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Al Dente, The Adventures of a Gastronome in Italy  •  William Black   • FOOD  •  William Black tosses a few receipts into this mix of travel, gastronomy and family history. (ITL548, $13.95)
 
 
The Ancient Mediterranean  •  Michael Grant   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  Grant explores the realms of archaeology, geography, art and economics to sketch this classic portrait of the ancient world, from prehistory through the Roman Imperium, and the influence on western civilization. (MED10, $18.00)
 
 
Birds of Europe  •  Killian Mullarney  •  Lars Svensson  •  Dan Zetterstrom  •  Peter J. Grant   • FIELD GUIDE • FAVORITE  •  A Princeton field guide to European birds, featuring 3,500 color illustrations that depict 722 species found across the continent. (FG47, $29.95)
 
 
The Birth of Venus, A Novel  •  Sarah Dunant   • LITERATURE  •  A rich novel of art, passion and patronage, memorably set in late 15th-century Florence and prominently featuring the famously pious reformer Savonarola. (ITL532, $13.95)
 
 
Blue Guide Sicily  •  Ellen Grady   • GUIDEBOOK  •  This in-depth guide to Sicily's ancient history and archaeology features good maps and site plans. (ITL125, $26.95)
 
 
Cadogan Guide Sicily  •  Dana Facaros   • GUIDEBOOK  •  A comprehensive look at the region from the excellent British guidebook series. (ITL115, $18.95)
 
 
Campania Region Map  •   Touring Club Italiano    •  A colorful map of Campania, including Naples and the Amalfi Coast. (ITL116, $12.95)
 
 
Casa Rossa  •  Francesca Marciano   • LITERATURE  •  A vivid novel following the lives of a mother, daughter, and granddaughter from Puglia over the course of the 20th century, opening as the narrator prepares to sell Casa Rossa, the family farm. (ITL534, $14.95)
 
 
A Concise History of Italy  •  Christopher Duggan   • HISTORY  •  A history of Italy from the fall of the Roman Empire to the present day. (ITL35, $28.99)
 
 
D.H. Lawrence and Italy  •  D.H. Lawrence  •  Tim Parks   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  This omnibus Penguin Classics edition includes 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)
 
 
The Dark Heart of Italy  •  Tobias Jones   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  An insightful portrait of contemporary Italy by a roving British journalist living in Parma. (ITL533, $15.00)
 
 
Edith Wharton's Italian Gardens  •  Vivian Russell   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR  •  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)
 
 
Eyewitness Guide Italy  •   Eyewitness Guides   • GUIDEBOOK  •  This superb guide features color photography, dozens of excellent local maps and a region-by-region synopsis of the country's attractions. Handsome, convenient and up-to-date, this is the guide to carry. (ITL32, $30.00)
 
 
Eyewitness Guide Umbria  •   Eyewitness Guides   • GUIDEBOOK  •  A marvelously illustrated, compact guide to the culture, history and attractions of Umbria, organized geographically and especially helpful for its innovative site plans, building diagrams and local maps. (ITL512, $20.00)
 
 
Fodor's Exploring Italy  •   Fodor's   • GUIDEBOOK  •  An excellent, up-to-date overview of Italy and its attractions. (ITL73, $22.00)
 
 
Fodor's See It Italy  •   Fodor's   • GUIDEBOOK  •  Fodor's informative guide to touring Italy, notable for its especially vibrant presentation of the country. (ITL550, $24.95)
 
 
For the Beauty of the Earth: Birding, Opera, and Other Journeys  •  Thomas Urquhart   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR  •  Urquhart chronicles a lifelong affair with nature, combined with a passion for music, as he travels-- and bird watches-- through pastoral England, Italy, the Camargue in Provence, and the villages of Mali. (BRD35, $15.00)
 
 
The Gothic Enterprise, A Guide to Understanding the Medieval Cathedral  •  Robert A. Scott   • ART & ARCHITECTURE  •  An accessible overview of the medieval cathedral, its history, design and architecture with black-and-white photographs. (EUR190, $17.95)
 
 
Herculaneum: Italy's Buried Treasure  •  Joseph Jay Deiss   • HISTORY  •  An artful and wonderfully written description of ancient Herculaneum. (ITL41, $18.95)
 
 
Here Is Where We Meet  •  John Berger   • LITERATURE  •  This novel weaves a portrait of several European countries through encounters with the dead, from the narrator's mother, whom he discovers on a park bench in Lisbon, to a childhood friend wandering a market in Krakow. (EUR189, $14.00)
 
 
Il Postino  •  Michael Radford    •  A shy Italian postman who learns the ways of poetry and romance while delivering mail to the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. (ITL541, $19.99)
 
