One Hundred & One Beautiful Small Towns in Italy (Rizzoli Classics)

Note this detail in the publisher's description: "now in a popular pocket-size format." Its trim size is just 8.25"-by-8.25", a perfect square. (Small, though hardly pocket-size.) If you plan to tuck the book in your suitcase, this is the version to buy. But if you'd prefer a taller, more sumptuous version, ideal for your coffee table, with the same photos 25% larger, you might prefer the second-listed version, published in 2004, with a trim size of 10.25"-by-12.5". This heftier version resembles two other big coffee-table picture books on Italy that are even more mouth-watering: "The Most Beautiful Villages of Tuscany" by Bentley & Palmer, and "The Most Beautiful Country Towns of Italy" by Bentley and Ramsay. Because Milan journalist/photographer Paolo Lazzarin covers so many towns here, his treatment of them is necessarily brief. Typically, for each one he offers a page of text and, opposite, a handsome photograph of one of the town's highlights. Some towns, like Siena, enjoy two additional pages of photos. The book is probably most useful to readers planning a first or second trip to Italy. It serves up a scattering of charming towns that are extra-extra-special for one reason or another (not just for their beauty). Some of them, like the magical hill town San Gimignano, might later prove a highlight of one's entire trip, ranking right up there with Florence or Venice. At the front of the book is a map showing the 20 regions of Italy, making it easier to visualize a proposed itinerary, and at the back, an appendix lists, by region, lots of useful addresses & phone numbers--of recommended hotels, restaurants, tourist information offices, and shops. As with other Rizzoli publications, the photographs, on glossy paper stock, are crystal clear, nicely varied, and often magnificent. The book is worth buying for the photos alone, but the commentaries are unfailingly interesting, too. A truly lovely volume, highly recommended.

The text is to the point, bringing uniqueness of each place, its rich history, traditions and fairs. Not every town will appeal to everyone. Where one sees nothing, the other sees a treasure. Nevertheless, the amount of the given information is appropriate for this kind of book. This is not a research book with all the details. For me the true gem of this book, are the foods and fairs listed at a lot of those places. For example, Aosta almost at the crossroads with France and Switzerland often is being discovered by accident. I happened to be there this past summer and one raises a question why it’s not so touristy with such historical heritage. I found the answer in this book – this remote Alpine town is not easy to find. In the ancient times it was strategically located to watch for the enemy coming from the Alps. Today such strategic location proves to be hard to find. I didn’t know that Aosta had Sant’Orso Fair until I read it in this book. However, the book states that originally it was during the last two days of January and nowadays it’s on August 15. The official website of Aosta states that it is still during the last two days of January. For most of the places, the pictures show the true spirit of the city. For example Alba, the city of truffles, shows it clearly with its market selling truffles. However, for example, the picture of a street in Merano doesn’t show the true spirit of the town and I know it, because I’ve been there myself. The town is known for its healing resorts and vineyards rolling down right into the town. I was very surprised to see Verona in this book, which is not a small town. Bolzano is not a small town neither, but has so much more charm being nestled in the Alps with vineyards extending to the town. This town gained popularity, when the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology was created to host the Iceman found in the Alps. Overall, I truly enjoyed this book. I would highly recommend it or buy it again as a gift.

This book is a lot smaller than I expected. The pictures are pretty, but the text is very small. The caption text under the pictures is so tiny you need a magnifying glass to read it (maybe a size 6 font?) I bought this as a gift for a friend going to Italy and was somewhat disappointed.

This book so easily covers the many beautiful villages, areas, parts of Italy and is worth having for any future planned trip. And I remember back decades during my first visit to Italy.... Highly recommended!

"101 Beautiful Small Towns of Italy" is not a guide book in the strict sense of the word. It is a wonderful coffee table book you should always keep there in order to browse through and get pleasure from the beautiful photos of all those beautiful towns. It is divided according to historical regions of Northern, Central and Southern Italy, as well as the islands. It gives you a host of the facts about the history and culture of the towns. And their histories are so entertwined, you get the history of Italy in miniature. But the book also gives such extensive information about what to see in these towns and around them, what and where to eat, where and what to shop for,as well as a lot of advice about places to stay, that you really can use it as a guide book. Highly recommended for everybody who enjoys travelling and beautiful photography.

Got this book for my dad for his birthday. The pictures were gorgeous, but he definitely cannot read the fine print font they included. Even I had trouble reading the different descriptions.

It was purchased as a gift so I didn't really read it. I thumbed through it, though, and it looked interesting. Good photography and lots of it, and nice quality paper. The cover to the book I bought was somewhat scuffed, but that wasn't the books fault.

If you are a fan of Italy or grew up there, read this. My father was born and raised in a small town there, and this book made us so happy.

Enjoyed looking at pix. Descriptions good but would enjoy a little map in corner of each page showing general location. Used to determine what towns I want to go to.

This takes you to wonderful places off the beaten path. I love smaller European cities.

Note this detail in the publisher's description: "now in a popular pocket-size format." Its trim size is just 8.25"-by-8.25", a perfect square. (Small, though hardly pocket-size.) If you plan to tuck the book in your suitcase, this is the version to buy. But if you'd prefer a taller, more sumptuous version, ideal for your coffee table, with the same photos 25% larger, you might prefer the second-listed version, published in 2004, with a trim size of 10.25"-by-12.5". This heftier version resembles two other big coffee-table picture books on Italy that are even more mouth-watering: "The Most Beautiful Villages of Tuscany" by Bentley & Palmer, and "The Most Beautiful Country Towns of Italy" by Bentley and Ramsay. Because Milan journalist/photographer Paolo Lazzarin covers so many towns here, his treatment of them is necessarily brief. Typically, for each one he offers a page of text and, opposite, a handsome photograph of one of the town's highlights. Some towns, like Siena, enjoy two additional pages of photos. The book is probably most useful to readers planning a first or second trip to Italy. It serves up a scattering of charming towns that are extra-extra-special for one reason or another (not just for their beauty). Some of them, like the magical hill town San Gimignano, might later prove a highlight of one's entire trip, ranking right up there with Florence or Venice. At the front of the book is a map showing the 20 regions of Italy, making it easier to visualize a proposed itinerary, and at the back, an appendix lists, by region, lots of useful addresses & phone numbers--of recommended hotels, restaurants, tourist information offices, and shops. As with other Rizzoli publications, the photographs, on glossy paper stock, are crystal clear, nicely varied, and often magnificent. The book is worth buying for the photos alone, but the commentaries are unfailingly interesting, too. A truly lovely volume, highly recommended.

The text is to the point, bringing uniqueness of each place, its rich history, traditions and fairs. Not every town will appeal to everyone. Where one sees nothing, the other sees a treasure. Nevertheless, the amount of the given information is appropriate for this kind of book. This is not a research book with all the details. For me the true gem of this book, are the foods and fairs listed at a lot of those places. For example, Aosta almost at the crossroads with France and Switzerland often is being discovered by accident. I happened to be there this past summer and one raises a question why it’s not so touristy with such historical heritage. I found the answer in this book – this remote Alpine town is not easy to find. In the ancient times it was strategically located to watch for the enemy coming from the Alps. Today such strategic location proves to be hard to find. I didn’t know that Aosta had Sant’Orso Fair until I read it in this book. However, the book states that originally it was during the last two days of January and nowadays it’s on August 15. The official website of Aosta states that it is still during the last two days of January. For most of the places, the pictures show the true spirit of the city. For example Alba, the city of truffles, shows it clearly with its market selling truffles. However, for example, the picture of a street in Merano doesn’t show the true spirit of the town and I know it, because I’ve been there myself. The town is known for its healing resorts and vineyards rolling down right into the town. I was very surprised to see Verona in this book, which is not a small town. Bolzano is not a small town neither, but has so much more charm being nestled in the Alps with vineyards extending to the town. This town gained popularity, when the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology was created to host the Iceman found in the Alps. Overall, I truly enjoyed this book. I would highly recommend it or buy it again as a gift.

This book is a lot smaller than I expected. The pictures are pretty, but the text is very small. The caption text under the pictures is so tiny you need a magnifying glass to read it (maybe a size 6 font?) I bought this as a gift for a friend going to Italy and was somewhat disappointed.

This book so easily covers the many beautiful villages, areas, parts of Italy and is worth having for any future planned trip. And I remember back decades during my first visit to Italy.... Highly recommended!

"101 Beautiful Small Towns of Italy" is not a guide book in the strict sense of the word. It is a wonderful coffee table book you should always keep there in order to browse through and get pleasure from the beautiful photos of all those beautiful towns. It is divided according to historical regions of Northern, Central and Southern Italy, as well as the islands. It gives you a host of the facts about the history and culture of the towns. And their histories are so entertwined, you get the history of Italy in miniature. But the book also gives such extensive information about what to see in these towns and around them, what and where to eat, where and what to shop for,as well as a lot of advice about places to stay, that you really can use it as a guide book. Highly recommended for everybody who enjoys travelling and beautiful photography.

Got this book for my dad for his birthday. The pictures were gorgeous, but he definitely cannot read the fine print font they included. Even I had trouble reading the different descriptions.

It was purchased as a gift so I didn't really read it. I thumbed through it, though, and it looked interesting. Good photography and lots of it, and nice quality paper. The cover to the book I bought was somewhat scuffed, but that wasn't the books fault.

If you are a fan of Italy or grew up there, read this. My father was born and raised in a small town there, and this book made us so happy.

Enjoyed looking at pix. Descriptions good but would enjoy a little map in corner of each page showing general location. Used to determine what towns I want to go to.

This takes you to wonderful places off the beaten path. I love smaller European cities.

