Rick Steves is the best travel companion you could have on your next trip to Italy: He"s funny, slightly irreverent, knowledgeable, and--best of all--he fits neatly into a fanny pack and weighs practically nothing. Rick Steves"s Italy is geared toward the traveler who wants to get the most out of his or her trip to the land of Augustus Caesar, Lucretia Borgia, and Gucci, regardless of budget. Traveling the Steves way, it doesn"t matter if you"re a millionaire or on a shoestring, so long as what interests you is meeting the people and experiencing the Italian culture as the Italians do. What makes this book so valuable is Steves"s selectivity; rather than throwing in long lists of every hotel, restaurant, and tourist attraction in town, he winnows down the list to a baker"s dozen or so of his favorites for each city and region. He rates the sights, from "Don"t Miss" to "Worth Knowing About," and even offers some delightful self-guided walking tours of some of the towns (the Floodlit Rome Hike is particularly worthwhile). He also clues you in on everything from making phone calls to budgeting your time. So if you"re planning a trip to Italy this year, take your passport, your camera, and Rick Steves"s Italy.