Educational Resources

Much of the enjoyment of travel is in the planning and preparation. Arriving at your destination with some background on the country and its people can make your visit much more rewarding. This list contains recommendations from trip faculty leader Christophe Crombez. Please feel free to shop around on-line or go to your local  bookstore or library etc. for these or other trip materials.

These 4 resources are highly recommended by faculty leader Christophe Crombez.

Judt, Tony. Postwar, A History of Europe Since 1945. Penguin Books, 2005. Brilliant account of postwar European history. Comprehensive, elegantly written, and very readable. (PAPER, 960 Pp.)

Hearder, Harry. Italy, A Short History. Cambridge University Press, 2002. Elegantly written, generous and informative, this compact book takes in the sweep of Italian history from the Roman Republic through the Renaissance, World War II and up to the present. (PAPER, 294 Pp.)

Hix, Simon, and Bjorn Hoyland. The Political System of the European Union. Bloomsbury Academic, 2022. Fourth Edition. Classic scholarly overview of the institutions, policies and politics of the EU. Very well written. (PAPER, 456 Pp.)

Hooper, John. The Italians. Penguin Putnam, 2016. Italy correspondent for The Economist Hooper explores Italy -- its baffling contradictions, unique character and contemporary culture -- in this illuminating portrait. (PAPER, 336 Pp.)

History & Culture

Apatoff, Lise, and Louise Fili. Italianissimo. Little Bookroom, 2008. Divertingly illustrated, this A-to-Z guide profiles 50 very Italian customs and concepts from the notion of beauty (bellissimo) to the Italian disregard for lines (Fare La Coda). (HARD COVER, 111 Pp.)

Bale, Tim. European Politics: A Comparative Introduction. Red Globe Press, 2017. Lively, scholarly overview of the institutions and politics of Europe. The focus is on parliamentary government, and the electoral and party systems that characterize most European countries. Very lively and well written. (PAPER, 452 Pp.)

Clark, Martin. Italian Risorgimento. Longman, 2009. A clear and readable examination of the 19th- century unification of Italy, covering the roles of Cavour and Garibaldi as well as the impact of Italy’s powerful neighbors. (PAPER, 146 Pp.)

Garton Ash, Timothy. Homelands. A Personal History of Europe. Yale University Press, 2023. A wonderfully written personal account of the major events in postwar Europe by one of the preeminent scholars of contemporary European history. (HARDCOVER, 384 Pp.)

Gilbert, Felix, and David Clay Large. The End of the European Era: 1890 to the Present. W W Norton & Co, 2008. Comprehensive history of modern Europe, focusing on political, economic and social developments. (PAPER, 688 Pp.)

Gilmour, David. The Pursuit of Italy. Farrar Straus & Giroux, 2012. Seeking to understand the paradoxes of Italian life, past and present, Sir David Gilmour asks if Garibaldi’s political unification of Italy might, in fact, have been a mistake. This extensively researched and highly opinionated history of Italian life features figures from Cicero to Dante to 20th-century Italian politicians (and Gilmour clearly has a soft spot for Romantic composer Giuseppe Verdi). (PAPER, 480 Pp.)

Jones, Tobias. The Dark Heart of Italy, An Incisive Portrait of Europe’s Most Beautiful, Most Disconcerting Country. Faber and Faber, 2005. A sobering account of modern Italy which points to underlying structural reasons for the continued failure of the Italian state to function as well as it could. Gripping. (PAPER, 336 Pp.)

Lawrence, D.H. D.H. Lawrence and Italy. Penguin, 2008. This omnibus Penguin Classics edition includes Lawrence’s three travel tales, each very different in tone and all wonderful: Sea and Sardinia is a nostalgic look at traditional ways of life; Twilight in Italy, an evocation of Lawrence’s memorable stay on Lake Garda; and Etruscan Places, his musings on ancient sites, including the painted tombs of Tarquinia. (PAPER, 495 Pp.)

Mallett, Michael, and Christine Shaw. The Italian Wars, 1494-1559, War, State and Society in Early Modern Europe. Routledge, 2018. A well-written exploration of the multiple wars that enveloped northern Italy during the Renaissance. This conflict is frequently neglected and yet proved as pivotal to the evolution of Europe as the Protestant Reformation and the discovery of the New World. (PAPER, 424 Pp.)

McCormick, John.  Understanding the European Union. A Concise Introduction. Bloomsbury Academic, 2020. Well written, concise introduction to the institutions and policies of the EU, and the challenges the EU faces. (PAPER, 256 Pp.)

Minuz, Armando. Gusto, The Very Best of Italian Food and Cuisine. Abbeville, 2014. A massive (measuring 15 by 11 inches), well-illustrated reference of Italian cuisine including 140 recipes, over 4,000 photographs and a traveler’s guide to finding the best ingredients in Italy. (HARD COVER, 368 Pp.)

Mudde, Cas and Cristobal Rovira Kaltwasser. Populism, A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2017. A wonderful, concise introduction to populism, a concept that is often used but not always well understood.

