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Publications
 hese are the books that we've found most useful
for visits to Rome over the years. Books with special usefulness for sightseeing are
marked with a "§".
§ Georgina Masson's  Companion
Guide to Rome, Univ. of Rochester, 1998. This is the guide
to Rome's sights. Originally published 30 years ago and long out of print, this is a
revised edition, thankfully now available. Snap it up while you have a chance. It
details twenty-five half-day walks about the city. You'll find virtually all of Rome's
sights from the top 10 to the more or less obscure. You don't have to stay for two weeks
to enjoy this 'best of breed'. This is a "must" for serious visitors to Rome.
Christopher Hibbert's Rome - The Biography of a City Penguin Books.
The single-best source of Rome background. History from the Etruscans to Mussolini,
coupled with sketches of the city and info about its important sites.
§ Two Thousand Years
in Rome by the Mertzes, Coward-McCann, NY, 1968 (libraries) combines in one
volume much of the information in the previous two. If we had a single book to
choose for describing the sights and historical background of the history, architecture
and art of the city, this would be it. Unfortunately out of print and a bit difficult to
find, often available in libraries. One chapter is devoted to the excavations under St.
Peter's, for those with an interest here. While this is well done, the later
book by Hutchinson does a better job of describing what we know of the excavations
today.
§ Blue
Guide Rome (Blue Guides) A guide to Rome's sights, in exquisite, almost
too much, detail. Covers the sites in terms of walking tours about this city which is best
seen on foot. You'll not miss a thing of interest in Rome with this guide in your hands.
§ Michelin
Green Guide Rome (3rd Ed) The Michelin series is the most compact
and information-filled sightseeing reference; easy to pack and carry, it's essential to
enjoying the sights. Less extensive than the authoritative Blue Guide, it's more than
adequate for the interest levels of most visitors to Rome.
Ancient
Rome: Monuments Past and Present
 Two dozen of the city's
most important monuments (e.g. Roman Forum, Colosseum, Circus Maximus) are presented with
transparent overlays clearly showing how they looked 2,000 years ago, and how they look
today. Most visitors have difficulty imagining from today's often sketchy brick and stone
remains the appearance of the original marble-clad wonders. You can buy similar books on
the street in Rome, though it's better to have a look at the appearance before you make
your visit.
Eyewitness
Travel Guide: Rome  Great
pictures and text and excellent details on sights. Fine background/cultural information on
the city. Somewhat skimpy on hotels and restaurants, but there are plenty of resources for
those. We find this more a coffee table book, and it's probably the best book on the city
for armchair travelers who'll not make it to Rome. Such a lovely book, you'd not want to
tear out the important pages to take with you to Rome, which is what we do with most
general guides.
We never leave home, or our hotel
room, without a pocket phrase book and pocket dictionary:
Berlitz
Italian Phrase Book and Dictionary
Mondadori's
Pocket Italian-English English-Italian Dictionary
here are, as for any other major destination,
many guides to the Eternal City. With so many hotels, restaurants and sights any
writer/publisher must, inevitably, compromise on coverage if you're to be able to carry it
without a handcart.
Rome (Cadogan Guides),
Cadogan Books Ltd., London, 1997 is the most complete 'tour book' we've found for the
city, covering in one volume all most visitors want to know. If you want to carry only one
book to Rome, this is it. Hotels, restaurants, sights, getting around -- all that you
expect of that information is there. A bit thinner on hotels and restaurants than some
guidebooks, it has by far the best sightseeing information of all the general
guidebooks ... extensive and relatively in-depth.
A later edition
covers Rome, Naples and Sorrento, but in half as many pages as the 3rd edition, above.
More coverage, less information on Rome. But if you'll be going to the Naples area it may
be worthwhile for you.
We've not been impressed in
recent years with Frommer's guides, but after
a recent review find we have to add them to our recommendations. The
Rome 2001
is our suggestion if you'll just be visiting that city.
Frommer's Italy
2001 contains a goodly amount of detail on Rome as well as fairly thorough
coverage of the rest of the country.
Had we a choice of two books
to carry we'd take the Blue Guide (or Michelin Green) for the sights and Fodor's or
Frommer's for all the rest. |