 
The Inferno of Dante, A New Verse Translation  •  Dante Alighieri  •  Robert Pinsky   • LITERATURE  •  The celebrated modern translation of Dante's "Inferno." (ITL411, $11.00)
 
 
Insight Guide Italy  •   Insight Guides   • GUIDEBOOK  •  An illustrated overview of Italy with essays on its attractions, history and culture. (ITL108, $23.95)
 
 
Insight Guide Mediterranean Cruises  •   Insight Guides   • GUIDEBOOK  •  Covering 120 ports of call throughout the Mediterranean from the Canary Islands to Egypt. (MED94, $22.95)
 
 
Italian Cinema, From Neorealism to the Present  •  Peter Bondanella   • ART & ARCHITECTURE  •  A scholarly history modern Italian film. (ITL350, $29.95)
 
 
Italian English Bilingual Visual Dictionary  •   DK Publishing   • LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS  •  With thousands of neatly arranged color photographs, this compact book is impressively comprehensive, covering everything from the basics of la casa (house) to the vocabulary of le granaglie e i legumi secchi (grains and legumes). (ITL626, $12.95)
 
 
Italian Hours  •  Henry James   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  A classic series of travel essays written between 1872 and 1909 on the art, religion and people of Italy. James is an observant guide to Rome, Naples, Florence and other great destinations in the 19th century. (ITL07, $16.00)
 
 
Italian Indispensables Vocabulary Builder  •   Audio-Forum   • LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS  •  A short audio program wiith 50 common words and phrases for travelers. (ITL401, $9.95)
 
 
Italian Journey, 1786-1788  •  Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe  •  W.H. Auden  •  Elizabeth Meyer   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  The journals and letters from Goethe's 'grand tour' of southern Italy as translated by W.H. Auden. In addition to much musing on philosophy and art, it includes some wonderful writing on the Italian landscape. (ITL144, $17.00)
 
 
The Italians  •  Luigi Barzini   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  Audio version of the classic essay on the Italian character, first published in 1964. (ITL33, $69.95)
 
 
Italy and Its Invaders  •  Girolamo Arnaldi   • HISTORY  •  A wide-ranging history of the many empires and world powers that have invaded Italy, and their lasting influences, both positive and negative, on Italian art, architecture and culture up to the present day. (ITL661, $19.95)
 
 
Italy Map  •   Borch Maps    •  A laminated map at a scale of 1:800,000. (ITL19, $11.95)
 
 
Italy South Map  •   Michelin    •  A map of southern Italy, covering Molise, Campania, Puglia, Basilicata, Calabria, at a scale of 1:400,000. (ITL109, $8.95)
 
 
Italy, A Short History  •  Harry Hearder   • HISTORY  •  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, $26.99)
 
 
Italy, A Traveler's Literary Companion  •  Lawrence Venuti   • ANTHOLOGY  •  Not just a literary companion, this anthology is also a who's who of contemporary Italian writers that captures the spirit, history and allure of the country. (ITL466, $14.95)
 
 
Knopf Guide Naples and Pompeii  •   Knopf Guides   • GUIDEBOOK  •  A slender, attractive guide to the whole Amalfi Coast region with background, excellent maps and some practical information. (ITL63, $25.95)
 
 
La Dolce Vita  •  Federico Fellini    •  Fellini's celebrated masterpiece about a Roman tabloid reporter who fully indugles in the decadence of "the sweet life." (ITL543, $34.98)
 
 
The Leopard  •  Giuseppe Di Lampedusa   • LITERATURE • FAVORITE  •  Evoking a lost world of privilege and tradition, Giuseppe Di Lampedusa's evocative tale, set on a rural Sicilian estate during the days of independence, follows the world-weary Don Fabrizio, Prince of Salina. (ITL11, $14.95)
 
 
M, The Man Who Became Caravaggio  •  Peter Robb   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR  •  A masterful biography of the Renaissance painter by the author of "Midnight in Sicily." (ART47, $22.00)
 
 
Mammals of Europe  •  Priscilla Barrett  •  David W. MacDonald   • FIELD GUIDE  •  Published by Princeton, this is a field guide to land and marine mammals throughout Europe, both endemic and introduced. With more than 600 color illustrations of over 200 mammals. (FG61, $34.95)
 
 
Master and Commander, The Far Side of the World  •  Peter Weir   • LITERATURE  •  Russell Crowe stars in this adaptation of two Patrick O'Brian novels, a swashbuckling adventure set off the coast of Cape Horn in 1805. (GPS66, $39.98)
 
 
The Middle Sea, A History of the Mediterranean  •  John Julius Norwich   • HISTORY • NEW  •  A marvelous writer who has already tackled Byzantium, the Normans in Sicily and Venice, Norwich spins his magic in this story of culture, trade and politics, royalty and rulers, wars and religion in the Mediterranean. (MED98, $20.00)
 
