This guide is a keeper, if only for the great maps! Arranged by neighborhood, I can see myself needing them when I'm in Italy. Also, I like the "day-trips" section for each city. Other city guides don't have this information, and it's really helpful for that day out. The guide is a bit long, so you have to make sure that your day trip bag is large enough for it.
What this guide does lack is depth - historical, artistic depth. If you are traveling in Venice or Florence, it is just essential that you know about what you're seeing. That's part of why we go to these amazing historic sites. I would suggest traveling with a Blue Guide for each city that you visit. They are a great packing size, and they offer so much more descriptive information. They don't offer too much practical information, so that's why I'll be taking the Access Guide with me too.