In the last decade or so translation handbooks have increased their visibility<br/>and today they are featuring prominently in publishers’ catalogues all over<br/>the world. A basic Google search makes available dozens of titles, ranging<br/>from theoretical or methodological readers1, applied works on practical aspects of translating addressing more or less specialised areas and domains2,<br/>language-specific manuals adopting a contrastive approach with a didactic<br/>outlook3, and volumes on professional translator training and translation<br/>practice developed from a vocational perspective4.<br/>The present handbook belongs to the third category, although it does not<br/>appear to be entirely geared towards a contrastive approach: rather, it seems<br/>to be more informed by a functionalist perspective, which will be discussed<br/>shortly. The text has been designed to be used as course book on a one-year<br/>translation exam in a postgraduate curriculum offered at the Faculty of<br/>Modern Languages at Università Cattolica. Students enrolled in this course<br/>do not typically have any background knowledge in translation studies, apart<br/>from having being exposed to translation as a language-learning activity in<br/>their previous academic career.