 
Midnight in Sicily, On Art, Food, History, Travel and La Cosa Nostra  •  Peter Robb   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 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, $16.00)
 
 
Modigliani  •  Doris Krystof   • ART & ARCHITECTURE  •  This slim illustrated volume showcases Modigliani's distinct colorful style of painting and portraiture in the handsome Taschen style. (ART44, $9.99)
 
 
Naples at Table  •  Arthur Schwartz   • FOOD  •  A celebration of the food of Naples and Campania. Schwartz, host of "Foodtalk", covers not only the food (with over 100 recipes), but also the culture, history, and myths of the region. (ITL146, $32.95)
 
 
Naples Map  •   Touring Club Italiano    •  A good locally published map of Naples. (ITL280, $12.95)
 
 
The Olive, Tree of Civilization  •  John Train  •  Mark E. Smith   • HISTORY  •  A history of the celebrated vegetable and the mythology behind it. (NAT72, $25.00)
 
 
On Persephone's Island  •  Mary Taylor Simeti   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  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)
 
 
On The Road with Francis of Assisi  •  Linda Bird Francke   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  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)
 
 
One-Hundred & One Beautiful Small Towns in Italy  •  Paolo Lazzarin   • GUIDEBOOK  •  Each charming town gets an appreciative essay and evocative color photographs in this handsome tribute and excellent guide. (ITL546, $45.00)
 
 
Pilgrimages, The Great Adventure of the Middle Ages  •  John Ure   • HISTORY  •  (EUR202, $15.95)
 
 
Pimsleur Quick & Simple Italian  •   Pimsleur Language Method   • LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS  •  Four audio CDs with eight 30-minute lessons in basic Italian, covering elementary vocabulary and phrases used in travel and everyday situations. (ITL630, $19.95)
 
 
Plant Life in the World's Mediterranean Climates  •  Paul Dallman   • NATURAL HISTORY  •  Richly illustrated, clearly written and engaging, this book is an ecological overview of the landscapes, plants and vegetation types found in Mediterranean climates. (MED21, $35.95)
 
 
A Pompeian Herbal  •  Wilhelmina Jashemski   • FIELD GUIDE  •  A guide to 36 medicinal plants found at Pompeii, many still in use today. (ITL189, $17.95)
 
 
Pompeii, A Novel  •  Robert Harris   • LITERATURE  •  A fast-paced historical novel set in Pompeii. A young engineer sets out to repair the Roman aqueducts and discovers the imminent eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Full of suspense and period detail. (ITL560, $7.99)
 
 
Pompeii, Public and Private Life  •  Paul Zanker  •  Deborah Schneider   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  A comprehensive guide to the architecture, people and culture of Pompeii, focusing on both grand public spaces and private villas. With 21 color illustrations and 55 halftones, including site plans, models, mosaics and sculpture. (ITL114, $28.00)
 
 
Pompeii, The Day a City Died  •  Robert Etienne   • ARCHAEOLOGY  •  This indispensable pocket guide admirably illustrates daily life in the city as told by its evocative frescoes, mosaics and treasures. (ITL01, $12.95)
 
 
Pompeii: Monuments Past and Present  •  A. de Franciscis   • ARCHAEOLOGY • OUT OF PRINT  •  In this volume, Pompeii is shown first as it looks today and, via overlaid acetate illustrations, as it looked before the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D. An intuitive method of relating past and present. (ITL423, $24.95)
 
 
The Rise of Christianity  •  Rodney Stark   • RELIGION  •  The subtitle to this book says it all: "How the Obscure, Marginal Jesus Movement Became the Dominant Religious Force in the Western World in a Few Centuries." (MED64, $14.95)
 
 
Rough Guide Italy  •  Ros Belford   • GUIDEBOOK  •  A comprehensive guide in the British series with a good overview of culture and history, dozens of sketch maps and extensive listings. (ITL328, $22.95)
 
 
Short Stories in Italian, Racconti in Italiano  •  Nick Roberts   • LITERATURE  •  These modern tales in the bilingual series of Penguin Parallell Texts make for good reading in any language. (ITL730, $13.00)
 
 
Sicily Before History, An Archaeological Survey from the Paleolithic to the Iron Age  •  Robert Leighton   • ARCHAEOLOGY  •  A rich survey of Sicily's archaeological record geared for students and serious-minded travelers. (ITL110, $32.95)
 
 
Sicily Map  •   World Mapping Project    •  A convenient map of Sicily at a scale of 1:200,000, with excellent cartography. (ITL20, $9.99)
 
 
Sometimes the Soul, Two Novellas of Sicily  •  Gioia Timpanelli   • LITERATURE  •  Timpanelli reworks ancient Sicilian tales into two captivating modern novellas; one, "Ruesna, Not Quite Love" is a lyrical retelling of "Beauty and the Beast", set against the rustic backdrop of rural Sicily. (ITL113, $15.00)
 
