The Guide to Essential Italy

This course should be named "Guide to Essential Cathedrals, Palaces and Art in Italy." It feels more like an extended museum tour than a course. I expected it to cover, at least tangentially, aspects of Italian history, but he only provided small anecdotes and name-drops in his descriptions of this facade or that painting. Furthermore, he doesn't enrich his descriptions with much historical context, so if you're unfamiliar with Roman/Venetian/Florentine/Papal history, much of his descriptions will go over your head (they went over mine). He also assumes a good understanding of architecture and painting styles, and without it the descriptions fly over your head even higher. The lectures are structured around walking routes through the cities he covers, and he spends a lot of time explaining street directions throughout the course, which isn't the most meaningful organization when you're just watching the lectures online. I think this course would be better organized around historical events, time periods, or families, and with the incorporation of more historical context and explanations of architectural and artistic features rather than just naming them. After watching the whole course, I found the lectures largely unmemorable, and I learned very little.

Although informative, this course didn't really grab my attention the way others in a similar vein did. I completed it prior to a trip to Italy, but there are just so many churches discussed in each episode that I more or less tuned out. Also, I didn't find the pictures particularly helpful to help me landmark where we were, so I am just going to have to figure it out when I get there!

If you are interested in the art and architecture / buildings / churches of Italy, this class is for you. It does a fantastic job of uncovering every museum, church, and other building that may contain historical art, beautiful statues, or an interesting facade with a story. Unfortunately, there is almost no time of the 18 hours dedicated to food, dining, drinking, shopping, nature, nightlife, and other interesting cultural and complimentary activities most tourists deem a must see and do in Italy.

When I read "essential" Italy, I was expecting a broader overview of the country. It could better be titled "Italy's Religious and Political Art and Architecture". Other topics are mentioned only maybe 5% of the time. That being said, the material was well presented.

I bought the streaming course a few weeks ago. My computer was not able to stream the video without constant buffering. (the fault of my computer). Then I thought I would download the video to my computer so I could play it, but was unable to. I called for tech support to help me download your course but she could not help me, so I asked for a refund. Maybe if the Play window is up, one can only play or pause but not download. I just thought the tech support person should have had better guidance for me. The course may very well deserve a 5 star rating.

My husband and I have been watching the lectures presented by Dr. Bartlett in this course and, with each lecture, we are in awe at the quality of these lectures. Italy is an impressive country from several aspects and, while this is only an "essential" guide, it is fully comprehensive. Videos are high quality, as well as the support from Great Courses.

This DVD is a bit "over our heads," but Professor Bartlett has so many stories to tell and tells them so well that he holds our interest.

I hope the professor had more time for each course since it is great. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

We got this video for a trip in 2019. Then Covid hit. I waited for a good price and bought the video. We continued to postpone our trip and are finally ready. We have watched the tape several times and based some of our visit on it.

Each of the Great Courses I've taken has been an incredible learning experience. This course is no exception. I could not imagine more thorough, interesting, and well-delivered lectures. Professor Bartlett's knowledge of the subject is impressive and presented in a non-pretentious manner. Bottom line, this course is for people looking for an in depth, comprehensive understanding of Italian history and culture.