Note this detail in the publisher's description: "now in a popular pocket-size format." Its trim size is just 8.25"-by-8.25", a perfect square. (Small, though hardly pocket-size.) If you plan to tuck the book in your suitcase, this is the version to buy. But if you'd prefer a taller, more sumptuous version, ideal for your coffee table, with the same photos 25% larger, you might prefer the second-listed version, published in 2004, with a trim size of 10.25"-by-12.5". This heftier version resembles two other big coffee-table picture books on Italy that are even more mouth-watering: "The Most Beautiful Villages of Tuscany" by Bentley & Palmer, and "The Most Beautiful Country Towns of Italy" by Bentley and Ramsay. Because Milan journalist/photographer Paolo Lazzarin covers so many towns here, his treatment of them is necessarily brief. Typically, for each one he offers a page of text and, opposite, a handsome photograph of one of the town's highlights. Some towns, like Siena, enjoy two additional pages of photos. The book is probably most useful to readers planning a first or second trip to Italy. It serves up a scattering of charming towns that are extra-extra-special for one reason or another (not just for their beauty). Some of them, like the magical hill town San Gimignano, might later prove a highlight of one's entire trip, ranking right up there with Florence or Venice. At the front of the book is a map showing the 20 regions of Italy, making it easier to visualize a proposed itinerary, and at the back, an appendix lists, by region, lots of useful addresses & phone numbers--of recommended hotels, restaurants, tourist information offices, and shops. As with other Rizzoli publications, the photographs, on glossy paper stock, are crystal clear, nicely varied, and often magnificent. The book is worth buying for the photos alone, but the commentaries are unfailingly interesting, too. A truly lovely volume, highly recommended.

The text is to the point, bringing uniqueness of each place, its rich history, traditions and fairs. Not every town will appeal to everyone. Where one sees nothing, the other sees a treasure. Nevertheless, the amount of the given information is appropriate for this kind of book. This is not a research book with all the details. For me the true gem of this book, are the foods and fairs listed at a lot of those places. For example, Aosta almost at the crossroads with France and Switzerland often is being discovered by accident. I happened to be there this past summer and one raises a question why it’s not so touristy with such historical heritage. I found the answer in this book – this remote Alpine town is not easy to find. In the ancient times it was strategically located to watch for the enemy coming from the Alps. Today such strategic location proves to be hard to find. I didn’t know that Aosta had Sant’Orso Fair until I read it in this book. However, the book states that originally it was during the last two days of January and nowadays it’s on August 15. The official website of Aosta states that it is still during the last two days of January. For most of the places, the pictures show the true spirit of the city. For example Alba, the city of truffles, shows it clearly with its market selling truffles. However, for example, the picture of a street in Merano doesn’t show the true spirit of the town and I know it, because I’ve been there myself. The town is known for its healing resorts and vineyards rolling down right into the town. I was very surprised to see Verona in this book, which is not a small town. Bolzano is not a small town neither, but has so much more charm being nestled in the Alps with vineyards extending to the town. This town gained popularity, when the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology was created to host the Iceman found in the Alps. Overall, I truly enjoyed this book. I would highly recommend it or buy it again as a gift.

This book is a lot smaller than I expected. The pictures are pretty, but the text is very small. The caption text under the pictures is so tiny you need a magnifying glass to read it (maybe a size 6 font?) I bought this as a gift for a friend going to Italy and was somewhat disappointed.

This book so easily covers the many beautiful villages, areas, parts of Italy and is worth having for any future planned trip. And I remember back decades during my first visit to Italy.... Highly recommended!

"101 Beautiful Small Towns of Italy" is not a guide book in the strict sense of the word. It is a wonderful coffee table book you should always keep there in order to browse through and get pleasure from the beautiful photos of all those beautiful towns. It is divided according to historical regions of Northern, Central and Southern Italy, as well as the islands. It gives you a host of the facts about the history and culture of the towns. And their histories are so entertwined, you get the history of Italy in miniature. But the book also gives such extensive information about what to see in these towns and around them, what and where to eat, where and what to shop for,as well as a lot of advice about places to stay, that you really can use it as a guide book. Highly recommended for everybody who enjoys travelling and beautiful photography.

Got this book for my dad for his birthday. The pictures were gorgeous, but he definitely cannot read the fine print font they included. Even I had trouble reading the different descriptions.

It was purchased as a gift so I didn't really read it. I thumbed through it, though, and it looked interesting. Good photography and lots of it, and nice quality paper. The cover to the book I bought was somewhat scuffed, but that wasn't the books fault.

If you are a fan of Italy or grew up there, read this. My father was born and raised in a small town there, and this book made us so happy.

Enjoyed looking at pix. Descriptions good but would enjoy a little map in corner of each page showing general location. Used to determine what towns I want to go to.

This takes you to wonderful places off the beaten path. I love smaller European cities.

Note this detail in the publisher's description: "now in a popular pocket-size format." Its trim size is just 8.25"-by-8.25", a perfect square. (Small, though hardly pocket-size.) If you plan to tuck the book in your suitcase, this is the version to buy. But if you'd prefer a taller, more sumptuous version, ideal for your coffee table, with the same photos 25% larger, you might prefer the second-listed version, published in 2004, with a trim size of 10.25"-by-12.5". This heftier version resembles two other big coffee-table picture books on Italy that are even more mouth-watering: "The Most Beautiful Villages of Tuscany" by Bentley & Palmer, and "The Most Beautiful Country Towns of Italy" by Bentley and Ramsay. Because Milan journalist/photographer Paolo Lazzarin covers so many towns here, his treatment of them is necessarily brief. Typically, for each one he offers a page of text and, opposite, a handsome photograph of one of the town's highlights. Some towns, like Siena, enjoy two additional pages of photos. The book is probably most useful to readers planning a first or second trip to Italy. It serves up a scattering of charming towns that are extra-extra-special for one reason or another (not just for their beauty). Some of them, like the magical hill town San Gimignano, might later prove a highlight of one's entire trip, ranking right up there with Florence or Venice. At the front of the book is a map showing the 20 regions of Italy, making it easier to visualize a proposed itinerary, and at the back, an appendix lists, by region, lots of useful addresses & phone numbers--of recommended hotels, restaurants, tourist information offices, and shops. As with other Rizzoli publications, the photographs, on glossy paper stock, are crystal clear, nicely varied, and often magnificent. The book is worth buying for the photos alone, but the commentaries are unfailingly interesting, too. A truly lovely volume, highly recommended.

The text is to the point, bringing uniqueness of each place, its rich history, traditions and fairs. Not every town will appeal to everyone. Where one sees nothing, the other sees a treasure. Nevertheless, the amount of the given information is appropriate for this kind of book. This is not a research book with all the details. For me the true gem of this book, are the foods and fairs listed at a lot of those places. For example, Aosta almost at the crossroads with France and Switzerland often is being discovered by accident. I happened to be there this past summer and one raises a question why it’s not so touristy with such historical heritage. I found the answer in this book – this remote Alpine town is not easy to find. In the ancient times it was strategically located to watch for the enemy coming from the Alps. Today such strategic location proves to be hard to find. I didn’t know that Aosta had Sant’Orso Fair until I read it in this book. However, the book states that originally it was during the last two days of January and nowadays it’s on August 15. The official website of Aosta states that it is still during the last two days of January. For most of the places, the pictures show the true spirit of the city. For example Alba, the city of truffles, shows it clearly with its market selling truffles. However, for example, the picture of a street in Merano doesn’t show the true spirit of the town and I know it, because I’ve been there myself. The town is known for its healing resorts and vineyards rolling down right into the town. I was very surprised to see Verona in this book, which is not a small town. Bolzano is not a small town neither, but has so much more charm being nestled in the Alps with vineyards extending to the town. This town gained popularity, when the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology was created to host the Iceman found in the Alps. Overall, I truly enjoyed this book. I would highly recommend it or buy it again as a gift.

This book is a lot smaller than I expected. The pictures are pretty, but the text is very small. The caption text under the pictures is so tiny you need a magnifying glass to read it (maybe a size 6 font?) I bought this as a gift for a friend going to Italy and was somewhat disappointed.

This book so easily covers the many beautiful villages, areas, parts of Italy and is worth having for any future planned trip. And I remember back decades during my first visit to Italy.... Highly recommended!

"101 Beautiful Small Towns of Italy" is not a guide book in the strict sense of the word. It is a wonderful coffee table book you should always keep there in order to browse through and get pleasure from the beautiful photos of all those beautiful towns. It is divided according to historical regions of Northern, Central and Southern Italy, as well as the islands. It gives you a host of the facts about the history and culture of the towns. And their histories are so entertwined, you get the history of Italy in miniature. But the book also gives such extensive information about what to see in these towns and around them, what and where to eat, where and what to shop for,as well as a lot of advice about places to stay, that you really can use it as a guide book. Highly recommended for everybody who enjoys travelling and beautiful photography.

Got this book for my dad for his birthday. The pictures were gorgeous, but he definitely cannot read the fine print font they included. Even I had trouble reading the different descriptions.

It was purchased as a gift so I didn't really read it. I thumbed through it, though, and it looked interesting. Good photography and lots of it, and nice quality paper. The cover to the book I bought was somewhat scuffed, but that wasn't the books fault.

If you are a fan of Italy or grew up there, read this. My father was born and raised in a small town there, and this book made us so happy.

Enjoyed looking at pix. Descriptions good but would enjoy a little map in corner of each page showing general location. Used to determine what towns I want to go to.

This takes you to wonderful places off the beaten path. I love smaller European cities.

Note this detail in the publisher's description: "now in a popular pocket-size format." Its trim size is just 8.25"-by-8.25", a perfect square. (Small, though hardly pocket-size.) If you plan to tuck the book in your suitcase, this is the version to buy. But if you'd prefer a taller, more sumptuous version, ideal for your coffee table, with the same photos 25% larger, you might prefer the second-listed version, published in 2004, with a trim size of 10.25"-by-12.5". This heftier version resembles two other big coffee-table picture books on Italy that are even more mouth-watering: "The Most Beautiful Villages of Tuscany" by Bentley & Palmer, and "The Most Beautiful Country Towns of Italy" by Bentley and Ramsay. Because Milan journalist/photographer Paolo Lazzarin covers so many towns here, his treatment of them is necessarily brief. Typically, for each one he offers a page of text and, opposite, a handsome photograph of one of the town's highlights. Some towns, like Siena, enjoy two additional pages of photos. The book is probably most useful to readers planning a first or second trip to Italy. It serves up a scattering of charming towns that are extra-extra-special for one reason or another (not just for their beauty). Some of them, like the magical hill town San Gimignano, might later prove a highlight of one's entire trip, ranking right up there with Florence or Venice. At the front of the book is a map showing the 20 regions of Italy, making it easier to visualize a proposed itinerary, and at the back, an appendix lists, by region, lots of useful addresses & phone numbers--of recommended hotels, restaurants, tourist information offices, and shops. As with other Rizzoli publications, the photographs, on glossy paper stock, are crystal clear, nicely varied, and often magnificent. The book is worth buying for the photos alone, but the commentaries are unfailingly interesting, too. A truly lovely volume, highly recommended.