Neville, Peter. Mussolini. Routledge, 2015.  A well balanced biography of the man who shaped Italian history in the first half of the 20th century. A useful analytical introduction to Fascism and its founder, written in such a way to make it as gripping as an adventure story (PAPER, 266 Pp.)

Pavoni, Alessandro. A Lombardian Cookbook, From the Alps to the Lakes of Northern Italy. Random House, 2016. Native son Alessandro Pavoni, now a renowned chef, shares 100 family recipes in this cookbook, his first. Recipes feature cave-aged cheeses and cured meats, polenta, tender spit-roasted meat and risotto made from rice grown on the plains of the River Po. (HARD COVER, 224 Pp.)

Paxton, Robert O. Europe in the Twentieth Century. Cengage Learning, 2011. Offers a comprehensive narrative of 20th century Europe, focusing on social movements. (PAPER, 752 Pp.)

Powers, Alice. Italy in Mind. Random House, 1997. A terrific collection of some of the best literary writing on Italy, including pieces by Melville, Lawrence, Henry James, Mary McCarthy and many others. (PAPER, 349 Pp.)

Sartoni, Monica Cesari, and Susan Simon (Translator). Italy Dish by Dish. Little Bookroom, 2011. This Italian bestseller, available for the first time in English, provides an all-encompassing pocket guide to the food of Italy with 3,000 recipes, descriptions of regional wines and cheeses, definitions, local lore and more. (PAPER, 384 Pp.)

Severgnini, Beppe. La Bella Figura, A Field Guide to the Italian Mind. Broadway Books, 2007. Italians themselves love this guide to the Italian character, which addresses their never-ending passion for beauty, disorder and high emotion. The book opens with a snapshot of Malpensa Airport, then moves on to Tuscany, Rome, Naples and Sardinia. (PAPER, 288 Pp.)

Sheehan, Jim. Where Have All the Soldiers Gone? Mariner Books, 2009. Impressive account of Europe’s 20th century transformation from a continent repeatedly torn apart by war to a relatively peaceful and prosperous part of the world. (PAPER, 304 Pp.)

Sullivan, Mark. Beneath a Scarlet Sky. Lake Union Publishing, 2017. A new historical novel based on a true story of a young Italian who helps to smuggle Jews across the border into Switzerland during WW2. A good read. (PAPER, 523 Pp.)

Thompson, Mark. The White War, Life and Death on the Italian Front. Hachette, 2010. Thompson’s history captures the drama, nationalist frenzy and pathos of WWI. The historian also traces the nearly forgotten, brutal three-year struggle to capture the Isonzo River sector in the rugged Alps and Dolomites from the Austro-Hungarian Empire in this epic history. (PAPER, 454 Pp.)

Usherwood, Simon and John Pinder. The European Union: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2018. Very concise, well written overview of the EU, its institutions and politics. (PAPER, 152 Pp.)

van Middelaar, Luuk. Alarums & Excursions: Improvising Politics on the European Stage. Agenda Publishing, 2019. A personal account of the EU’s crisis management by the speechwriter of Herman Van Rompuy, the first president of the European Council (2009-14). It covers the euro crisis, the refugee crisis, the 2014 Russian occupation of Crimea, Brexit, and other major events. (PAPER, 302 Pp.)

Travel, Biography & Memoir

Hales, Dianne. La Bella Lingua. Broadway Books, 2010. Inebriated with the sounds of Italian, lovesick for its phrases and enamored of its earthy idioms, Hales, “a sensible woman of sturdy Polish stock,” dives into the Italian of the piazza, literature, movies and streets in this charming memoir. (PAPER, 336 Pp.)

Harrison, Barbara Grizzuti. Italian Days. Atlantic Monthly Press, 1998. Grizzuti Harrison writes with warmth and depth of her journey from Milan south to Calabria in this sprightly account of Italy and the Italians. (PAPER, 512 Pp.)

Mak, Geert. In Europe. Travels through the Twentieth Century. Vintage, 2008. At the turn of the century the author, an acclaimed journalist for a Dutch newspaper, set out to travel around Europe for a year and write an account of 20th century European history. The result is a unique, personal narrative of the major events of the 20th century, one that blends history, culture and politics with the stories of the people he meets during his travels. (PAPER, 878 Pp.)

Mak, Geert. The Dream of Europe. Travels in a Troubled Continent. Vintage, 2023. In this sequel to the previous book, the author travels through Europe again twenty years later, when a lot of the post-Cold War optimism has dissipated. He presents a formidable account of the major events Europe has been through so far this century, such as the euro crisis, Brexit, and the rise of populism, and the effects these events have had on the lives of ordinary Europeans. (PAPER, 592 Pp.)

Merullo, Roland. The Italian Summer: Golf, Food, and Family at Lake Como. Touchstone, 2015. Merullo shares this congenial account of a summer with his family in Italy and Switzerland, offering delicious descriptions of wonderful meals, colorful characters -- and rounds of golf at some of the most beautiful courses in Europe. He is a golf fanatic. (PAPER, 280 Pp.)

