a region-by-region synopsis of the area's attractions. Handsome, convenient and up-to-date, this is the guide to carry. (ITL165, $25.00)

Fodor's Milan's 25 Best

Fodor's Milan's 25 Best


by Fodor's Travel Publications

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 128 PAGES

A handy, shirt-pocket guide to Milan with a map and essential information on its highlights. (ITL608, $11.99)

Made in Italy, A Shopper's Guide

Made in Italy, A Shopper's Guide


by Laura Morelli

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 208 PAGES

The second edition of Morelli's expert survey of handcrafted Italian shops and products from Murano glass to ceramics, jewelry and leather. (ITL473, $24.95)

Biba's Italy

Biba's Italy


by Biba Caggiano

  • FOOD
  • 2006
  • HARD COVER
  • 320 PAGES

Caggiano focuses on regional, seasonal food in this omnibus cookbook (featuring 100 recipes), menu planner and travel guide to Rome, Florence, Bologna, Milan and Venice. Nicely produced, this handsome sepia-toned book includes recommended restaurants, cafes and markets in each city. (ITL777, $29.95)

The Food of Italy

The Food of Italy


by Waverly Root

  • FOOD
  • 1992
  • PAPER
  • 750 PAGES

Evocative of Italy and its diverse cuisine, this classic book, organized geographically, offers a cook's tour of the country. It's a well-informed and wonderful culinary guide. (ITL75, $22.00)

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)

The Italians

The Italians


by Luigi Barzini

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1996
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES

The definitive portrait of the Italian people, this is a classic, scholarly essay on the Italian character. Though first published in 1964, it's still worth reading for its insight, grace and wit. (ITL05, $16.00)

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)

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)

Edith Wharton's Italian Gardens

Edith Wharton's Italian Gardens


by Vivian Russell

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1997
  • HARD COVER
  • 192 PAGES

Edith Wharton's essays on the magnificent villa gardens of Lombardy, Veneto, Florence, Siena and Rome are as full of interest today as when they were first published in 1904. (ITL716, $45.00)

Italian Days

Italian Days


by Barbara Grizzuti Harrison

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 479 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

Grizzuti Harrison writes with warmth and depth of her journey from Milan south to Calabria in this sprightly account of Italy and the Italians. (ITL02, $15.00)

A Farewell to Arms

A Farewell to Arms


by Ernest Hemingway

  • LITERATURE
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 332 PAGES

Set in snowy Switzerland and the rainy Italian Lake Country during World War I, this semi-autobiographical novel chronicles the romance between a British nurse and an American ambulance driver. (ITL384, $16.00)

Italy in Mind

Italy in Mind


by Alice Powers

  • LITERATURE
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 349 PAGES

A terrific collection of some of the best literary writing on Italy, including pieces by Melville, Lawrence, Henry James, Mary McCarthy and many others. (ITL39, $17.95)

The Betrothed

The Betrothed


by Alessandro Manzoni

  • LITERATURE
  • 1984
  • PAPER
  • 720 PAGES

By many accounts the first modern Italian novel, Manzoni's 1827 classic concerns star-crossed lovers in 17th-century Lombardy. Promoted during unification, Italy's best-known novel has been made into films and a musical. (ITL414, $18.00)

The Devil in the Hills

The Devil in the Hills


by Cesare Pavese

  • LITERATURE
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 220 PAGES

This book, the most personal of the many stories, poems and novels of Pavese, follows the summer adventures of three young men in the hills, vineyards and villages of the author's native Piedmont. (ITL430, $23.95)

On the Making of Gardens

On the Making of Gardens


by George Sitwell

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 162 PAGES

A handsome edition of Sitwell's 1909 meditation on the Renaissance gardens of Tuscany, Rome and the Lake District. It's not a handbook but rather an inspiring analysis of the transformation -- and magic -- of gardens. (ITL499, $16.95)

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.