The text is to the point, bringing uniqueness of each place, its rich history, traditions and fairs. Not every town will appeal to everyone. Where one sees nothing, the other sees a treasure. Nevertheless, the amount of the given information is appropriate for this kind of book. This is not a research book with all the details. For me the true gem of this book, are the foods and fairs listed at a lot of those places. For example, Aosta almost at the crossroads with France and Switzerland often is being discovered by accident. I happened to be there this past summer and one raises a question why it’s not so touristy with such historical heritage. I found the answer in this book – this remote Alpine town is not easy to find. In the ancient times it was strategically located to watch for the enemy coming from the Alps. Today such strategic location proves to be hard to find. I didn’t know that Aosta had Sant’Orso Fair until I read it in this book. However, the book states that originally it was during the last two days of January and nowadays it’s on August 15. The official website of Aosta states that it is still during the last two days of January. For most of the places, the pictures show the true spirit of the city. For example Alba, the city of truffles, shows it clearly with its market selling truffles. However, for example, the picture of a street in Merano doesn’t show the true spirit of the town and I know it, because I’ve been there myself. The town is known for its healing resorts and vineyards rolling down right into the town. I was very surprised to see Verona in this book, which is not a small town. Bolzano is not a small town neither, but has so much more charm being nestled in the Alps with vineyards extending to the town. This town gained popularity, when the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology was created to host the Iceman found in the Alps. Overall, I truly enjoyed this book. I would highly recommend it or buy it again as a gift.

This book is a lot smaller than I expected. The pictures are pretty, but the text is very small. The caption text under the pictures is so tiny you need a magnifying glass to read it (maybe a size 6 font?) I bought this as a gift for a friend going to Italy and was somewhat disappointed.

This book so easily covers the many beautiful villages, areas, parts of Italy and is worth having for any future planned trip. And I remember back decades during my first visit to Italy.... Highly recommended!

"101 Beautiful Small Towns of Italy" is not a guide book in the strict sense of the word. It is a wonderful coffee table book you should always keep there in order to browse through and get pleasure from the beautiful photos of all those beautiful towns. It is divided according to historical regions of Northern, Central and Southern Italy, as well as the islands. It gives you a host of the facts about the history and culture of the towns. And their histories are so entertwined, you get the history of Italy in miniature. But the book also gives such extensive information about what to see in these towns and around them, what and where to eat, where and what to shop for,as well as a lot of advice about places to stay, that you really can use it as a guide book. Highly recommended for everybody who enjoys travelling and beautiful photography.

Got this book for my dad for his birthday. The pictures were gorgeous, but he definitely cannot read the fine print font they included. Even I had trouble reading the different descriptions.

It was purchased as a gift so I didn't really read it. I thumbed through it, though, and it looked interesting. Good photography and lots of it, and nice quality paper. The cover to the book I bought was somewhat scuffed, but that wasn't the books fault.

If you are a fan of Italy or grew up there, read this. My father was born and raised in a small town there, and this book made us so happy.

Enjoyed looking at pix. Descriptions good but would enjoy a little map in corner of each page showing general location. Used to determine what towns I want to go to.

This takes you to wonderful places off the beaten path. I love smaller European cities.

ONE HUNDRED AND ONE BEAUTIFUL SMALL TOWNS OF ITALY is a lavishly illustrated insider's look at the Italy as known to Italians. Writer Paolo Lazzarin took on this project of focusing on the secret treasures within Italy and wrote it for Italians. Now Rizzoli has released it internationally and all of us who love this most romantic of countries are the richer for this guidebook. Lazzarin has divided his book into the multiple regions of Italy from the north to the south and shows us all the hidden small towns that are in the regions of the famous cities such as Venice, Milan, Florence, Siena, and Rome. He is careful to acknowledge the influence of these cities we all know, but at the same time he graces each of the 101 towns with descriptions of the land the architecture, the artisans, the foods, and the special places that provide a strong magnet to the reader. Many of the towns names are familiar, but only because the names appear on cheeses, wines, olive oil, and trinkets! Yet in this book the towns of Spoleto, San Gimignano, Arezzo, Gallipoli, Portofino, Gubbio, Ischia, Modena, Aosta and all the others come to life in warm prose and breathtaking photography. This special book is illuminating as a resource guide for the next voyage to Italia; it also is one of the more beautiful gift books for treasured friends and loved ones on the market today! Grady Harp, November 2004.

Came in record time. Beautifully photographed and written! Love this book!.

Some pictures are poorly selected and not very interesting or pretty. I bought this for people planning to travel to Italy in order to show them what they could look forward to. I should have just shared my own pictures. I regret buying it.

Italy has so much to offer and the small towns described in this book are precious.

I received this as a gift and it is lovely.

beautiful photos

Beautiful book! I did not expect a lengthy dissertation on each town & was pleasantly surprised by the pictures...information was adequate to do further research if interested in visiting a town.

Beautiful pictures. Brought back memories of our Italian vacation.

Nice table top book. Cool to read from time to time. I have it in my office and people comment on it often.

Brings Italy back to me! Lived in Italy almost 43 years ago for 3 years and I enjoyed the pictures in this book

Note this detail in the publisher's description: "now in a popular pocket-size format." Its trim size is just 8.25"-by-8.25", a perfect square. (Small, though hardly pocket-size.) If you plan to tuck the book in your suitcase, this is the version to buy. But if you'd prefer a taller, more sumptuous version, ideal for your coffee table, with the same photos 25% larger, you might prefer the second-listed version, published in 2004, with a trim size of 10.25"-by-12.5". This heftier version resembles two other big coffee-table picture books on Italy that are even more mouth-watering: "The Most Beautiful Villages of Tuscany" by Bentley & Palmer, and "The Most Beautiful Country Towns of Italy" by Bentley and Ramsay. Because Milan journalist/photographer Paolo Lazzarin covers so many towns here, his treatment of them is necessarily brief. Typically, for each one he offers a page of text and, opposite, a handsome photograph of one of the town's highlights. Some towns, like Siena, enjoy two additional pages of photos. The book is probably most useful to readers planning a first or second trip to Italy. It serves up a scattering of charming towns that are extra-extra-special for one reason or another (not just for their beauty). Some of them, like the magical hill town San Gimignano, might later prove a highlight of one's entire trip, ranking right up there with Florence or Venice. At the front of the book is a map showing the 20 regions of Italy, making it easier to visualize a proposed itinerary, and at the back, an appendix lists, by region, lots of useful addresses & phone numbers--of recommended hotels, restaurants, tourist information offices, and shops. As with other Rizzoli publications, the photographs, on glossy paper stock, are crystal clear, nicely varied, and often magnificent. The book is worth buying for the photos alone, but the commentaries are unfailingly interesting, too. A truly lovely volume, highly recommended.

The text is to the point, bringing uniqueness of each place, its rich history, traditions and fairs. Not every town will appeal to everyone. Where one sees nothing, the other sees a treasure. Nevertheless, the amount of the given information is appropriate for this kind of book. This is not a research book with all the details. For me the true gem of this book, are the foods and fairs listed at a lot of those places. For example, Aosta almost at the crossroads with France and Switzerland often is being discovered by accident. I happened to be there this past summer and one raises a question why it’s not so touristy with such historical heritage. I found the answer in this book – this remote Alpine town is not easy to find. In the ancient times it was strategically located to watch for the enemy coming from the Alps. Today such strategic location proves to be hard to find. I didn’t know that Aosta had Sant’Orso Fair until I read it in this book. However, the book states that originally it was during the last two days of January and nowadays it’s on August 15. The official website of Aosta states that it is still during the last two days of January. For most of the places, the pictures show the true spirit of the city. For example Alba, the city of truffles, shows it clearly with its market selling truffles. However, for example, the picture of a street in Merano doesn’t show the true spirit of the town and I know it, because I’ve been there myself. The town is known for its healing resorts and vineyards rolling down right into the town. I was very surprised to see Verona in this book, which is not a small town. Bolzano is not a small town neither, but has so much more charm being nestled in the Alps with vineyards extending to the town. This town gained popularity, when the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology was created to host the Iceman found in the Alps. Overall, I truly enjoyed this book. I would highly recommend it or buy it again as a gift.

This book is a lot smaller than I expected. The pictures are pretty, but the text is very small. The caption text under the pictures is so tiny you need a magnifying glass to read it (maybe a size 6 font?) I bought this as a gift for a friend going to Italy and was somewhat disappointed.

This book so easily covers the many beautiful villages, areas, parts of Italy and is worth having for any future planned trip. And I remember back decades during my first visit to Italy.... Highly recommended!

"101 Beautiful Small Towns of Italy" is not a guide book in the strict sense of the word. It is a wonderful coffee table book you should always keep there in order to browse through and get pleasure from the beautiful photos of all those beautiful towns. It is divided according to historical regions of Northern, Central and Southern Italy, as well as the islands. It gives you a host of the facts about the history and culture of the towns. And their histories are so entertwined, you get the history of Italy in miniature. But the book also gives such extensive information about what to see in these towns and around them, what and where to eat, where and what to shop for,as well as a lot of advice about places to stay, that you really can use it as a guide book. Highly recommended for everybody who enjoys travelling and beautiful photography.

Got this book for my dad for his birthday. The pictures were gorgeous, but he definitely cannot read the fine print font they included. Even I had trouble reading the different descriptions.

It was purchased as a gift so I didn't really read it. I thumbed through it, though, and it looked interesting. Good photography and lots of it, and nice quality paper. The cover to the book I bought was somewhat scuffed, but that wasn't the books fault.

If you are a fan of Italy or grew up there, read this. My father was born and raised in a small town there, and this book made us so happy.

