April 2006    

Italy Out of Hand Author: Barbara Hodgson Publisher: Chronicle Books $19.95 Cloth (200 p.) ISBN: 0811831469 B&T         YBP Reviewed by Marcia Lusted, Statusing As someone with a great fondness for travel narratives, especially about Italy, I wasn't sure at first if this would be a traditional guidebook or something different. As I read it, I was very pleased to find that it's a little bit of both: a region by region collection of interesting anecdotes and bits of history about Italy, as well as listings for where to find those places if you're actually visiting the country. While this isn't going to help you find a cheap hotel late at night in an obscure Italian city, it is infinitely more satisfying to read than the latest Fodor's guidebook. For each section of Italy that she discusses, Hodgson looks at the region itself, provides some of the more important words in that particular dialect of Italian, and then touches on such interesting things as famous relics, well-known visitors and inhabitants, museums, certain events and scandals that took place there, excursions to nearby places of interest, or even the negative writings about the region by previous travelers. The result is a better all-around feel for the atmosphere of the city, beyond just where to stay, what to eat, and which museums and famous paintings you have to see. Some of my favorite entries include a discussion of a carved wooden Christ child in Rome that is reputed to have returned to its church after being stolen, standing on the door step and shivering, knocking to be let in. She also discusses visitor James Boswell's tour of Italy which included a willing woman in every town, as well as the famous Roman statues known as the Congress of Shrewds, so called because various wits and critics of authority would scribble messages and paste them to the statues as if they were speaking. I also appreciated the "Egypt in Rome" itinerary of all the obelisks in the city that were stolen from Egypt since the first century BC. These are the kinds of tidbits that make a trip to one of these famous cities something more than checking off destinations on the standard tourist's list. Heavily illustrated with pictures of famous people, places, and artwork, as well as some wonderful vintage travel posters, this book is not only fun to read but a delight to browse through. This is something that every visitor to Italy and every armchair traveler needs to read. Published by YBP Library Services 999 Maple St., Contoocook, NH 03229 USA v: 800.258.3774   f: 603.746.5628 w: www.ybp.com   e: academia@ybp.com All rights reserved.