For the last 2 years, I've been shooting with a Nikon D80.
Before that a Nikon F4.
All of the lenses I used on the F4 work on the D80.
I like the digital format of the D80 for ease of editing and transferring to the Internet or prints
I started going to Italy in the late 1970's.
I lived there (Florence, Rome, Bologna, Milan) for about 7 years during the 1980's thru 1990's.
Since the late 1990's, I've been going back every year or so.
Out next trip is tentatively scheduled for 2010 and should include about 3 weeks of travel:
Bologna – Parma – Spilamberto
Venice – Padua – Verona
Siena – Montalcino – Florence – Latina – Rome – Frascati
Naples – Amalfi – Sorrento – Capri
Didn't read the book but the Opera House burned down in 1996 or so and was rebuilt about 7 years after fire.
What a tragedy in a beautiful city of impending disasters.