Places in Italy: A private grand tour (3rd edition): 150 essential places to visit: 1001 unforgettable works of art

by Francis Russell

Overview

A new and 50% enlarged, entertaining, but fundamentally serious selection of the most rewarding places to visit the most visited and beloved country in the world. Places described have gone from 101 to 150 in this edition. Sicily, Calabria and Apulia are the subjects of greater focus. Towns (additions include Bergamo, Pesaro, Cremona and Todi), villages, museums and individual monuments are discussed, characterised and described. A guide book in its own right, but above all a thoughtful, opinionated and supremely well-informed guide, supplement and corrective to conventional guides. Note this is not a guide to hotels, restaurants and other amenities.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781912242214
Publisher:	Bitter Lemon Press, Ltd
Publication date:	11/12/2019
Edition description:	Revised
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	1,069,321
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.80(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Francis Russell was educated at Oxford and has travelled in Italy for over fifty years. He is currently Deputy Chairman of Christie's, specialising in old master paintings, and has written numerous books, articles and reviews on, mainly, Italian subjects. Russell is also the author of ‘Places in Turkey’ (3000 sold worldwide) and ‘Places in Syria’ (sold rather less for obvious reasons).

Editorial Reviews

The author has achieved the near-impossible in condensing his top Italian places into a handy, compact guide. A must-squeeze-into-hand-baggage or the back-pack.’’ —House and Garden

“Masterpieces come in all shapes and sizes, and this is a small one. [It is} like a conversation with a well-informed friend. He tells you exactly what you want to know, in the most succinct terms”.— Country Life

“A minor classic”—Times Literary Supplement

‘Author Francis Russell traverses Italy from big cities to the Italian countryside in this "private" tour of Italy's finest works of art and special places. A writer and lecturer on Italian art and architecture, Russell brings to the text a lightness of touch and a level of erudition that is just right: knowledgeable but not too highbrow, so readers can appreciate his discussions even if they don't know a Caravaggio from a Raphael or a Bernini from a Michelangelo. He places the works in a historical context and reflects on the political and religious backgrounds of the cities and towns in which the works are located. Russell has his favourites and is not shy about expressing his preferences one way or the other ("No sightseer is unprejudiced," he confesses). Perhaps the most valuable aspect of the book is Russell's approach to the remarkable works on display here. Yes, he acknowledges the most famous ones, but he also directs visitors to many lesser-known pieces. His advice as to what and what not to see is also spot on and practical. ("Rome, it is said, was not built in a day. The visitor with less than a month on his hands … has to be selective.").— Chicago Tribune

From the Publisher