Discover

1 Sights

5 Eating

6 Drinking

4 Sleeping

8 Information

ContentsI

Throughout this book, we use these icons to highlight special recommendations:

These icons help you quickly identify reviews in the text and on the map:

Don’t MissA must-see – don’t go home until you’ve been there

If you like…Lesser-known alternatives to world-famous attractions

Local experts reveal their top picks and secret highlights

DetourSpecial places a little off the beaten track

The Best…Lists for everything from bars to wildlife – to make sure you don’t miss out

This edition written and researched by

Alison BingAbigail Blasi, Cristian Bonetto, Gregor Clark, Joe Fullman,

Duncan Garwood, Paula Hardy, Robert Landon, Virginia Maxwell, Olivia Pozzan, Brendan Sainsbury,

Donna Wheeler, Nicola Williams

Italy

00-title-is-dc-ita2.indd 1 25/11/2011 11:14:19 AM

#p51

#p109 #p157

#p213

#p273

#p311

Rome &the Vatican

Florence,Tuscany &Umbria

Venice,Veneto &Bologna

Milan,the Lakes &Piedmont

Naples,Pompeii &

the Amalfi Coast

Sicily &Southern Italy

Rome &the Vatican Highlights ................................ 54

Museo e Galleria Borghese

Colosseum

Vatican Museums

St Peter’s Basilica

Roman Forum

Roman Catacombs

Trastevere

Venice, Veneto & BolognaHighlights .............................. 160

Legendary Venice

Culinary Bologna & Veneto

Glimpse Heaven Inside St Mark’s Basilica

Admire Propaganda at the Ducal Palace

Meet the Venetian Masters

Clamour for More at Verona’s Roman Arena

Bologna’s Quadrilatero

Florence, Tuscany & UmbriaHighlights ...............................216

Duomo, Florence

Sacred Assisi

Develop a Celebrity Crush at the Accademia

Actually Enjoy Politics at Palazzo Pubblico

Chianti Landscape

Feel Small in San Gimignano

Orvieto’s Cathedral

Naples, Pompeii & the Amalfi CoastHighlights .............................. 276

Ruins of Pompeii

Sing in the Blue Grotto

Get a Positive Outlook in Positano

Become Speechless in Ravello

Turn Back Time at Museo Archaeologico Nazionale

Make a Meal of the Centro Storico

Milan, the Lakes & Piedmont Highlights ...............................112

Milan Fashion & Design

Lake Como

Da Vinci’s Last Supper

Get Wowed atop Milan’s Duomo

Live Bellagio’s Dolce Vita

Window-shop Milan’s Quadrilatero d’Oro

Turin’s Eataly

00-title-is-dc-ita2.indd 2 25/11/2011 11:14:24 AM

Contents

Sicily &Southern Italy

Highlights .............................314

Culinary Sicily

Go Greek in Syracuse

Hit the Beach at Taormina

Peek into the Volcano atop Mt Etna

Snooze in a Sassi

Glimpse Heaven inside the Palatine Chapel

Rome &the Vatican 51Highlights ..................... 54

Best… ............................ 60

Walking Tour ................ 62

Rome ............................. 64Roman Forum ...............70The Colosseum .............72Ostia Antica .................. 84Vatican Museums ........ 89St Peter’s Basilica ........ 90Villa Borghese ...............93Roman Catacombs .......95Tivoli: Villa Adriana & Villa D’Este ............... 107

Milan, the Lakes & Piedmont 109Highlights .....................112

Best… ........................... 118

Itineraries ....................120

Milan.............................122Duomo ......................... 123Da Vinci’s Last Supper ............................127Certosa di Pavia ..........130Quadrilatero d’Oro......136

The Lakes ....................138Lake Maggiore ............138Lake Como ...................141Bellagio ........................ 146

This Is Italy .....................6

Italy Map..........................8

Italy’s Top 25 Experiences ..................10

Italy’s Top Itineraries ......................32

Month by Month ......... 42

What’s New .................. 46

Get Inspired ..................47

Need to Know .............. 48

On the RoadPlan Your Trip

00-title-is-dc-ita2.indd 3 25/11/2011 11:14:26 AM

Contents

Blue Grotto ..................301

Amalfi Coast ..............304Positano ...................... 305Ravello ........................ 306Amalfi ......................... 307Paestum ..................... 309

Sicily &Southern Italy 311Highlights ....................314

Best… ...........................318

Itineraries ................... 320

Sicily............................ 322Palermo ...................... 322Palatine Chapel .......... 326Aeolian Islands ........... 330Cefalù ..........................331Catania ....................... 332Taormina .................... 333Mt Etna ....................... 334Syracuse .................... 335Ancient Syracuse ....... 338Noto ............................ 339Valley of the Temples ....................... 341Puglia ..........................341Vieste ...........................341Bari ............................. 343Lecce .......................... 344Alberobello ................. 345

