Page 8 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Europe

6  HOW T O USE THIS GUIDE

HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE

This Dorling Kindersley travel guide helps countries. Each country is described by a
you to get the most from your visit to Europe. historical portrait and illustrated with a map.
Visiting Europe maps the continent, and gives The main sightseeing section then follows,
tips on practical considerations and travel. with maps of the major cities within the
Europe at a Glance gives an overview of some country. For each country, there is a section
of the main attractions and a brief history. of practical and travel information, followed
The book is divided into seven sections, each by listings of recommended hotels
covering a group of two, three, or four and restaurants.
Europe Map 366  IT AL Y AND GREECE A T A GLANCE  367
The colored areas shown on the Italy and Greece at a Glance
The appeal of Italy and Greece is both cultural and
hedonistic. As the cradles of Europe’s two great Classical
map on the inside front cover civilizations, both countries are famous for their ancient
temples and monuments, concentrated principally in
the cities of Rome and Athens. Located in the southern
half of Europe, Italy and Greece share a sunny
indicate the 19 country chapters Mediterranean climate and a correspondingly Locator Map
laid-back way of life. Away from the
main cultural sights, the
peaceful countryside,
in this guide. beautiful beaches, and Trieste
warm seas guarantee
a relaxed vacation. Turin Milan Venice The Peloponnese (see pp466–9), a large peninsula, connected
abounds in ancient and medieval ruins. The heavily fortified
Parma to the rest of the Greek mainland by the Corinth isthmus,
Genoa Bologna sea port of Monemvasía, in the southeastern corner, has many
well-preserved Byzantine and Venetian buildings.
At a Glance Florence Siena Ancona
1The map here highlights the most (see pp368–443) Pescara
ITALY
interesting cities, towns, and Rome Foggia Bari Serres
Athens (see pp450–57)
regions in the countries covered Venice (see pp414–23) is a Brindisi Kozani Thessaloníki unrivaled collection of
Naples
is renowned for its
city quite unlike any other: a Sardinia Ioannina Classical antiquities.
The world-famous
fabulous treasure house of
in the section (in this example art and architecture, built Corfu Lárisa Acropolis is dominated
by the 2,500-year-old
on a series of islands, where
GREECE
Parthenon, built as an
there are no cars and the Cagliari (see pp444–89) expression of the glory
streets are canals.
Italy and Greece). Palermo Reggio di Patra of ancient Greece.
Calabria
Florence (see pp394–407) Sicily Athens
embodies the Renaisssance of
art and learning in the 15th
century. Familiar masterpieces Kalamata
of the period, such as this copy 0 km 100 Rhodes Town
of Michelangelo’s David, adorn 0 miles 100 Rhodes
the streets.
Irákleio
Crete
Rome (see pp374–
87) owes its grandest
monuments to the
era of papal rule.
The vast colonnaded
IT AL Y AND GREECE  369 square in front of Crete (see pp476–7), the largest and most
St. Peter’s and the southerly of the Greek islands, boasts clear
Vatican was created blue seas and fine sandy beaches. Inland,
ITALY by Bernini in the there are ancient Minoan palaces and
dramatic mountainous landscapes.
17th century.
Aerial view of Florence from Fiesole hill on a foggy morning, Italy
Italy has drawn people in search of culture and romance for centuries. Few
countries can compete with its Classical origins, its art, architecture, musical,
and literary traditions, its scenery, or its food and wine. Since World War II, Italy
has climbed into the top ten world economies, yet at its heart it retains many of
the customs, traditions, and regional allegiances of its agricultural heritage.
Italy has no single cultural identity. Germany and France, while the south
Between the snowy peaks of the Alps has suffered a succession of invasions
and the rugged shores of Sicily lies a from foreign powers: Carthaginians and
whole series of regions, each with its Greeks in ancient times, Saracens and Each country chapter has color-
own distinctive dialect, architecture, Normans in the Middle Ages, and until
and cuisine. There is also a larger regional the middle of the last century, the coded thumb tabs.
division. People speak of two Italies: Bourbons from Spain held sway.
the rich industrial north and the poorer
agricultural south, known as Il Mezzogiorno History
(Land of the Midday Sun). Italy is a young country; it did not exist as
The north is directly responsible for a unified nation state until 1861. The idea