Enjoyed looking at pix. Descriptions good but would enjoy a little map in corner of each page showing general location. Used to determine what towns I want to go to.

This takes you to wonderful places off the beaten path. I love smaller European cities.

Beautiful book about Italy and its small villages and towns. Not a huge sized coffee table book, but a more manageable size, with many color photos throughout. This book exceeds our expectations, a nice armchair tour of Italy and a good reference book for those interested in Italy.

This book presents wonderful places off the beaten path to explore in Italy. Great informative book with wonderful pictures.

This is a lovely book containing all of my favorite towns in Italy....plus many more that I can't wait to see!!! I bought this book as a gift for a friend, but after seeing this book, I need to have a copy for myself!!! Belissimo!!!

Upset to have received cover completely broken

If you enjoy travel and Italy, this book is a must have!

Bought this for my Italian Nonni for Xmas - really beautiful coffee table book with high quality photos. Would gift again!

Charming little book with nice photos. Wish there had been more pictures of each of the locations.

perfect for travel--or a rainy afternoon.

Thank you! AWESOME book in EXCELLENT condition ... so glad I waited to get it at this price.

I purchased this as a gift to a friend who grew up in Italy. She really liked it.

Note this detail in the publisher's description: "now in a popular pocket-size format." Its trim size is just 8.25"-by-8.25", a perfect square. (Small, though hardly pocket-size.) If you plan to tuck the book in your suitcase, this is the version to buy. But if you'd prefer a taller, more sumptuous version, ideal for your coffee table, with the same photos 25% larger, you might prefer the second-listed version, published in 2004, with a trim size of 10.25"-by-12.5". This heftier version resembles two other big coffee-table picture books on Italy that are even more mouth-watering: "The Most Beautiful Villages of Tuscany" by Bentley & Palmer, and "The Most Beautiful Country Towns of Italy" by Bentley and Ramsay. Because Milan journalist/photographer Paolo Lazzarin covers so many towns here, his treatment of them is necessarily brief. Typically, for each one he offers a page of text and, opposite, a handsome photograph of one of the town's highlights. Some towns, like Siena, enjoy two additional pages of photos. The book is probably most useful to readers planning a first or second trip to Italy. It serves up a scattering of charming towns that are extra-extra-special for one reason or another (not just for their beauty). Some of them, like the magical hill town San Gimignano, might later prove a highlight of one's entire trip, ranking right up there with Florence or Venice. At the front of the book is a map showing the 20 regions of Italy, making it easier to visualize a proposed itinerary, and at the back, an appendix lists, by region, lots of useful addresses & phone numbers--of recommended hotels, restaurants, tourist information offices, and shops. As with other Rizzoli publications, the photographs, on glossy paper stock, are crystal clear, nicely varied, and often magnificent. The book is worth buying for the photos alone, but the commentaries are unfailingly interesting, too. A truly lovely volume, highly recommended.

The text is to the point, bringing uniqueness of each place, its rich history, traditions and fairs. Not every town will appeal to everyone. Where one sees nothing, the other sees a treasure. Nevertheless, the amount of the given information is appropriate for this kind of book. This is not a research book with all the details. For me the true gem of this book, are the foods and fairs listed at a lot of those places. For example, Aosta almost at the crossroads with France and Switzerland often is being discovered by accident. I happened to be there this past summer and one raises a question why it’s not so touristy with such historical heritage. I found the answer in this book – this remote Alpine town is not easy to find. In the ancient times it was strategically located to watch for the enemy coming from the Alps. Today such strategic location proves to be hard to find. I didn’t know that Aosta had Sant’Orso Fair until I read it in this book. However, the book states that originally it was during the last two days of January and nowadays it’s on August 15. The official website of Aosta states that it is still during the last two days of January. For most of the places, the pictures show the true spirit of the city. For example Alba, the city of truffles, shows it clearly with its market selling truffles. However, for example, the picture of a street in Merano doesn’t show the true spirit of the town and I know it, because I’ve been there myself. The town is known for its healing resorts and vineyards rolling down right into the town. I was very surprised to see Verona in this book, which is not a small town. Bolzano is not a small town neither, but has so much more charm being nestled in the Alps with vineyards extending to the town. This town gained popularity, when the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology was created to host the Iceman found in the Alps. Overall, I truly enjoyed this book. I would highly recommend it or buy it again as a gift.

This book is a lot smaller than I expected. The pictures are pretty, but the text is very small. The caption text under the pictures is so tiny you need a magnifying glass to read it (maybe a size 6 font?) I bought this as a gift for a friend going to Italy and was somewhat disappointed.

This book so easily covers the many beautiful villages, areas, parts of Italy and is worth having for any future planned trip. And I remember back decades during my first visit to Italy.... Highly recommended!

"101 Beautiful Small Towns of Italy" is not a guide book in the strict sense of the word. It is a wonderful coffee table book you should always keep there in order to browse through and get pleasure from the beautiful photos of all those beautiful towns. It is divided according to historical regions of Northern, Central and Southern Italy, as well as the islands. It gives you a host of the facts about the history and culture of the towns. And their histories are so entertwined, you get the history of Italy in miniature. But the book also gives such extensive information about what to see in these towns and around them, what and where to eat, where and what to shop for,as well as a lot of advice about places to stay, that you really can use it as a guide book. Highly recommended for everybody who enjoys travelling and beautiful photography.

Got this book for my dad for his birthday. The pictures were gorgeous, but he definitely cannot read the fine print font they included. Even I had trouble reading the different descriptions.

It was purchased as a gift so I didn't really read it. I thumbed through it, though, and it looked interesting. Good photography and lots of it, and nice quality paper. The cover to the book I bought was somewhat scuffed, but that wasn't the books fault.

If you are a fan of Italy or grew up there, read this. My father was born and raised in a small town there, and this book made us so happy.

Enjoyed looking at pix. Descriptions good but would enjoy a little map in corner of each page showing general location. Used to determine what towns I want to go to.

This takes you to wonderful places off the beaten path. I love smaller European cities.

Perfect gift for anyone who has visited Italy. Sister loved It. You won't go wrong with this book. you'll like it!

Wonderful book

Excellent book. Well documented text. Fine paper. Nice color photos.

Gorgeous pictures sent in a timely fashion.

Whets your appetite for future trips and brings back great memories of past adventures.

SO GLAD I FOUND THIS BOOK, ITS FULL OF KNOWLEDGE AND BREATH TAKING PICTURES... A MUST HAVE...

I have owned this book for years. Ordered it as a gift for fellow traveler to Italy.

Beautiful pictures of old Italy

I love this book!

If you love looking at pictures of Italy, you will like this book. I bought it for a Christmas gift for my mother, and she loved it!

Note this detail in the publisher's description: "now in a popular pocket-size format." Its trim size is just 8.25"-by-8.25", a perfect square. (Small, though hardly pocket-size.) If you plan to tuck the book in your suitcase, this is the version to buy. But if you'd prefer a taller, more sumptuous version, ideal for your coffee table, with the same photos 25% larger, you might prefer the second-listed version, published in 2004, with a trim size of 10.25"-by-12.5". This heftier version resembles two other big coffee-table picture books on Italy that are even more mouth-watering: "The Most Beautiful Villages of Tuscany" by Bentley & Palmer, and "The Most Beautiful Country Towns of Italy" by Bentley and Ramsay. Because Milan journalist/photographer Paolo Lazzarin covers so many towns here, his treatment of them is necessarily brief. Typically, for each one he offers a page of text and, opposite, a handsome photograph of one of the town's highlights. Some towns, like Siena, enjoy two additional pages of photos. The book is probably most useful to readers planning a first or second trip to Italy. It serves up a scattering of charming towns that are extra-extra-special for one reason or another (not just for their beauty). Some of them, like the magical hill town San Gimignano, might later prove a highlight of one's entire trip, ranking right up there with Florence or Venice. At the front of the book is a map showing the 20 regions of Italy, making it easier to visualize a proposed itinerary, and at the back, an appendix lists, by region, lots of useful addresses & phone numbers--of recommended hotels, restaurants, tourist information offices, and shops. As with other Rizzoli publications, the photographs, on glossy paper stock, are crystal clear, nicely varied, and often magnificent. The book is worth buying for the photos alone, but the commentaries are unfailingly interesting, too. A truly lovely volume, highly recommended.

The text is to the point, bringing uniqueness of each place, its rich history, traditions and fairs. Not every town will appeal to everyone. Where one sees nothing, the other sees a treasure. Nevertheless, the amount of the given information is appropriate for this kind of book. This is not a research book with all the details. For me the true gem of this book, are the foods and fairs listed at a lot of those places. For example, Aosta almost at the crossroads with France and Switzerland often is being discovered by accident. I happened to be there this past summer and one raises a question why it’s not so touristy with such historical heritage. I found the answer in this book – this remote Alpine town is not easy to find. In the ancient times it was strategically located to watch for the enemy coming from the Alps. Today such strategic location proves to be hard to find. I didn’t know that Aosta had Sant’Orso Fair until I read it in this book. However, the book states that originally it was during the last two days of January and nowadays it’s on August 15. The official website of Aosta states that it is still during the last two days of January. For most of the places, the pictures show the true spirit of the city. For example Alba, the city of truffles, shows it clearly with its market selling truffles. However, for example, the picture of a street in Merano doesn’t show the true spirit of the town and I know it, because I’ve been there myself. The town is known for its healing resorts and vineyards rolling down right into the town. I was very surprised to see Verona in this book, which is not a small town. Bolzano is not a small town neither, but has so much more charm being nestled in the Alps with vineyards extending to the town. This town gained popularity, when the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology was created to host the Iceman found in the Alps. Overall, I truly enjoyed this book. I would highly recommend it or buy it again as a gift.

This book is a lot smaller than I expected. The pictures are pretty, but the text is very small. The caption text under the pictures is so tiny you need a magnifying glass to read it (maybe a size 6 font?) I bought this as a gift for a friend going to Italy and was somewhat disappointed.

This book so easily covers the many beautiful villages, areas, parts of Italy and is worth having for any future planned trip. And I remember back decades during my first visit to Italy.... Highly recommended!

