In an age of digital cameras and computer renderings, the tradition of drawing and assembling an architectural sketchbook seems at once either willfully eccentric and or charmingly retrograde.

But its profound importance to architecture and urban planning endures. Italian Cities and Landscapes is a compact and lovely sketch book created by architect William H. Fain during a six month fellowship at the American Academy in Rome. Exploring the Italian city and countryside by bicycle, Fain used colored pencil to sketch scenes of the street life, the magnificent landscapes, and the architectural marvels of Italy. Italian Cities and Landscapes shows that for the creative individual, documenting travels through drawing continues to be a valuable means of learning to see, understand, and design.