Know a little Italian by kari5
A little really does go a long way. Remember, though, that's it's not necessary suddenly to become fluent in Italian - all you need to do is think about what you might need to say to people and spend a little time learning how to say it. A good phrasebook will cover all eventualities, but if you're too cheap to invest in one :) tiscali have an excellent online version (address below).We found that even if we just made the smallest effort to speak in Italian, people would look at us as if we had made their day, and bend over backwards to help us. They would also often answer in English, but I think the initial effort really does make a big difference.