"101 Beautiful Small Towns of Italy" is not a guide book in the strict sense of the word. It is a wonderful coffee table book you should always keep there in order to browse through and get pleasure from the beautiful photos of all those beautiful towns. It is divided according to historical regions of Northern, Central and Southern Italy, as well as the islands. It gives you a host of the facts about the history and culture of the towns. And their histories are so entertwined, you get the history of Italy in miniature. But the book also gives such extensive information about what to see in these towns and around them, what and where to eat, where and what to shop for,as well as a lot of advice about places to stay, that you really can use it as a guide book. Highly recommended for everybody who enjoys travelling and beautiful photography.

Got this book for my dad for his birthday. The pictures were gorgeous, but he definitely cannot read the fine print font they included. Even I had trouble reading the different descriptions.

It was purchased as a gift so I didn't really read it. I thumbed through it, though, and it looked interesting. Good photography and lots of it, and nice quality paper. The cover to the book I bought was somewhat scuffed, but that wasn't the books fault.

If you are a fan of Italy or grew up there, read this. My father was born and raised in a small town there, and this book made us so happy.

Enjoyed looking at pix. Descriptions good but would enjoy a little map in corner of each page showing general location. Used to determine what towns I want to go to.

This takes you to wonderful places off the beaten path. I love smaller European cities.

A beautiful picture book to put on your coffee table, to pick up regularly and enjoy, and especially to bring back memories of places visited. A great gift too.

Stunning pics! Thanks!

Was somewhat disappointed in the book. Photos were ok. Thought there would be more than one page per city. Print is very small .

Beautiful book with great photos and good discriptions. Lots to learn about these towns in detail. Helps you visit these towns in your own time and comfort of your home. Learn about places you would love to see in time. Italy is beautiful and full of history and this is the way to see it before a trip. I recommend this book to anyone who loves Italy.

If you want to see the beautilful, historic small towns/villages of Italy this book is a must.

Very good book

MAGNIFICO!!!! SUCH A BEAUTIFUL BOOK!!!

Time to Travel

The book has beautiful pictures of places in Italy that we have visited. It brought bad memories. Excellent choice for any coffeetable.

beautifully put together, very unique volume with stunning photos and thorough descriptions.

Note this detail in the publisher's description: "now in a popular pocket-size format." Its trim size is just 8.25"-by-8.25", a perfect square. (Small, though hardly pocket-size.) If you plan to tuck the book in your suitcase, this is the version to buy. But if you'd prefer a taller, more sumptuous version, ideal for your coffee table, with the same photos 25% larger, you might prefer the second-listed version, published in 2004, with a trim size of 10.25"-by-12.5". This heftier version resembles two other big coffee-table picture books on Italy that are even more mouth-watering: "The Most Beautiful Villages of Tuscany" by Bentley & Palmer, and "The Most Beautiful Country Towns of Italy" by Bentley and Ramsay. Because Milan journalist/photographer Paolo Lazzarin covers so many towns here, his treatment of them is necessarily brief. Typically, for each one he offers a page of text and, opposite, a handsome photograph of one of the town's highlights. Some towns, like Siena, enjoy two additional pages of photos. The book is probably most useful to readers planning a first or second trip to Italy. It serves up a scattering of charming towns that are extra-extra-special for one reason or another (not just for their beauty). Some of them, like the magical hill town San Gimignano, might later prove a highlight of one's entire trip, ranking right up there with Florence or Venice. At the front of the book is a map showing the 20 regions of Italy, making it easier to visualize a proposed itinerary, and at the back, an appendix lists, by region, lots of useful addresses & phone numbers--of recommended hotels, restaurants, tourist information offices, and shops. As with other Rizzoli publications, the photographs, on glossy paper stock, are crystal clear, nicely varied, and often magnificent. The book is worth buying for the photos alone, but the commentaries are unfailingly interesting, too. A truly lovely volume, highly recommended.

The text is to the point, bringing uniqueness of each place, its rich history, traditions and fairs. Not every town will appeal to everyone. Where one sees nothing, the other sees a treasure. Nevertheless, the amount of the given information is appropriate for this kind of book. This is not a research book with all the details. For me the true gem of this book, are the foods and fairs listed at a lot of those places. For example, Aosta almost at the crossroads with France and Switzerland often is being discovered by accident. I happened to be there this past summer and one raises a question why it’s not so touristy with such historical heritage. I found the answer in this book – this remote Alpine town is not easy to find. In the ancient times it was strategically located to watch for the enemy coming from the Alps. Today such strategic location proves to be hard to find. I didn’t know that Aosta had Sant’Orso Fair until I read it in this book. However, the book states that originally it was during the last two days of January and nowadays it’s on August 15. The official website of Aosta states that it is still during the last two days of January. For most of the places, the pictures show the true spirit of the city. For example Alba, the city of truffles, shows it clearly with its market selling truffles. However, for example, the picture of a street in Merano doesn’t show the true spirit of the town and I know it, because I’ve been there myself. The town is known for its healing resorts and vineyards rolling down right into the town. I was very surprised to see Verona in this book, which is not a small town. Bolzano is not a small town neither, but has so much more charm being nestled in the Alps with vineyards extending to the town. This town gained popularity, when the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology was created to host the Iceman found in the Alps. Overall, I truly enjoyed this book. I would highly recommend it or buy it again as a gift.

This book is a lot smaller than I expected. The pictures are pretty, but the text is very small. The caption text under the pictures is so tiny you need a magnifying glass to read it (maybe a size 6 font?) I bought this as a gift for a friend going to Italy and was somewhat disappointed.

This book so easily covers the many beautiful villages, areas, parts of Italy and is worth having for any future planned trip. And I remember back decades during my first visit to Italy.... Highly recommended!

"101 Beautiful Small Towns of Italy" is not a guide book in the strict sense of the word. It is a wonderful coffee table book you should always keep there in order to browse through and get pleasure from the beautiful photos of all those beautiful towns. It is divided according to historical regions of Northern, Central and Southern Italy, as well as the islands. It gives you a host of the facts about the history and culture of the towns. And their histories are so entertwined, you get the history of Italy in miniature. But the book also gives such extensive information about what to see in these towns and around them, what and where to eat, where and what to shop for,as well as a lot of advice about places to stay, that you really can use it as a guide book. Highly recommended for everybody who enjoys travelling and beautiful photography.

Got this book for my dad for his birthday. The pictures were gorgeous, but he definitely cannot read the fine print font they included. Even I had trouble reading the different descriptions.

It was purchased as a gift so I didn't really read it. I thumbed through it, though, and it looked interesting. Good photography and lots of it, and nice quality paper. The cover to the book I bought was somewhat scuffed, but that wasn't the books fault.

If you are a fan of Italy or grew up there, read this. My father was born and raised in a small town there, and this book made us so happy.

Enjoyed looking at pix. Descriptions good but would enjoy a little map in corner of each page showing general location. Used to determine what towns I want to go to.

This takes you to wonderful places off the beaten path. I love smaller European cities.

It has plenty of great pictures with easy to read brief summaries of each location. A good value and nice coffee table book. This was a gift for someone and they LOVED it!

This book is inspiring as well as informative. We're going to Tuscany next year!

Great book.

a beautiful picture book with an informative and charming text that makes you want to get on the next plane to rome

I bought this book for my mom, who loves to travel to Italy and she loved it so much. Thank you!

This is a beautiful addition to my library because it helps me to reminisce about the towns which I have visited in Italy. This book can also be used as a resource for regions to visit in Italy that have charming small towns.

This is a great book, nice and big and beautifully presented , I recommend this book for travel or just to read about this country

I purchased the book "One Hundred and One Beautiful Samml Towns in Italy" for friends of mine in Sammamish, WA. The book was so poorly packaged that the covers for the book were torn--there was no packing material. They told me they returned the book to Amazon and then shortly thereafter they left for Europe and won't return for a couple weeks. Sincerely, John Moore PS I have one of these books and lent mine to our friends when I learned the one I had sent to them was damaged.

I purchased 101 Beautiful Small Towns in Italy from ZP Books last July. They sent me 101 Beautiful Small Towns in FRANCE. I returned the incorrect title and requested a refund. I waited a reasonable length of time before sending ZP a follow-up email. I'm still waiting for my refund. I have purchased dozens of items from Amazon and its merchants through the years and never had an experience like this. Amazon should drop ZP from it's roster of affiliated booksellers. Don't make the same mistake I did. Avoid ZP Books like the plague.

A lovely book with lovely pictures. However, the title is a bit misleading. The author's definition of 'small town' is ... different. He apaprently defines anything smaller and less touristed than Rome/Venice/Milan/Florence as a 'small town' and an 'undiscovered gem/off the beaten track' So his list includes not only truely 'small towns' like Lucca and Portfino, but metropolises of half a million people (Catania, Trieste) and large cities (100,000+) that are well known to the tourist hoards (Pisa, Verona, Siena, Perugia). He also includes some heavily touristed islands (Capri, Ischia, Elba) and one city where NOBODY lives (Pompeii). So, enjoy browsing the pictures, but don't expect to find more than half a dozen truly 'undiscovered gems' among his 101 choices.

Note this detail in the publisher's description: "now in a popular pocket-size format." Its trim size is just 8.25"-by-8.25", a perfect square. (Small, though hardly pocket-size.) If you plan to tuck the book in your suitcase, this is the version to buy. But if you'd prefer a taller, more sumptuous version, ideal for your coffee table, with the same photos 25% larger, you might prefer the second-listed version, published in 2004, with a trim size of 10.25"-by-12.5". This heftier version resembles two other big coffee-table picture books on Italy that are even more mouth-watering: "The Most Beautiful Villages of Tuscany" by Bentley & Palmer, and "The Most Beautiful Country Towns of Italy" by Bentley and Ramsay. Because Milan journalist/photographer Paolo Lazzarin covers so many towns here, his treatment of them is necessarily brief. Typically, for each one he offers a page of text and, opposite, a handsome photograph of one of the town's highlights. Some towns, like Siena, enjoy two additional pages of photos. The book is probably most useful to readers planning a first or second trip to Italy. It serves up a scattering of charming towns that are extra-extra-special for one reason or another (not just for their beauty). Some of them, like the magical hill town San Gimignano, might later prove a highlight of one's entire trip, ranking right up there with Florence or Venice. At the front of the book is a map showing the 20 regions of Italy, making it easier to visualize a proposed itinerary, and at the back, an appendix lists, by region, lots of useful addresses & phone numbers--of recommended hotels, restaurants, tourist information offices, and shops. As with other Rizzoli publications, the photographs, on glossy paper stock, are crystal clear, nicely varied, and often magnificent. The book is worth buying for the photos alone, but the commentaries are unfailingly interesting, too. A truly lovely volume, highly recommended.

