[.ca] Lonely Planet Italy (ISBN 1741043115)

From Amazon.com:
From Antarctica to Zimbabwe, if you're going there, chances are Lonely Planet has been there first. With a pithy and matter-of-fact writing style, these guides are guaranteed to calm the nerves of first-time world travelers, while still listing off-the-beaten-path finds sure to thrill even the most jaded globetrotters. Lonely Planet has been perfecting its guidebooks for nearly 30 years and as a result, has the experience and know-how similar to an older sibling's "been there" advice. The original backpacker's bible, the LP series has recently widened its reach. While still giving insights for the low-budget traveler, the books now list a wide range of accommodations and itineraries for those with less time than money. Explore the riches of Italy with Lonely Planet's essential guide. Featuring a special color feature on Italian art and architecture, this book also contains insider's advice on the best pasta and gelati; skiing and trekking information, notes on history, culture and current politics; as well as practical food and accommodation suggestions for every budget. Delightful sidebars add insight into the culture, with details on everything from gladiators to mushroom picking. --Kathryn True

Better books are available:
We visited about eleven cities in northern and central Italy and we carried both the Lonely Planet Italy and the Rough Guide Italy with us. I had the Rough Guide Italy and had no problems looking up information. My companion had the Lonely Planet Italy and she eventually gave up on it. She found the LP to be lacking in basic information and basically a book better left at home. We would recommend the Rough Guide instead.

Disappointing:
This is the first time I've been disappointed with a Lonely Planet publication. I found this guide to Italy superficial and not helpful. It didn't contain information about some quite large towns, information about reaching destinations in scant and maps are not easy to read. And I preferred it when Lonely Planet put all the general information in the front of the book followed by the specifics region by region.

Pays for itself:
We've just returned from 2-weeks in Italy and found this book to be full of great places to stay and eat. We ran into problems right away with a place we were going to stay for 4-nights that we had booked before we purchased this book. Left with no option but to find another place to stay, we consulted the guide. So many beautiful places. Plus points for giving addresses, web addresses if available, and accurate descriptions of what to expect. The sightseeing suggestions were also terrific. We stayed at 2 and 3 star hotels and pensions, got away from the crowds, and suffered no lack of amenities. A must have for your italian vacation.

Incomplete and out of date:
I bought the Lonely Planet and found it didn't even have a single word about my favorite place in Italy, a small gem of a town with an incredible hostel and scenery (I can't tell the place because I don't want everyone to go there.) It also was very out of date, all of the prices were wrong and I found the reviews of places to be hard to distinguish. It says everything is great so you are left confused about where to spend you time. I ended up using Let's Go which i preferred 100%.

Great comprehensive guide for Italy:
This book is great for travel in Italy. The background information is interesting, the maps are superb and the LP writers do an excellent job of highlighting the most interesting sites. I highly recommend this book to anyone going to Italy.