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   Not every country is as fortunate as the US when it comes to
   national mapping. May I suggest a few alternatives to USGS-type
   topo maps for Italy?
 
   I've done a bit of Italian genealogical research--as well as just
   liking to look at maps--and have helped lots of researchers when I
   was at The New York Public Library Map Division.
 
   My first suggestion--what we had handy at the reference desk and
   most people were satisfied with--was the Collins Road Atlas Italy.
   Collins is a Scottish company, but you should be able to get this
   through MapLink, Omni, Stanfords (London), or on special order
   through any bookstore. While the scales were nowhere near 1:24,000,
   we always found the town we wanted, and there's an excellent index.
 
   While I can't find a proper citation, I seem to remember a 3-volume
   atlas (north, central, south), possibly by Touring Club Italiano,
   which was also good.
 
   If you want sheet maps, I'd suggest the provincial maps done by
   Litografia Artistica Cartografica in Florence (also available from
   MapLink). Again, the scales aren't that good (in the range of
   1:100,000 to 1:200,000), but the maps were rather attractive and
   quite helpful.
 
   And I found the town where my grandfather was born in all three!
 
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   April Carlucci                [log in to unmask]
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