The text is to the point, bringing uniqueness of each place, its rich history, traditions and fairs. Not every town will appeal to everyone. Where one sees nothing, the other sees a treasure. Nevertheless, the amount of the given information is appropriate for this kind of book. This is not a research book with all the details. For me the true gem of this book, are the foods and fairs listed at a lot of those places. For example, Aosta almost at the crossroads with France and Switzerland often is being discovered by accident. I happened to be there this past summer and one raises a question why it’s not so touristy with such historical heritage. I found the answer in this book – this remote Alpine town is not easy to find. In the ancient times it was strategically located to watch for the enemy coming from the Alps. Today such strategic location proves to be hard to find. I didn’t know that Aosta had Sant’Orso Fair until I read it in this book. However, the book states that originally it was during the last two days of January and nowadays it’s on August 15. The official website of Aosta states that it is still during the last two days of January. For most of the places, the pictures show the true spirit of the city. For example Alba, the city of truffles, shows it clearly with its market selling truffles. However, for example, the picture of a street in Merano doesn’t show the true spirit of the town and I know it, because I’ve been there myself. The town is known for its healing resorts and vineyards rolling down right into the town. I was very surprised to see Verona in this book, which is not a small town. Bolzano is not a small town neither, but has so much more charm being nestled in the Alps with vineyards extending to the town. This town gained popularity, when the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology was created to host the Iceman found in the Alps. Overall, I truly enjoyed this book. I would highly recommend it or buy it again as a gift.

This book is a lot smaller than I expected. The pictures are pretty, but the text is very small. The caption text under the pictures is so tiny you need a magnifying glass to read it (maybe a size 6 font?) I bought this as a gift for a friend going to Italy and was somewhat disappointed.

This book so easily covers the many beautiful villages, areas, parts of Italy and is worth having for any future planned trip. And I remember back decades during my first visit to Italy.... Highly recommended!

"101 Beautiful Small Towns of Italy" is not a guide book in the strict sense of the word. It is a wonderful coffee table book you should always keep there in order to browse through and get pleasure from the beautiful photos of all those beautiful towns. It is divided according to historical regions of Northern, Central and Southern Italy, as well as the islands. It gives you a host of the facts about the history and culture of the towns. And their histories are so entertwined, you get the history of Italy in miniature. But the book also gives such extensive information about what to see in these towns and around them, what and where to eat, where and what to shop for,as well as a lot of advice about places to stay, that you really can use it as a guide book. Highly recommended for everybody who enjoys travelling and beautiful photography.

Got this book for my dad for his birthday. The pictures were gorgeous, but he definitely cannot read the fine print font they included. Even I had trouble reading the different descriptions.

It was purchased as a gift so I didn't really read it. I thumbed through it, though, and it looked interesting. Good photography and lots of it, and nice quality paper. The cover to the book I bought was somewhat scuffed, but that wasn't the books fault.

If you are a fan of Italy or grew up there, read this. My father was born and raised in a small town there, and this book made us so happy.

Enjoyed looking at pix. Descriptions good but would enjoy a little map in corner of each page showing general location. Used to determine what towns I want to go to.

This takes you to wonderful places off the beaten path. I love smaller European cities.

The book itself is very nice but it came damaged from water. The pages were stuck together with a water ring and damage on the top edge of the book and on almost every page. Very disappointed as this was a Christmas gift for my sister.

By Bill Marsano. An old Italian pastime is the compiling of lists of the 'cento citta'--the hundred most appealing Italian cities and towns. Candidates should be small enough for intimacy but big enough to afford urban pleasures. They needn't be sunk in wilderness but countryside should certainly be at hand. Agreeable climate? Another plus. The lists are always highly personal and endlessly debatable, and here's Paolo Lazzarin, journalist and photographer, with his own nominations. He outdoes tradition by selecting 101 towns, all, per the subtitle, beautiful and small. And all in all, he does a pretty good job; certainly this book will help the Italy-lorn struggle through a long winter of discontent with being too far from the Blessed Peninsula. And, as Jane Austen wrote, or should have, "It is a truth universally acknowledged that staring at pictures of Italy never did a body any harm." The photos are the principal part and appeal of the book; this is not a survey course ("Italy: From the Etruscans to Berlusconi"). There is an abundance of them but I could wish more were better and/or better chosen. Some do not illustrate, others do not evoke, and still others are well-worn tourist-office images. For example, here you'll get no hint of what Riva del Garda actually looks like, and still less of Faenza, which is represented only by its famous ceramics. In San Remo, must we see the casino--again? The entry for Valenza has an extended caption about a nature reserve sitting beside a large and ordinary shot of a palazzo's interior staircase. As for the writing, the best I can say is that it avoids the customary excesses; Italians are too often overwhelmed by patrimony and resort to cheerleading in prose form. On the other hand, Lazzarin is mechanical, unspired. It's hard to believe that he's really at one with all these places, even, occasionally, that he has the facts. Shall Trento really be called a hamlet? Is Triora really "perched above the sea"? (I distinctly recall its being a 10-mile drive inland.) Shouldn't Lazzarin admit that the Cinque Terre's hill paths are terminally overrun by vapid Rick Steves tourists? And there's an overall lack of sophistication: Siena's Piazza del Campo, Lazzarin confides, "was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995." Believe me, gentle reader, the designation is irrelevant to Siena, that living masterpiece. Its sole value is to validate the pack of overpaid, underworked artsy UN bureaucrats who awarded it. (And still one wonders: 1995? What on earth took them so long?) Still, still--you could do worse. Lazzarin has found his way to plenty of places most Americans have never heard of or have merely passed by: Triora, Ortona (no T, no C; just plain Ortona), Cividale, Sondrio, Anagni and others, and with this book in your lap and some wine at hand, you'll have a good enough time visiting them, and perhaps be inspired to check ticket prices online. If that should happen, then your next step is to get some of the Cadogan Guides to Italy and to Italian regions; they are written by Dana Facaros and Michael Pauls, and they are much the best I've run into. Lucky you: They're all available fromn Amazon, too.--Bill Marsano is a professional writer and editor who has won several awards for his articles. He visits Italy several times a year.

I have visited lots of these towns. It is great to read about them and remember good times. La Dolce Vita :))

I really enjoy this beautiful. It shares a spot on my coffee table so that I can enjoy reading about different towns one at a time. The first couple of times I went to Italy I only went to big towns. Now I'm starting to take time to really explore the country, and this book offers lots of help for that.

The book is a gift for friends traveling to Italy. Love it!

This is a very interesting and informative book with many beautiful pictures. Italy is divided into sections so it is easy to find a town or an area to review. The back has a section with addresses and phone numbers to contact the various places. It would be a good book to read before a trip to Italy or just to read to learn more about Italy.

I find myself looking at this book often and have bought several for friends as gifts. I live in Mexico and hope to visit all of these beautiful towns one day. The photos are beautiful and it is well-organized.

A very Beautiful book that was a gift to a friend who loves Italy. The detailed, colorful pictures are a pleasure for the eyes. Highly recommend.

I already had a copy of this book (given to me as a gift) and was so pleased with it, I purchased this copy as a gift for a friend. As a frequent visitor to Italy, I have really enjoyed retracing my steps and looking for new places to visit

It is my wifes dream to go to Italy, so I bought her the next best thing until I can take her there myself. She loves the book and can't wait to go see it in person!! Billy Wannyn

Note this detail in the publisher's description: "now in a popular pocket-size format." Its trim size is just 8.25"-by-8.25", a perfect square. (Small, though hardly pocket-size.) If you plan to tuck the book in your suitcase, this is the version to buy. But if you'd prefer a taller, more sumptuous version, ideal for your coffee table, with the same photos 25% larger, you might prefer the second-listed version, published in 2004, with a trim size of 10.25"-by-12.5". This heftier version resembles two other big coffee-table picture books on Italy that are even more mouth-watering: "The Most Beautiful Villages of Tuscany" by Bentley & Palmer, and "The Most Beautiful Country Towns of Italy" by Bentley and Ramsay. Because Milan journalist/photographer Paolo Lazzarin covers so many towns here, his treatment of them is necessarily brief. Typically, for each one he offers a page of text and, opposite, a handsome photograph of one of the town's highlights. Some towns, like Siena, enjoy two additional pages of photos. The book is probably most useful to readers planning a first or second trip to Italy. It serves up a scattering of charming towns that are extra-extra-special for one reason or another (not just for their beauty). Some of them, like the magical hill town San Gimignano, might later prove a highlight of one's entire trip, ranking right up there with Florence or Venice. At the front of the book is a map showing the 20 regions of Italy, making it easier to visualize a proposed itinerary, and at the back, an appendix lists, by region, lots of useful addresses & phone numbers--of recommended hotels, restaurants, tourist information offices, and shops. As with other Rizzoli publications, the photographs, on glossy paper stock, are crystal clear, nicely varied, and often magnificent. The book is worth buying for the photos alone, but the commentaries are unfailingly interesting, too. A truly lovely volume, highly recommended.

