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Best of Sicily in 12 Days: Recommended Reading & Viewing

Italy is overwhelmingly rich in history, art and culture. Any preliminary reading, viewing or listening you can do will help you get the most from your trip. Here's a list of some sources we've found helpful. For more information on any of these books, visit your favorite bookstore or check out amazon.com; for video information, go to imdb.com.Rick Steves guidebooks are available at our office in Edmonds and also on our website's Travel Store.

Recommended Reading

Non-Fiction

• Italian Neighbors; Italian Education — Tim Parks
• Italian Days — Barbara Grizzuti Harrison
• Desiring Italy — Susan N. Cahill
• The Italians — Luigi Barzini
• Excellent Cadavers — Alexander Stille
• Midnight in Sicily — Peter Robb
• Christ Stopped at Eboli — Carlo Levi
• Marling Menu-Master
• Culture Shock: Italy — Raymond Flower

Fiction

• A Soldier of the Great War — Mark Helprin
• A Bell for Adano — John Hersey
• Decameron — Giovanni Boccaccio
• To Each His Own — Leonardo Sciascia
• The Leopard — Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa

General Europe

• Europe 101 — Rick Steves & Gene Openshaw: A fun and informative look at European history and art; including the Italian Renaissance.
• A World Lit Only by Fire — William Manchester: Vivid account of Europe's transition from the Roman Empire to the Reformation and the Renaissance.
• Innocents Abroad — Mark Twain: Classic, humorous account of an American group's 1867 "Grand Tour" through Europe and the Holy Land.
• Civilization — Kenneth Clark: BBC-TV series and book that teaches European art and civilization like nothing else.
• Connections — James Burke: Fascinating book and TV series that links historical events and scientific discoveries across the centuries.

Rick Steves' Travel DVDs

For a fun, informative preview of your next tour destination, watch a DVD from our "Rick Steves' Europe" TV series! Our online Travel Store has 70 shows available on 11 DVDs (a generous five to eight shows per disc).

Films With a Italian Accent

Spartacus (1960) • The Godfather: Part II (1974) • Cinema Paradiso (1990) • Enchanted April (1991) • Ciao, Professore! (1994) • Il Postino (1995)

Mood Music

Big Night soundtrack; Ezio Pinza; Andrea Bocelli; Three Tenors; Puccini's Tosca; Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci; Verdi's Rigoletto; Pino Daniele, Lucio Dalla, Zucchero