Frommers ShortCuts - Bologna and Emilia-Romagna, Italy

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ISBN 9781118186619 (ebk); ISBN 9781118186596 (ebk); ISBN 9781118186626 (ebk)

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About the Authors

As a team of veteran travel writers, Darwin Porter and Danforth Prince have produced numerous titles for Frommers which have included France, Italy, the Caribbean, Spain, and Germany.

Porter wrote the first ever Frommers guide to Paris and the first ever Frommers guide to a single European countryback then it was called England on $5 a Day. He has lived, on occasion, in London and has traveled England extensively since he left college.

In 1982, he was joined by Danforth Prince, who was previously employed by the Paris bureau of the New York Times . Today he is the president of Blood Moon Productions and other media-related firms. Porter is also a film critic, columnist, broadcaster, and Hollywood biographer.

Frommers Star Ratings, Icons & Abbreviations

Every hotel, restaurant, and attraction listing in this guide has been ranked for quality, value, service, amenities, and special features using a star-rating system . In country, state, and regional guides, we also rate towns and regions to help you narrow down your choices and budget your time accordingly. Hotels and restaurants are rated on a scale of zero (recommended) to three stars (exceptional). Attractions, shopping, nightlife, towns, and regions are rated according to the following scale: zero stars (recommended), one star (highly recommended), two stars (very highly recommended), and three stars (must-see).

In addition to the star-rating system, we also use seven feature icons that point you to the great deals, in-the-know advice, and unique experiences that separate travelers from tourists. Throughout the book, look for:

special finds those places only insiders know about

fun facts details that make travelers more informed and their trips more fun

kids best bets for kids and advice for the whole family

special moments those experiences that memories are made of

overrated places or experiences not worth your time or money

insider tips great ways to save time and money

great values where to get the best deals

The following abbreviations are used for credit cards:

AE American Express DISC Discover V Visa

DC Diners Club MC MasterCard

The Best of Italy

Italy is so packed with attractions that its hard to know where to start. But thats where we can help. In this chapter is our personal, opinionated list of what we consider to be Italys top highlights. It will get you started and point you toward some of the possibilities for designing your own vacation. Whether this is your 1st trip or your 10th, youre bound to come away with your own favorites to add to the list.

The best Travel Experiences

Visiting the Art Cities: When Italy consisted of dozens of principalities, art treasures were concentrated in many small capitals, each one blessed with the patronage of a papal representative or ducal family. Consequently, these cities became treasure-troves of exquisite paintings, statues, and frescoes displayed in churches, monasteries, and palaces, whose architects are now world acclaimed. Although Rome, Florence, and Venice are the best known, youll find stunning collections in Assisi, Cremona, Genoa, Mantua, Padua, Palermo, Parma, Pisa, Siena, Taormina, Tivoli, Turin, Verona, and Vicenza.

Dining Italian Style: One of the most cherished pastimes of the Italians is eating out. Regardless of how much pizza and lasagna youve had in your life, youll never taste any better than the real thing in Italy. Each region has its own specialties, some handed down for centuries. If the weather is fine and youre dining outdoors, perhaps with a view of a medieval church or piazza, youll find your experience the closest thing to heaven in Italy. Buon appetito!

Attending Mass in St. Peters Basilica: With the exception of some sites in Jerusalem, St. Peters in the Vatican is Christendoms most visible and important building. The huge size of the church is daunting. For many, attending Mass here is a spiritual highlight of their lives. In addition, many Catholic visitors to Rome await papal audiences every Wednesday morning, when the pope addresses the general public. (Confirm that the Wed audience will take place as scheduled by calling ahead or visiting the Vatican website prior to your visit.) There is a regularly updated list of ceremonies the pope will preside over, including celebrations of Mass, on the Vatican website. If the day is fair, these audiences are sometimes held in St. Peters Square. Your fellow faithful are likely to come from every corner of the world. See St. Peters & the Vatican, in chapter 5.

Riding Venices Grand Canal: The S-shaped Canal Grande, curving for 3.3km (2 miles) along historic buildings and under ornate bridges, is the most romantic waterway in the world. Most first-timers are stunned by the variety of Gothic and Renaissance buildings, the elaborate styles of which could fill a book on architecture. A ride on the canal will give you ever-changing glimpses of the citys poignant beauty. Your ride doesnt have to be on a gondola; any public vaporetto (motorboat) sailing between Venices rail station and Piazza San Marco will provide a heart-stopping view. See chapter 9.

Getting Lost in Venice: The most obvious means of transport in Venice is by boat; but an even more appealing method is on foot, traversing hundreds of canals, large and small, and crossing over the arches of medieval bridges. Getting from one point to another can be like walking through a mazebut you wont be hassled by traffic, and the sense of the citys beauty, timelessness, and slow decay is almost mystical. See chapter 9.

Spending a Night at the Opera: More than 2,000 new operas were staged in Italy during the 18th century, and since then, Italian opera fans have earned a reputation as the most demanding in the world. Venice was the site of Italys first opera house, the Teatro di San Cassiano (1637), but it eventually gave way to the fabled La Fenice, which burned down in 1996 and was later rebuilt. Milans La Scala is historically the worlds most prestigious opera house, especially for bel canto, and has been restored to its former glory. Theres also a wide assortment of outdoor settings, such as Veronas Arena, one of the largest surviving amphitheaters. Suitable for up to 20,000 spectators and known for its fine acoustics, the Arena presents operas in July and August, when moonlight and the perfumed air of the Veneto add to the charm.