Basilicata .................... 345Matera ........................ 345Matera's Sassi ........... 346

Galleria dell’Accademia............ 231The Uffizi .................... 232

Northern & Western Tuscany ....... 243Pisa ............................. 243Lucca ...........................247

Central Tuscany ........ 250Siena ........................... 250Palazzo Pubblico ........252Chianti Vineyards ...... 255San Gimignano .......... 256

Umbria ........................ 258Perugia ....................... 258Urbino ......................... 263Assisi .......................... 263Spoleto ....................... 266Orvieto ........................ 267Orvieto’s Cathedral ....270

Naples, Pompeii & the Amalfi Coast 273Highlights ....................276

Best… ..........................280

Itineraries ................... 282Naples ........................ 284Museo Archaeologico Nazionale .................... 289Mt Vesuvius ................ 294South of Naples ....... 284Pompeii ...................... 298Sorrento ..................... 299Capri ...........................300

Piedmont ..................... 147Turin ............................. 147Lingotto Fiere & Eataly ............................. 150Aosta ............................ 154Cinque Terre ...............154

Venice, Veneto & Bologna 157Highlights ....................160

Best… ...........................166

Itineraries ....................168

Venice...........................170Grand Canal ................ 176Gallerie dell’Accademia............ 181Ducal Palace ...............182St Mark’s Basilica .......185The Dolomites ............. 192Padua ...........................201Verona ........................ 204Verona's Roman Arena ............. 206

Bologna....................... 207

Florence, Tuscany & Umbria 213Highlights ....................216

Best… .......................... 222

Itineraries ................... 224

Florence ...................... 226

00-title-is-dc-ita2.indd 4 25/11/2011 11:14:26 AM

Directory ....................384Accommodation ........ 384Climate ....................... 386Customs Regulations ................ 386Discount Cards .......... 386Electricity ................... 387Food ............................ 387Gay & Lesbian Travellers .................... 387Health ......................... 387Insurance ................... 388Internet Access ......... 388Legal Matters............. 388Money ......................... 389Public Holidays .......... 390Telephone .................. 390Time .............................391Tourist Information ....391Travellers with Disabilities.................. 392Visas ........................... 393Women Travellers ..... 393

Transport ....................394Getting There & Away ........................ 394Getting Around .......... 395

Language .................... 401

Behind the Scenes....402

Index ............................ 407

How to Use This Book .............................414

Our Writers ..................416

Italy Today .................. 350

History ........................ 352

Family Travel .............. 363

Art & Architecture .... 365

The Italian Table ....... 369

Lifestyle .......................374

Outdoor Experiences ................378

Fashion & Design ......380

Survival GuideIn Focus

00-title-is-dc-ita2.indd 5 25/11/2011 11:14:27 AM

This Is Italy

Italy wears its

millennia of turbulent

history extra-

ordinarily well.

Packing your bags for every possible Italian adventure is a challenge – yet Italy makes it look easy, with 47 Unesco World Heritage sites, 20 champion soccer teams, 40 European Union–acclaimed cheeses and (get this) one million vineyards, all crammed into a country the size of a Prada clutch.

Just come as you are, and let Italy show you how it’s done. In a couple of days you’ll have a new wardrobe; in a week you’ll be on a Vespa, making gestures that could get you arrested elsewhere. You’ve got places to go: an Amalfi Coast beach, maybe an opera in a Roman amphitheatre, or your pick of Italy’s year-round festivals. You don’t have to wait for Venice Carnevale or yet another World Cup victory to party in the streets – any old saint’s day or country sagra (harvest fair) will do.

Hungry? Ah, that’s Italy’s favourite word. Thanks to ancient volcanoes and an unusually sunny disposition, there’s always some local, seasonal speciality bursting with flavour, and it will be delivered to you atop the best pasta or risotto you will have in this lifetime. City-state turf battles long fought by armies are now waged by pizzaioli (pizza-makers) over the correct thickness of a crust – best not to get the Neapolitans and Romans started. Just eat and smile, which should be easy.

Maybe it’s the Mediterranean diet, but Italy wears its millennia of turbulent history extraordinarily well. Roman towns like Pompeii, Herculaneum and Ostia Antica were so well preserved by their masks of mud or volcanic ash, you’ll swear they’re not a day over 1950 years old. But Italy also offers glimpses into the future, with cutting-edge design showcases during Milan’s Salone Internazionale del Mobile and a recent boom in contemporary art museums in Venice, Turin, Naples and Rome. For big ideas, major meals and outsized personalities, Italy has your dream vacation in the bag.

Gondola ride (p171), VeniceJEAN-PIERRE LESCOURRET/LONELY PLANET IMAGES ©

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