Description
Book SynopsisThe most comprehensive anthology of writings by visitors to the eternal city ever compiled – witty, profound and endlessly entertaining.
Drawing on French, Italian, Spanish, English, German, Scandinavian and American sources, Ronald Ridley has compiled a vivid collage-portrait of Rome through the centuries, illustrated with three hundred images and published in three elegant volumes: The Middles Ages to the Seventeenth Century, The Eighteenth Century and The Nineteenth Century. Presented here is the second volume.
How did visitors arrive? Where did they stay? What were their expenses? What did they see of churches, palaces, villas and antiquities? What did they like or dislike of what they saw? What did they think of Rome in all its contemporary facets? What events did they witness? What portraits do they provide of people in Rome at the time of their visit? Excerpts from memoirs by more than two hundred visitors give a myriad fascinating insights and together provide a detailed account of Rome over nearly a millennium.
Table of ContentsThe Eighteenth Century 1 TRAVELLERS 1 INTRODUCTION 9 BASILICAS, CHURCHES AND CATACOMBS 25 PALACES 57 VILLAS 88 ANTIQUITIES 108 COLLECTIONS OF ANTIQUITIES 142 CONTEMPORARY ROME 146 WITNESSED EVENTS 185 PORTRAITS 198 SOURCE NOTES 228 List of Popes 237 List of Illustrations 238 Note on Leading Illustrators 242 Sources 243