Shelley, Percy Bysshe, and Frederick Jones (Editor). The Letters of Percy Bysshe Shelley: Volume 2, Shelley in Italy. Oxford University Press, 1964. A scholarly edition of the famed poet’s memoirs from northern Italy. The authoritative text includes commentary and scholarly apparatus. (PAPER, 540 Pp.)

Whymper, Edward. Scrambles Amongst the Alps, In the Years 1860-69. National Geographic, 2002. Edward Whymper’s classic account of Victorian-era mountaineering captures the geography, beauty and allure of the Alps. (PAPER, 320 Pp.)

Literature

Alghieri, Dante, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Translator), and Matthew Pearl (Editor). Inferno, The Longfellow Translation. Modern Library, 2003. A Modern Library edition of Dante’s Inferno, translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and edited by Matthew Pearl. (PAPER, 432 Pp.)

Eco, Umberto. The Name of the Rose. Mariner Books, 1980. Umberto Eco’s masterwork is, among other things, a murder mystery, a riff on the Book of Revelations, and a meticulous recreation of medieval Europe, particularly of Benedictine monastic life in Italy. Eco researched the book in the library of the Abbey of Melk. (PAPER, 536 Pp.)

Hemingway, Ernest. A Farewell to Arms. Scribner, 2014. Set in snowy Switzerland and the rainy Italian Lake Country during WWI, this semi-autobiographical novel chronicles the romance between a British nurse and an American ambulance driver. This edition collects all of the alternate endings, along with early drafts of other essential passages. (PAPER, 330 Pp.)

Manzoni, Alessandro. The Betrothed. Penguin, 1984. By many accounts the first modern Italian novel, Manzoni’s 1827 classic concerns star-crossed lovers in 17th-century Lombardy. Promoted during unification, Italy’s best-known novel has been made into films and a musical. (PAPER, 720 Pp.)

Pea, Enrico, and Ezra Pound (Translator). Moscardino. Archipelago Books, 2004. An autobiographical sketch of the tensions between an eccentric old man and his brothers living in Lunigiana. Translated into English by Ezra Pound, the tale is highly evocative of the landscape and Italian life. (PAPER, 71 Pp.)

News Sites, Videos, YouTube & Podcasts  

Katie & Matteo. Five-Minute Italian. 2021. There are a few Italian-language podcasts available dedicated to learning the language, but this one features very short episodes which focus on functional communication. Eighty-six episodes cover topics like common questions, how to use ‘I like’, talking about lunch and  dinner, and developing a passable Italian accent. (PODCAST)

Politico EU (politico.eu) presents a great overview of European news. It offers a number of podcasts also.

Maps & Guidebooks

Tomalin, Barry. Culture Smart! Italy. Kuperard, 2021. A concise, no-nonsense guide to Italian customs, etiquette and culture along with helpful travel advice. (PAPER, 200 Pp.)

Daverio, Philippe. Lombardy, 127 Destinations for Discovering Art, History and Beauty. Rizzoli International, 2016. This guide to 127 cultural sites in Lombardy unveils some of Italy’s best-kept secrets: Lake Como and Lake Garda, enchanting medieval villages, prehistoric rock etchings, 18th-century villas and countless monuments, statues and paintings. (HARD COVER, 180 Pp.)

DK Publishing. Eyewitness Travel Phrase Book Italian. DK Publishing, 2017. This attractive, illustrated phrasebook includes all the essentials for travelers to Italy, such as everyday phrases and instructions on how to order food, ask for the time and more. A handy, pocket-sized reference, it also includes a dictionary and pronunciation guide as well as a free app with helpful audio. (PAPER, 224 Pp.)

Global Map. Lake Como Map. Global Maps, 2017. Scaled at 1:35,000, this single-sided map of Lake Como was produced in Italy and features physical and political details. (MAP)

Insight Guides. Insight Guides Italian Lakes. Insight Guides, 2022. This compact, illustrated guide to the Italian Lakes covers the villages, culture and attractions of the region in detail, including an in-depth chapter on Milan. (PAPER, 288 Pp.)

Lonely Planet. Lonely Planet Italian Phrasebook & CD. Lonely Planet, 2020. A handy, palm-sized guide to pronunciation, basic grammar and essential vocabulary for the traveler. (PAPER, 272 Pp.)

Touring Club Italiano. Lombardia Regional Map. Touring Club Italiano, 2013. A colorful regional map of Lombardy. (MAP)

Zimmermann, Petra Sophia. 111 Places in Verona and Lake Garda That You Must Not Miss. ACC Distribution, 2015. This “111 Places” guide to Verona and Lake Garda profiles so many strange and original places that it will surprise even loyal residents. Each hidden gem reveals the history and unique flavor of the Italian region. (PAPER, 240 Pp.)