The text is to the point, bringing uniqueness of each place, its rich history, traditions and fairs. Not every town will appeal to everyone. Where one sees nothing, the other sees a treasure. Nevertheless, the amount of the given information is appropriate for this kind of book. This is not a research book with all the details. For me the true gem of this book, are the foods and fairs listed at a lot of those places. For example, Aosta almost at the crossroads with France and Switzerland often is being discovered by accident. I happened to be there this past summer and one raises a question why it’s not so touristy with such historical heritage. I found the answer in this book – this remote Alpine town is not easy to find. In the ancient times it was strategically located to watch for the enemy coming from the Alps. Today such strategic location proves to be hard to find. I didn’t know that Aosta had Sant’Orso Fair until I read it in this book. However, the book states that originally it was during the last two days of January and nowadays it’s on August 15. The official website of Aosta states that it is still during the last two days of January. For most of the places, the pictures show the true spirit of the city. For example Alba, the city of truffles, shows it clearly with its market selling truffles. However, for example, the picture of a street in Merano doesn’t show the true spirit of the town and I know it, because I’ve been there myself. The town is known for its healing resorts and vineyards rolling down right into the town. I was very surprised to see Verona in this book, which is not a small town. Bolzano is not a small town neither, but has so much more charm being nestled in the Alps with vineyards extending to the town. This town gained popularity, when the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology was created to host the Iceman found in the Alps. Overall, I truly enjoyed this book. I would highly recommend it or buy it again as a gift.

This book is a lot smaller than I expected. The pictures are pretty, but the text is very small. The caption text under the pictures is so tiny you need a magnifying glass to read it (maybe a size 6 font?) I bought this as a gift for a friend going to Italy and was somewhat disappointed.

This book so easily covers the many beautiful villages, areas, parts of Italy and is worth having for any future planned trip. And I remember back decades during my first visit to Italy.... Highly recommended!

"101 Beautiful Small Towns of Italy" is not a guide book in the strict sense of the word. It is a wonderful coffee table book you should always keep there in order to browse through and get pleasure from the beautiful photos of all those beautiful towns. It is divided according to historical regions of Northern, Central and Southern Italy, as well as the islands. It gives you a host of the facts about the history and culture of the towns. And their histories are so entertwined, you get the history of Italy in miniature. But the book also gives such extensive information about what to see in these towns and around them, what and where to eat, where and what to shop for,as well as a lot of advice about places to stay, that you really can use it as a guide book. Highly recommended for everybody who enjoys travelling and beautiful photography.

Got this book for my dad for his birthday. The pictures were gorgeous, but he definitely cannot read the fine print font they included. Even I had trouble reading the different descriptions.

It was purchased as a gift so I didn't really read it. I thumbed through it, though, and it looked interesting. Good photography and lots of it, and nice quality paper. The cover to the book I bought was somewhat scuffed, but that wasn't the books fault.

If you are a fan of Italy or grew up there, read this. My father was born and raised in a small town there, and this book made us so happy.

Enjoyed looking at pix. Descriptions good but would enjoy a little map in corner of each page showing general location. Used to determine what towns I want to go to.

This takes you to wonderful places off the beaten path. I love smaller European cities.

This is a coffee table book that you'll actually read! It brings back memories of the wonderful places we've visited and well as selecting new places to go. Highly recommended for Italy lovers!

What a treasure!!! Beautiful photographs! Beautiful Country! I've been to many of the small towns and Italy truly is more than Rome, Venice and Florence.

The book is full of lovely information and quite nice pictures, however, the quality of the paper was not very good and the photos were dull. Over all, the book is not of the Rizzoli quality that I have in my other table top books.

this book is a definite "must have" for anyone's library who has enjoyed visits to italy or who simply wishes to learn more about the beautiful towns in the country. the illustrations are lovely and the text very well written.

Kind of a dissapointment. Most of the towns included are already well known. Each town has a 2 page spread on average - one or 2 pics and sometimes some interesting sidenotes and inside tips.

I never know what to get people who have everything and are Italian American for a present. This book fit the bill perfectly. The pictures are wonderful, the text is interesting and the price can't be beat.

Beautiful photos. A good tool for planning trip to Italy .

Stunning book and a fantastic gift for any Italy lover.

A beautiful book, planning trips to the places I haven’t seen and enjoying remembering the ones I have. It fits through the letterbox although the packaging could be a bit more robust, the drop from letterbox to floor damaged the cover- not a gift so not too much of a problem

This book is great. Unfortunately written in small characters which is inconvenient when you grow old

Note this detail in the publisher's description: "now in a popular pocket-size format." Its trim size is just 8.25"-by-8.25", a perfect square. (Small, though hardly pocket-size.) If you plan to tuck the book in your suitcase, this is the version to buy. But if you'd prefer a taller, more sumptuous version, ideal for your coffee table, with the same photos 25% larger, you might prefer the second-listed version, published in 2004, with a trim size of 10.25"-by-12.5". This heftier version resembles two other big coffee-table picture books on Italy that are even more mouth-watering: "The Most Beautiful Villages of Tuscany" by Bentley & Palmer, and "The Most Beautiful Country Towns of Italy" by Bentley and Ramsay. Because Milan journalist/photographer Paolo Lazzarin covers so many towns here, his treatment of them is necessarily brief. Typically, for each one he offers a page of text and, opposite, a handsome photograph of one of the town's highlights. Some towns, like Siena, enjoy two additional pages of photos. The book is probably most useful to readers planning a first or second trip to Italy. It serves up a scattering of charming towns that are extra-extra-special for one reason or another (not just for their beauty). Some of them, like the magical hill town San Gimignano, might later prove a highlight of one's entire trip, ranking right up there with Florence or Venice. At the front of the book is a map showing the 20 regions of Italy, making it easier to visualize a proposed itinerary, and at the back, an appendix lists, by region, lots of useful addresses & phone numbers--of recommended hotels, restaurants, tourist information offices, and shops. As with other Rizzoli publications, the photographs, on glossy paper stock, are crystal clear, nicely varied, and often magnificent. The book is worth buying for the photos alone, but the commentaries are unfailingly interesting, too. A truly lovely volume, highly recommended.

The text is to the point, bringing uniqueness of each place, its rich history, traditions and fairs. Not every town will appeal to everyone. Where one sees nothing, the other sees a treasure. Nevertheless, the amount of the given information is appropriate for this kind of book. This is not a research book with all the details. For me the true gem of this book, are the foods and fairs listed at a lot of those places. For example, Aosta almost at the crossroads with France and Switzerland often is being discovered by accident. I happened to be there this past summer and one raises a question why it’s not so touristy with such historical heritage. I found the answer in this book – this remote Alpine town is not easy to find. In the ancient times it was strategically located to watch for the enemy coming from the Alps. Today such strategic location proves to be hard to find. I didn’t know that Aosta had Sant’Orso Fair until I read it in this book. However, the book states that originally it was during the last two days of January and nowadays it’s on August 15. The official website of Aosta states that it is still during the last two days of January. For most of the places, the pictures show the true spirit of the city. For example Alba, the city of truffles, shows it clearly with its market selling truffles. However, for example, the picture of a street in Merano doesn’t show the true spirit of the town and I know it, because I’ve been there myself. The town is known for its healing resorts and vineyards rolling down right into the town. I was very surprised to see Verona in this book, which is not a small town. Bolzano is not a small town neither, but has so much more charm being nestled in the Alps with vineyards extending to the town. This town gained popularity, when the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology was created to host the Iceman found in the Alps. Overall, I truly enjoyed this book. I would highly recommend it or buy it again as a gift.

This book is a lot smaller than I expected. The pictures are pretty, but the text is very small. The caption text under the pictures is so tiny you need a magnifying glass to read it (maybe a size 6 font?) I bought this as a gift for a friend going to Italy and was somewhat disappointed.

This book so easily covers the many beautiful villages, areas, parts of Italy and is worth having for any future planned trip. And I remember back decades during my first visit to Italy.... Highly recommended!

"101 Beautiful Small Towns of Italy" is not a guide book in the strict sense of the word. It is a wonderful coffee table book you should always keep there in order to browse through and get pleasure from the beautiful photos of all those beautiful towns. It is divided according to historical regions of Northern, Central and Southern Italy, as well as the islands. It gives you a host of the facts about the history and culture of the towns. And their histories are so entertwined, you get the history of Italy in miniature. But the book also gives such extensive information about what to see in these towns and around them, what and where to eat, where and what to shop for,as well as a lot of advice about places to stay, that you really can use it as a guide book. Highly recommended for everybody who enjoys travelling and beautiful photography.

Got this book for my dad for his birthday. The pictures were gorgeous, but he definitely cannot read the fine print font they included. Even I had trouble reading the different descriptions.

It was purchased as a gift so I didn't really read it. I thumbed through it, though, and it looked interesting. Good photography and lots of it, and nice quality paper. The cover to the book I bought was somewhat scuffed, but that wasn't the books fault.

If you are a fan of Italy or grew up there, read this. My father was born and raised in a small town there, and this book made us so happy.

Enjoyed looking at pix. Descriptions good but would enjoy a little map in corner of each page showing general location. Used to determine what towns I want to go to.

This takes you to wonderful places off the beaten path. I love smaller European cities.

Lovely book

Excellent- made our Italian trip more lovely- as we went lovely places we could have easily missed- all recommended places worth the visit!

Some lovely photos and information, can't wait to visit these places

Inspiring me to visit Italy more often - and to see interesting places - looking forward to my morning coffees and afternoon Camapris!

Wow, and I thought I had seen it all

great book. great service

Good photos

Il libro non è come me lo aspettavo. Credevo vi fosse una descrizione più dettagliata dei paesi.

Pretty nice book, great for gifts. Though, most of the towns aren't very "small" per se, as I've heard or been to almost all of them. For example, Pisa was included as one of the "small towns"... really? Would have liked to have seen more excluded and tucked away secrets...too bad.

The book was rather expensive for the informative content. Deceiving.