Italy’s place among the world’s top of Italy as a geographic entity goes back to
industrial nations, a success achieved the time of the Etruscans, but prior to the
by names such as Fiat, Pirelli, Olivetti, 19th century, the only time the peninsula Introduction to a Country
Zanussi, Alessi, and Armani. The south, was united was under the Romans, who
in contrast, has high unemployment, by the 2nd century BC had subdued the
many areas in the grip of organized other Italian tribes and the Greek colonies 2This section gives the reader
crime, and regions that rank among around the coast. Rome became the
the most depressed in Europe. capital of a huge empire, introducing an insight into the country’s
History and geography have both its language, laws, and calendar to most
contributed to the division. The north of Europe before falling to Germanic
is closer both in location and spirit to invaders in the 5th century AD. geography, historical background,
politics, and the character of the
people. A chart lists the key dates and
events in the country’s history.
The softly undulating hills of Tuscany
The awe inspiring ruins of the Roman Forum, Rome 372  IT AL Y AND GREECE IT AL Y  373
Innsbruck Salzburg
Exploring Italy Zurich SWITZERLAND AUSTRIA Distance chart
Italy’s elongated shape means travel S41 Bolzano Cortina d'Ampezzo Rome Distance by road in kilometers
Distance by road in miles
can take up a fair proportion of your S42 A22 S51 A23 383 Bologna
visit. Rome, Florence, and Venice Domodossola Lake Como Trento Belluno Udine SLOVENIA 238 562 783
(Lago di Como)
are naturally the main tourist Lake Maggiore S13 349 487 Brindisi
Ljubljana
Lake Garda
destinations, but there are many (Lago Maggiore) Malpensa Bergamo (Lago di Garda) Treviso Zagreb 278 173 106 66 832 517 Florence
A5
other attractive historic towns and Aosta Brescia Vicenza Trieste 510 291 1064 225
cities that merit a detour of a A5 A4 Linate A4 Verona A4 Padua Venice Rijeka 317 575 181 210 661 990 140 299 Genoa 145 Milan
couple of days or more. Visitors
Country Map with time to explore often choose S23 Turin (Torino) Po A7 A21 Milan A1 (Mantova) Parma Po A22 N482 Ferrara Adige (Padova) (Venezia) 219 136 357 130 594 369 615 354 220 186 489 304 90 714 444 786 488 Naples
Mantua
to tour a particular region, such as
691
206
3For easy reference, sights in each Tuscany, the Veneto, or the island S21 S20 A6 Ta naro A10 A26 Genoa (Genova) S 45 Portofino A15 A1 Bologna S16 S309 Ravenna Rimini 673 418 530 329 332 1111 395 245 255 158 170 106 397 247 138 273 170 86 884 549 741
of Sicily. Road and rail connections
928
154
are generally better in the north,
96
577
where Milan, Bologna, and Verona
country are numbered and plotted are the key transport hubs. FRANCE Nice MONACO San Remo Ligurian La Spezia Peninsula A12 Livorno Lucca Pisa (Firenze) A11 MARINO Urbino SAN S3 Pesaro Ancona CROATIA
S71
Florence
San
on a map. The black bullet numbers Marseille Sea Gimignano Siena Perugia Gubbio S76 A14 Split BOSNIA AND
S1
Piombino S 223 A1 Assisi S77 Ascoli Piceno HERZEGOVINA
(e.g. 3) also indicate the order N193 Bastia Elba Orbetello Orvieto Viterbo Todi S4 L'Aquila A24 Pescara Adriatic Dubrovnikk
Sea
A25
in which the sights are covered in Sights at a Glance u Verona Corsica N198 Fiumicino Civitavécchia ROME (Roma) I TA L Y Isole S89
Sulmona
Tremiti
A14
Ajaccio
1 Rome pp374–87
the chapter. 2 Assisi pp388–9 i Vicenza Anzio S148 S 213 A1 S7 N85 S87 Foggia Greece, Egypt
o Padua
3 Perugia
4 Siena pp390–92
a Ferrara
5 San Gimignano p Venice pp414–23 Porto Olbia Naples Benevento A16 A14 Bari Greece
(Napoli)
6 Florence pp394–407 s Bologna Torres S1 25 Isola d'Ischia Pompeii N96 A14
7 Pisa d Ravenna Sassari Amalfi S1 6 Brindisi
8 Lucca f Urbino Alghero S131 S131d Isola di Capri Amalfi S407 Taranto S7 Lecce
9 Portofino Peninsula g Naples S18 Agri
Coast
0 Genoa h Pompeii S 106 S16
q Turin j Amalfi Coast Sardinia T yrrhenian A3
Sea
w Milan k Palermo S1 31 S125 Ionian
e Lake Maggiore l Taormina S18
r Lake Como z Mount Etna S130 Sea
t Lake Garda x Syracuse Cagliari Cosenza
y Mantua c Agrigento Catanzaro
Sights at a Glance lists Isole Eolie o Lípari A3
Palermo Messina Reggio di S106
the numbered sights in Egadi Trapani A20 Calabria Key
Isole
A29
A19 Mount Etna A18 Taormina Highway
alphabetical order. Tunis Agrigento S ici l y A19 Catania Major road
Railroad
M E D I T E R R A N E A N S E A
0 km 80 International border
Syracuse
S115
0 miles 80 Isola di Ragusa (Siracusa) Ferry route
Tunis
Pantelleria
Malta
For hotels and restaurants see pp438–40 and pp441–3 For keys to symbols see back flap
006-007_EW_Europe.indd 6 14/07/2016 14:44