Niles and Frasier Crane would love this book. It is crammed with tips from writers, artists, architects, historians and gourmets, all sharing their favourite Italian discoveries. Undoubtedly useful, it runs close to pretentious in places. For example: 'We do not know where we are yet we seem to be hovering, suspended, beyond terra firma. We are in Venice.' Still, full marks for letting words do the work. There are no pictures and, while it might feel like having a know-all friend with you, it would increase your appreciation of Italy, and it is worth it alone for Alan Feltus's description of Monastero Santa Anna in Foligno, where nuns will show you fourteenth-century frescoes and their own miracle.