Florence

The rich and glorious past of one of the best loved cities in the world brought to life for the modern visitor Florence remains for the English-speaking traveller what it always has been - one of the best loved, and most visited, of cities. The Goncourt brothers in 1885 called it 'ville toute anglaise' and for centuries it enjoyed an essential position on the itinerary of any self-respecting Grand Tourist. In this Traveller's Reader, cultural historian Edward Chaney brings vividly to life Florence's eclectic history for today's visitor through the letters, diaries and memoirs of travellers to Florence and of the Florentines themselves. The extracts chosen include an eyewitness account of the installation of Michelangelo's 'David'; the death of Elizabeth Barrett Browning at the Casa Guidi; previously unpublished accounts of key historical events and experiences on the Grand Tour; as well as D.H. Lawrence and Dylan Thomas on twentieth-century Florentine society. Sir Harold Acton provides a brilliant short history of Florence from its origins, through its zenith as a prosperous city state which, under the Medici, gave birth to the Renaissance, and up to the Arno's devastating flood in 1966. Expertly compiled and edited by Professor Chaney, this is an indispensable book for any discerning traveller or student.