Fall in love with Florence all over again with Jane Fortune’s unique book To Florence, Con Amore: 77 Ways to Love the City. Jane’s affection for her adopted city shines through in this collection of heartfelt and informative essays.
If it’s Leonardo lore you’re after, then look no farther than Rab Hatfield’s latest publication, Finding Leonardo: The Case for Uncovering the ‘Battle of Anghiari’. Professor Hatfield takes us underneath the fresco in Palazzo Vecchio’s ‘Salone del Cinquecento’ where he believes Leondardo’s masterpiece still lies.
To Florence, Con Amore: 77 Ways to Love the City
From famous frescos and family restaurants to meditative spots that soothe the soul, To Florence con Amore: 77 Ways to Love the City reveals a city full of unsung treasures and fascinating cultural gems. This collection of ‘must-sees’ that are rarely seen is an indispensable guide for those who already know the city and those eager to meet her. Jane Fortune’s intimate and informative essays, many drawn from her cultural column, ‘Mosaics’, in The Florentine, Tuscany’s English-language newspaper, are for anyone longing to spend quality time with this beloved city.
The guild-based history of Florence, the city’s role as the birthplace of opera, the perspective and innovation of its artists, the far-reaching vision of its leaders—all find space in To Florence con Amore. Jane Fortune’s warm but concise prose urges readers to discover a city where the fine arts reign sovereign and craftsmanship is key.
This ‘love-inspired’ guide offers day-trips and afternoon getaways appropriate for all of Florence’s admirers. Whether you love theatre, costume and the performing arts or are more apt to swoon before a fresco, painting or breath-taking view—there are options for everyone. This guide spotlights a myriad of itineraries including medieval palaces and Renaissance chapels, contemporary art gardens, natural oasis, libraries, and science museums, spanning centuries cultural wealth.
Thanks to eye-catching, full-color photographs, To Florence con Amore provides rich views of the city’s multi-faceted character. The bird’s egg blues of della Robbia ceramics, the luminous shades of handcrafted silk, a sun-drenched view from the Arno, the shadowy silence of Santa Croce, the luscious greens of traditionally Tuscan landscapes—urge both visitor and resident to rediscover the beauties of one of the world’s most renowned cities.
Finding Leonardo: The Case for Uncovering the ‘Battle of Anghiari’
For centuries the whereabouts of Leonardo da Vinci’s masterwork mural of the Battle of Anghiari has been one of the art world’s greatest mysteries. Leonardo worked on the commissioned project in the Great Hall of Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio for less than a year before abandoning it to pursue other commissions. Less than 50 years later, Giorgio Vasari was commissioned to cover the unfinished work with new, large-scale battle scenes.
In a new book from The Florentine Press, Finding Leonardo: The Case for Recovering ‘The Battle of Anghiari’, art historian Rab Hatfield uses new evidence from recent thermographic examinations to clarify the painting’s exact location in the Palazzo Vecchio. (See related article in The Florentine issue 66.)
Hatfield, a professor at Syracuse University in Florence, noted that in the years it takes for an article to appear in a scholarly journal, much of the research about the research project to determine its existence will be completed. Putting his essay in book form brings the information to a wider audience and makes it ‘accessible also to persons—especially Florentines—who are not students of art history or of the Italian Renaissance’.
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