Preface: Italy’s Big Three

SECTION I
ROME

1 The Campidoglio, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill

2 The Pietà, Saint Peter’s Basilica

3 Rome’s Santa Maria Churches

4 Rome’s Churches Dedicated to Female Saints

5 Catacombs of Priscilla

6 Bernini’s Beautiful Broads and the Galleria Borghese

7 Villa Farnesina

8 Palazzo Barberini

9 Palazzo Colonna

10 Taste Rome

11 Cooking with Daniela del Balzo

12 Study Italian in Rome

13 Hiking and Biking in Rome

14 Roman Spas & Hair Salons

15 Shopping in Rome

16 Live Music, Opera, and Puppet Shows in Rome

Side Trips from Rome

17 Villa d’Este, Tivoli

18 Celebrate the Goddess Diana in Nemi

19 Sperlonga

SECTION II
FLORENCE

20 Venuses, Madonnas, and Judith at the Uffizi

21 Santa Maria Novella

22 Annunciations

23 The Costume Gallery at the Pitti Palace

24 Palazzo Davanzati

25 Casa Guidi: Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Apartment

26 Taste Florence

27 Backstage at Il Mercato Centrale

28 Florence Spas and a Hair Salon

29 A Walk and a Bike Ride in Florence

30 Learn Florentine Artisan Crafts

31 Shopping in Florence

32 Entertainment in Florence

Side Trips from Florence

33 Gardens Outside Florence

34 Prato: Home to Mary’s Sacred Girdle and Salome Dancing

35 Siena: City of Saint Catherine

SECTION III
VENICE

36 Santa Maria Churches in Venice

37 Madonnas by Titian, Bellini, and Tintoretto

38 Palazzo Mocenigo

39 The Peggy Guggenheim Collection

40 Palazzo Fortuny

41 Taste Venice

42 Cooking Class with Patrizia

43 Venetian Spa and Hair Salons

44 Craft Classes in Venice

45 Active Venetian Adventures

46 Shopping in Venice

47 Music in Venice

Side Trips from Venice

48 The Scrovegni Chapel in Padua

49 Villa Valmarana Ai Nani in Vicenza

50 Asolo

Appendix 1 Tips for Italian Travel

Appendix 2 Budget Travel Tips

Appendix 3 Packing

Online Resources

Acknowledgments

About the Author