Program 474: Essential Sicily; If Venice Dies; Casanova

A Sicilian tour guide lays out the essentials for exploring his distinctive sun-drenched island. Then a prominent Italian archaeologist discusses Venice's population decline, which continues even as crowds of tourists and cruise-ship passengers overwhelm Italy's most beloved city. And we'll get all the gritty details on the side of 18^th-century Venice described so vividly by that infamous libertine, Casanova.

• Sicily-based tour guide Tommaso Pante
• Dr. Salvatore Settis, professor at Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa, Italy, and author of "If Venice Dies" (New Vessel Press)
• Historian Laurence Bergreen, author of "Casanova: The World of a Seductive Genius" (Simon and Schuster)

• Tommaso Pante's website.
• Lonely Planet's online guides to the cities of Palermo, Taormina, and Cefalu, in Sicily.
• Dr. Salvatore Settis is a professor at Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa, Italy, and wrote  "If Venice Dies."
• The New York Times reviewed Salvatore Settis' treatise on Venice. Dr. Settis also wrote an editorial for the Times, in which he highlights the challenges facing Venice.
• An update on Venice's flood-control MOSE project, includes photos.
• The Independent discusses the problem of over-tourism in Venice.
• Dr. Settis recommends visiting the Church of San Giovanni in Bragora, where composer Antonio Vivaldi was baptized.
• Laurence Bergreen is the author of  "Casanova: The World of a Seductive Genius."  He's also a member of the Explorers Club in New York City, and speaks on his discoveries about Casanova in this video.
• The landmark Doge's Palace is now an historical museum on the Piazza San Marco in Venice.