Note this detail in the publisher's description: "now in a popular pocket-size format." Its trim size is just 8.25"-by-8.25", a perfect square. (Small, though hardly pocket-size.) If you plan to tuck the book in your suitcase, this is the version to buy. But if you'd prefer a taller, more sumptuous version, ideal for your coffee table, with the same photos 25% larger, you might prefer the second-listed version, published in 2004, with a trim size of 10.25"-by-12.5". This heftier version resembles two other big coffee-table picture books on Italy that are even more mouth-watering: "The Most Beautiful Villages of Tuscany" by Bentley & Palmer, and "The Most Beautiful Country Towns of Italy" by Bentley and Ramsay. Because Milan journalist/photographer Paolo Lazzarin covers so many towns here, his treatment of them is necessarily brief. Typically, for each one he offers a page of text and, opposite, a handsome photograph of one of the town's highlights. Some towns, like Siena, enjoy two additional pages of photos. The book is probably most useful to readers planning a first or second trip to Italy. It serves up a scattering of charming towns that are extra-extra-special for one reason or another (not just for their beauty). Some of them, like the magical hill town San Gimignano, might later prove a highlight of one's entire trip, ranking right up there with Florence or Venice. At the front of the book is a map showing the 20 regions of Italy, making it easier to visualize a proposed itinerary, and at the back, an appendix lists, by region, lots of useful addresses & phone numbers--of recommended hotels, restaurants, tourist information offices, and shops. As with other Rizzoli publications, the photographs, on glossy paper stock, are crystal clear, nicely varied, and often magnificent. The book is worth buying for the photos alone, but the commentaries are unfailingly interesting, too. A truly lovely volume, highly recommended.

The text is to the point, bringing uniqueness of each place, its rich history, traditions and fairs. Not every town will appeal to everyone. Where one sees nothing, the other sees a treasure. Nevertheless, the amount of the given information is appropriate for this kind of book. This is not a research book with all the details. For me the true gem of this book, are the foods and fairs listed at a lot of those places. For example, Aosta almost at the crossroads with France and Switzerland often is being discovered by accident. I happened to be there this past summer and one raises a question why it’s not so touristy with such historical heritage. I found the answer in this book – this remote Alpine town is not easy to find. In the ancient times it was strategically located to watch for the enemy coming from the Alps. Today such strategic location proves to be hard to find. I didn’t know that Aosta had Sant’Orso Fair until I read it in this book. However, the book states that originally it was during the last two days of January and nowadays it’s on August 15. The official website of Aosta states that it is still during the last two days of January. For most of the places, the pictures show the true spirit of the city. For example Alba, the city of truffles, shows it clearly with its market selling truffles. However, for example, the picture of a street in Merano doesn’t show the true spirit of the town and I know it, because I’ve been there myself. The town is known for its healing resorts and vineyards rolling down right into the town. I was very surprised to see Verona in this book, which is not a small town. Bolzano is not a small town neither, but has so much more charm being nestled in the Alps with vineyards extending to the town. This town gained popularity, when the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology was created to host the Iceman found in the Alps. Overall, I truly enjoyed this book. I would highly recommend it or buy it again as a gift.

This book is a lot smaller than I expected. The pictures are pretty, but the text is very small. The caption text under the pictures is so tiny you need a magnifying glass to read it (maybe a size 6 font?) I bought this as a gift for a friend going to Italy and was somewhat disappointed.

This book so easily covers the many beautiful villages, areas, parts of Italy and is worth having for any future planned trip. And I remember back decades during my first visit to Italy.... Highly recommended!

"101 Beautiful Small Towns of Italy" is not a guide book in the strict sense of the word. It is a wonderful coffee table book you should always keep there in order to browse through and get pleasure from the beautiful photos of all those beautiful towns. It is divided according to historical regions of Northern, Central and Southern Italy, as well as the islands. It gives you a host of the facts about the history and culture of the towns. And their histories are so entertwined, you get the history of Italy in miniature. But the book also gives such extensive information about what to see in these towns and around them, what and where to eat, where and what to shop for,as well as a lot of advice about places to stay, that you really can use it as a guide book. Highly recommended for everybody who enjoys travelling and beautiful photography.

Got this book for my dad for his birthday. The pictures were gorgeous, but he definitely cannot read the fine print font they included. Even I had trouble reading the different descriptions.

It was purchased as a gift so I didn't really read it. I thumbed through it, though, and it looked interesting. Good photography and lots of it, and nice quality paper. The cover to the book I bought was somewhat scuffed, but that wasn't the books fault.

If you are a fan of Italy or grew up there, read this. My father was born and raised in a small town there, and this book made us so happy.

Enjoyed looking at pix. Descriptions good but would enjoy a little map in corner of each page showing general location. Used to determine what towns I want to go to.

This takes you to wonderful places off the beaten path. I love smaller European cities.

I was very disappointed by this book. I wanted to read it to get a feel for new places to visit in Italy, in particular small towns. The information appears to be dated, lacks real tangible up to date information for a tourist and photography looks from the 1980's and quite grainy. After 10 mins if reading I assigned this book to the charity box.

My wife and I are crazy about Italy. Soon to take our 3rd holiday there, we see ourselves returning again and again for years to come, to both revisit places we love and to discover new gems. This book contains a few towns we have visited, stayed in or passed through, but many many more that we haven't yet seen. My only complaint about this book is that it has given us a headache over where exactly to go next, we are spoilt for choice! Some reviewers on a previous edition complained that the book doesn't live up to its name as focusing on small towns, given that it includes such major cities as Verona, Ferrara, Bari and Catania. While this is true, it does deliberately miss out the biggest and most famous locations in Italy such as Rome, Venice, Florence and Naples, and the focus is firmly on the smaller, less famous and less crowded places, including many beautiful small towns. The photos are excellent and the writing is informative and interesting, mixing history, architecture, culture, art, food, and geography. Maybe a map for each regional chapter would make it even better, but that is a minor point. The book in the same series, by the same author, focusing solely on food and wine is also excellent and highly recommended. This edition is in a compact size that makes it an ideal coffee table book and also easy to slot on a shelf. If you have had a taste of Italy and want more, then this book should help get you hooked. Or if you have a friend who is interested in exploring this wonderful land further, then this book would make a lovely gift.

Note this detail in the publisher's description: "now in a popular pocket-size format." Its trim size is just 8.25"-by-8.25", a perfect square. (Small, though hardly pocket-size.) If you plan to tuck the book in your suitcase, this is the version to buy. But if you'd prefer a taller, more sumptuous version, ideal for your coffee table, with the same photos 25% larger, you might prefer the second-listed version, published in 2004, with a trim size of 10.25"-by-12.5". This heftier version resembles two other big coffee-table picture books on Italy that are even more mouth-watering: "The Most Beautiful Villages of Tuscany" by Bentley & Palmer, and "The Most Beautiful Country Towns of Italy" by Bentley and Ramsay. Because Milan journalist/photographer Paolo Lazzarin covers so many towns here, his treatment of them is necessarily brief. Typically, for each one he offers a page of text and, opposite, a handsome photograph of one of the town's highlights. Some towns, like Siena, enjoy two additional pages of photos. The book is probably most useful to readers planning a first or second trip to Italy. It serves up a scattering of charming towns that are extra-extra-special for one reason or another (not just for their beauty). Some of them, like the magical hill town San Gimignano, might later prove a highlight of one's entire trip, ranking right up there with Florence or Venice. At the front of the book is a map showing the 20 regions of Italy, making it easier to visualize a proposed itinerary, and at the back, an appendix lists, by region, lots of useful addresses & phone numbers--of recommended hotels, restaurants, tourist information offices, and shops. As with other Rizzoli publications, the photographs, on glossy paper stock, are crystal clear, nicely varied, and often magnificent. The book is worth buying for the photos alone, but the commentaries are unfailingly interesting, too. A truly lovely volume, highly recommended.

The text is to the point, bringing uniqueness of each place, its rich history, traditions and fairs. Not every town will appeal to everyone. Where one sees nothing, the other sees a treasure. Nevertheless, the amount of the given information is appropriate for this kind of book. This is not a research book with all the details. For me the true gem of this book, are the foods and fairs listed at a lot of those places. For example, Aosta almost at the crossroads with France and Switzerland often is being discovered by accident. I happened to be there this past summer and one raises a question why it’s not so touristy with such historical heritage. I found the answer in this book – this remote Alpine town is not easy to find. In the ancient times it was strategically located to watch for the enemy coming from the Alps. Today such strategic location proves to be hard to find. I didn’t know that Aosta had Sant’Orso Fair until I read it in this book. However, the book states that originally it was during the last two days of January and nowadays it’s on August 15. The official website of Aosta states that it is still during the last two days of January. For most of the places, the pictures show the true spirit of the city. For example Alba, the city of truffles, shows it clearly with its market selling truffles. However, for example, the picture of a street in Merano doesn’t show the true spirit of the town and I know it, because I’ve been there myself. The town is known for its healing resorts and vineyards rolling down right into the town. I was very surprised to see Verona in this book, which is not a small town. Bolzano is not a small town neither, but has so much more charm being nestled in the Alps with vineyards extending to the town. This town gained popularity, when the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology was created to host the Iceman found in the Alps. Overall, I truly enjoyed this book. I would highly recommend it or buy it again as a gift.

This book is a lot smaller than I expected. The pictures are pretty, but the text is very small. The caption text under the pictures is so tiny you need a magnifying glass to read it (maybe a size 6 font?) I bought this as a gift for a friend going to Italy and was somewhat disappointed.

This book so easily covers the many beautiful villages, areas, parts of Italy and is worth having for any future planned trip. And I remember back decades during my first visit to Italy.... Highly recommended!

"101 Beautiful Small Towns of Italy" is not a guide book in the strict sense of the word. It is a wonderful coffee table book you should always keep there in order to browse through and get pleasure from the beautiful photos of all those beautiful towns. It is divided according to historical regions of Northern, Central and Southern Italy, as well as the islands. It gives you a host of the facts about the history and culture of the towns. And their histories are so entertwined, you get the history of Italy in miniature. But the book also gives such extensive information about what to see in these towns and around them, what and where to eat, where and what to shop for,as well as a lot of advice about places to stay, that you really can use it as a guide book. Highly recommended for everybody who enjoys travelling and beautiful photography.

Got this book for my dad for his birthday. The pictures were gorgeous, but he definitely cannot read the fine print font they included. Even I had trouble reading the different descriptions.

It was purchased as a gift so I didn't really read it. I thumbed through it, though, and it looked interesting. Good photography and lots of it, and nice quality paper. The cover to the book I bought was somewhat scuffed, but that wasn't the books fault.

If you are a fan of Italy or grew up there, read this. My father was born and raised in a small town there, and this book made us so happy.

Enjoyed looking at pix. Descriptions good but would enjoy a little map in corner of each page showing general location. Used to determine what towns I want to go to.

This takes you to wonderful places off the beaten path. I love smaller European cities.