 
Southern Italy Map  •   Touring Club Italiano    •  A regional map of Italy, stretching from Rome to the southern tip. (ITL222, $12.95)
 
 
Spartacus  •  Stanley Kubrick    •  Stanley Kubrick's riveting epic about the leader of a Roman slave revolt, starring no less than Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Charles Laughton, Tony Curtis and Peter Ustinov. (ITL544, $49.95)
 
 
The Talented Mr. Ripley  •  Anthony Minghella    •  A suspenseful thriller of obsession and jealousy starring Matt Damon and Jude Law, based on the popular mystery by Patricia Highsmith. (ITL542, $14.99)
 
 
That Fine Italian Hand  •  Paul Hoffman   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  An affectionate -- and insightful -- portrait of a people. (ITL346, $17.00)
 
 
Travelers' Tales Italy  •  Ann Calcagno  •  Jan Morris   • ANTHOLOGY  •  A collection of 48 stories on traveling in Italy and Italian life, featuring the writing of Barbara Grizzuti Harrison, Frances Mayes, Jonathan Keates, Stanley Crouch and others. (ITL182, $18.95)
 
 
Travelers' Tales, A Woman's Europe  •  Marybeth Bond  •  Mary Morris   • ANTHOLOGY  •  Visit Europe through the eyes of women writers, including Frances Mayes and Jan Morris. (EUR160, $17.95)
 
 
A Traveller's History of Italy  •  Valerio Lintner   • HISTORY  •  A brief history of Italy through the 1990s -- wide-ranging, accessible and necessarily condensed. With a useful chronology and historical gazetteer, this book marches confidently through the centuries. (ITL86, $14.95)
 
 
The Treasures and Pleasures of Italy  •  Ron Krannich   • GUIDEBOOK  •  A guidebook devoted to the unusual, out-of-the-way, or just plain wonderful. (ITL93, $14.95)
 
 
Tuscany in Mind  •  Alice Powers   • ANTHOLOGY  •  A fine literary anthology covering the region's history, geography, culture and (of course) food, featuring contributions by luminaries including D.H. Lawrence and Robert Browning. (ITL607, $14.95)
 
 
Vanishing Histories, 100 Endangered Sites from the World Monuments Fund  •  Colin Amery   • ART & ARCHITECTURE • HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE  •  A stunning portrait of 100 threatened archaeological and cultural monuments around the world from Angkor, Pompeii and Mesa Verde to lesser known buildings and sites, all listed by the World Monuments Fund. (GEN219, $60.00)
 
 
The Vinegar of Spilamberto, And Other Italian Adventures With Food, Places, And People  •  Doris Muscatine  •  Alice Waters   • FOOD  •  An account of the author's travels and love of Italy, its food and culture. (ITL662, $15.00)
 
 
A Vittorini Omnibus  •  Elio Vittorini  •  Ernest Hemingway   • LITERATURE  •  These short novels by a modern master include Vittorini's classic tale of a sophisticated man who returns to his native village, In Sicily. (ITL10, $18.95)
 
 
Voice of the Violin  •  Andrea Camilleri  •  Stephen Sartarelli   • MYSTERY  •  The fourth installment in the popular Inspector Montalbano series, complete with a quirky cast of Sicilian characters. (ITL537, $13.00)
 
 
The Volcano Lover, A Romance  •  Susan Sontag   • LITERATURE  •  A steamy and evocative historical novel by social critic Sontag, set in 18th-century Naples. The sweeping story focuses on the British Ambassador to the King in Naples, his passionate and notorious love, and her infatuation with Lord Nelson. (ITL143, $15.00)
 
 
Volcanoes, Fire From the Earth  •  Maurice Krafft   • NATURAL HISTORY • OUT OF PRINT  •  This illustrated pocket encyclopedia in the Discoveries series, featuring hundreds of full color paintings, traces the study of volcanoes from early myth and legend to modern science. By the great French volcanologist (who died on the job on Mount Unzen in Japan in 1992). (GEO06, $12.95)
 
 
The Walker's Literary Companion  •  Robert Gilbert  •  Anne Wallace  •  Jeffrey Robinson   • ANTHOLOGY  •  A diverse sampling of literature on the pleasures of walking, representing philosophers, naturalists, outcasts, athletes and intellectuals from Plato to Frank O'Hara. (WLK08, $24.00)
 
 
Walking  •  Henry David Thoreau   • REFERENCE  •  You may want to carry this small volume in your daypack for inspiration. In it, Thoreau offers his meditations on the spiritual benefits of this most civilized form of travel. (WLK04, $9.95)
 
 
 




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