book for italy touring

It's a bit of a 6 of one and half a dozen of the other. The two books are basically pretty similar in that they mainly have shorter tours. Both will give you a reasonable idea of the possibilities and the areas that are worth researching further but neither will give you a ready-made route for a longer tour. Buy either or both and then get some decent maps, a good general guidebook and spend some time researching on the internet - there are some excellent sites devoted to cycling in particular areas (eg the Veneto, Tuscany, Umbria). SFAIK there aren't any other guides in English covering the whole country.

Before you dismiss the Lonely Planet book, have a look at the reviews on Amazon. I gave the LP book 5 stars in part because I thought the other reviews were unjustified - especially the bloke who gave it 1-star on the basis that in his experience Italian drivers don't give cyclists enough room. It's not true, but even if it were it's got nothing to do with the book. My experience is that the routes in the LP guide are well worth doing - you could find them in other places or improvise them yourself using the scenic roads shown on the Touring Club Italiano (or Michelin maps), but if you have only a hazy idea of Italy, it's a pretty good place to start.

If you read Italian there are some good books from ediciclo a specialist publisher, but their guides cover particular areas and routes - SFAIK they don't do a naional guide. Ditto for bikeline.