$2,195 + air

24-28 people

Begins in Taormina and ends in Palermo

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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. 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 Travel Center 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 80 shows available on 12 DVDs (a generous four to eight shows per disc).

Films With an Italian Accent

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

Mood Music

Three Tenors, Vivaldi's Four Seasons, Puccini's Tosca, Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci, Verdi's Rigoletto, Ezio Pinza, Claudio Villa (opera); Andrea Bocelli (operatic pop); Zucchero, Pino Daniele (rock); Big Night (soundtrack)