Personally I attack with Caro-Kann against 1.e4
but from time to time I enjoy to analyse the good old open games.
Once I was surfing around in the web and somehow without intention I came to
www.italiangambit.com . Reading the Italian Game to be a mistake from the black side of view I was immediately rolling over the floor laughing and crying ...
You can download a pdf-file of pages 53-58 concerning to the "Miami Variation" 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d4 Bxd4 5.Nxd4 Nxd4 6.Be3 and now 6...Nc6 7.Nc3 d6 what is obviously winning for white according to the authors.
Look at the position, white´s a pawn down (not unusual for a gambit) but has more space and his minor pieces developed. But black has no real weakness, a strongpoint e5 and natural ways to develop. Maybe white has compensation for half a pawn and in a blitz game an unprepared black player can suffer but in tournament chess with time to defend precisely the gambit should be incorrect. It´s not surprising that white starts "two-move-tactics" with 8.Qh5 Qd7 (! the best move hidden in the annotations) 9.Nd5 N8e7 10.Nf6+ gxf6 11.Qxf7+ (Counting checks white would lead) Kd8 12.Qxf6 Re8 12.Bf7 "with advantage". They do not write WHO has the advantage, I would certainly prefer black after 12.Bf7 Qg4! 13.f3! Qxg2 14.0-0-0 Rf8! when white´s attack seems dangerous but in fact is quite harmless. - I have not read any further ...
As probably this downloadable part may of course not contain black´s strongest reply to the italian gambit there´s nothing more to say.
tracke
Before buying opening books anyone should read John Nunn´s "Secrets of Practical Chess" and especially the chapter about offbeat opening books !