2/5 Thin.
  by Peter Bridge (San Diego CA)
I can't figure out how Rudy has gotten the mileage he's gotten. I've watched many of his videos (heck, at some point, you've seen everything else), and I have found him to be consistently, extraordinarily, shallow in his research and understanding of his subject countries and locales. Please understand, I say that in the context of knowing many of his destinations, in some cases quite well.

If you want a light, fluffy, skim of the region, Rudy is your man -- he never covers anything that you wouldn't know about if you gave nine minutes to absent-mindledly flipping through a competent guidebook... and in the same depth. Think of Rudy as a tour bus, passing through at twenty miles an hour, giving you a glimpse, but never quite stopping to let you smell the roses. Or the horse manure. Lite, cheerful, sanitized, smooth, and lo-cal.

On a positive note, the pictures aren't ugly. If your library has nothing else, and if you've seen everything else on Netflix, you probably won't regret the money invested, unless you've already been to the destination, in which case you may well be asking, "Why, Rudy, why? It would have been so easy to do a much better job."

4/5 Rudy to the Maxa
  by Zecon
In Molto Italiano, Rudy Maxa is the quintessentially perfect travel host and tour guide. He is a welcome face and familiar persona from National Public Radio and Public Television. If you've enjoyed his travel shows, you will definitely appreciate this 4 show, 113 minute DVD. You get your money's worth.

Rudy takes us to four areas of Italy. He focuses on Rome, Naples and the Amalfi Coast, Sicily, and hill towns in Tuscany and Umbria. Rudy mixes culture, history, art, food and wine, and incredible Italian scenery to capture the very essence of Italian life. For the novice Italian vacationer, this DVD also contains maps and helpful travel hints. If you are planning your first or even a return trip to Italy, this DVD will be useful.

The only shortfall of this DVD is that Rudy's coverage of Sicily does not include a stop at the hillside town of Taormino. Over the year's I have spent a lot of time in Sicily and Italy. So, I could not imagine traveling to the island without spending a day or two in this picturesque town overlooking the Mediterranean. In fact, I would recommend a visit to Taormino well above one to the Amalfi Coast. I am surprised he did not include it.