1: BEAUTIFUL PICTURES AND VALUABLE INFORMATION BUT...
This is an excellent bookguide of Southern Italy with so many beautiful pictures that just by looking at them, you will want to book a flight and visit it as soon as possible. It features self-guided walking tours (Old Naples) and driving tours (Amalfi Coast, Romanesque Apulia and Sila Mountains), great information and description of landmarks (history and food in Southern Italy) and the following interesting articles: Pizza and Pizzerie, Underground Naples, Vesuvius, Trulli, Cultural Crossroads and the Maffia.
However, even though it features great regional maps (Amalfi Coast and Campanian Islands, Apulia, Calabria & Basilicata and Sicily & Sardinia), the only city maps included are those of Naples and Palermo. Besides, while the bookguide gives an excellent description of Naples and Campania, the chapter about Sicily and Sardinia isn't as extensive as you may wish, since it's mostly focused on the highlights rather than on the off-the-beaten-path places on both islands. The Apulia and Basilicata & Calabria chapters are very good, though. Aditionally, except for a very few places, it doesn't give you information about logistics in terms of public transportation and the lodging and restaurant section is definitely not for budget travelers (there's a section about cheap eats in Naples, though).
While Lonely Planet makes up for what the National Geographic bookguides lack, I must admit that National Geographic also makes up for what the Lonely Planet bookguides lack.
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