Features vivid and perceptive descriptions of two great Italian cities, Florence and Venice, told through their history and art. The author depicts Florence thr... » 

Features vivid and perceptive descriptions of two great Italian cities, Florence and Venice, told through their history and art. The author depicts Florence through its tempestuous past, from the reign of the Medicis to Savonarola's bonfire of the vanities, and Venice as a city of illusion and spectacle, and carnival and commerce. «