Florence: Art and History

This beautiful book about Florence is published by the Italian publishing house Bonechi, which specialises in picture books in large format about famous places in Italy and around the world. It is a volume in the popular series called “Art and History.”

Books from Bonechi are published in several languages. I have used an English edition published in 1995, which has 192 pages.

Please note: in English this city is known as Florence, but the Italian name is Firenze.

The book is divided into four sections. Here is a brief overview:

SECTION 1

“The Historical Centre” (which begins on page 23) covers several locations including:

** Piazza della Signoria

** Loggia dei Lanzi
** Palazzo Vecchio
** The Cathedral (Duomo)
** The Clock Tower (Campanile)
** The Baptistery (with the famous eastern doors, also known as the gates of paradise, created by Lorenzo Ghiberti and his son Vittorio)

SECTION 2

“The Religious Centre” (which begins on page 87) covers several locations including:

** The Church of Santa Croce

** The Church of Santa Maria Novella
** The Church of San Miniato al Monte (located on a hill - Monte alle Croci - on the south side of the River Arno)

SECTION 3

“The Arno, the Streets, the Piazzas” (which begins on page 135) covers several locations including:

** Palazzo Strozzi

** Piazza della Repubblica
** Ponte Vecchio (where you will find the gold shops and, in the middle of the bridge, a bust of the famous Italian goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini, who lived 1500-1571)

SECTION 4

“The Art Centres” (which begins on page 153) covers several locations including:

** Galleria degli Uffizi

** Palazzo Pitti & the Boboli Gardens (located on the south side of the River Arno)

At the end of the book (pp. 188-189) there is a brief section about Fiesole, the small town in the mountains above the city, which dates back to Etruscan and Roman times.

At the end of the book (pp. 190-191) there is a map of the city centre: 1 cm equals 100 meters, so the scale is large enough to show individual buildings. In addition, there is a separate fold-out map of the whole city. When folded out this map measures 47 x 68 cm.

The text is clear and concise, as it should be in a picture book. There are 335 colour illustrations; all of them in high quality. Some pictures present the grand view, while others present a significant detail. Some pictures show the exterior of a building, while others show the interior. It is a pleasure to read the text and study the pictures.

All the highlights of Florence are here, including Basilica di San Lorenzo - the oldest church in the city - which was consecrated by Ambrose in 393, and rebuilt along Romanesque lines in 1060 (pp. 104-105).

Florence is the capital of the renaissance. If you have never been there, you may still enjoy this book. The text gives you basic information, and the pictures are splendid. When you look at them, you may be able to understand why this city is visited by many people every year.

If you have been there, I am sure you will appreciate this book as a valuable souvenir from one of the many interesting cities in the north of Italy.

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Florence: Art and History,

Bonechi, 1995, 192 pages

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A recent edition of this book, published in 2004, has only 128 pages.

Frankly, I do not understand why the publisher decided to make the new edition shorter.

 

 

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