Author: Mary McCarthy
Publisher: Open Road Media
ISBN: 1480441244
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 226
Book Description
A journey through the glorious Italian city’s scenery, history, and culture, from the New York Times–bestselling author of Venice Observed and The Group. Mary McCarthy’s classic celebrates the Italian city often looked upon as the provincial sister to the better-dressed, more “feminine” Venice. To McCarthy, Florence, or Firenze, is a place of ageless enchantment, from the Duomo to the fortressed palaces. The Renaissance began here; art and architecture flourished. From its roots as a center of medieval trade to its transformation into one of the world’s wealthiest cities, McCarthy charts Florence’s rich and turbulent history. She introduces a cast of towering real-life characters. Through her probing writer’s lens, the poetry of Dante and the magnificent artistry of Raphael and Botticelli come vibrantly alive. Along this illuminating journey, McCarthy offers fascinating bits of trivia: There are no ruins in Florence because the Florentines aren’t sentimental about their past; America took its name from a Florentine traveler named Amerigo Vespucci. From Michelangelo to the Medicis to the story behind a statue’s missing head, The Stones of Florence is Mary McCarthy’s hymn to this unique city. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Mary McCarthy including rare images from the author’s estate.
The Stones of Florence
Author: Mary McCarthy
Publisher: Open Road Media
ISBN: 1480441244
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 226
Book Description
A journey through the glorious Italian city’s scenery, history, and culture, from the New York Times–bestselling author of Venice Observed and The Group. Mary McCarthy’s classic celebrates the Italian city often looked upon as the provincial sister to the better-dressed, more “feminine” Venice. To McCarthy, Florence, or Firenze, is a place of ageless enchantment, from the Duomo to the fortressed palaces. The Renaissance began here; art and architecture flourished. From its roots as a center of medieval trade to its transformation into one of the world’s wealthiest cities, McCarthy charts Florence’s rich and turbulent history. She introduces a cast of towering real-life characters. Through her probing writer’s lens, the poetry of Dante and the magnificent artistry of Raphael and Botticelli come vibrantly alive. Along this illuminating journey, McCarthy offers fascinating bits of trivia: There are no ruins in Florence because the Florentines aren’t sentimental about their past; America took its name from a Florentine traveler named Amerigo Vespucci. From Michelangelo to the Medicis to the story behind a statue’s missing head, The Stones of Florence is Mary McCarthy’s hymn to this unique city. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Mary McCarthy including rare images from the author’s estate.
Publisher: Open Road Media
ISBN: 1480441244
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 226
Book Description
A journey through the glorious Italian city’s scenery, history, and culture, from the New York Times–bestselling author of Venice Observed and The Group. Mary McCarthy’s classic celebrates the Italian city often looked upon as the provincial sister to the better-dressed, more “feminine” Venice. To McCarthy, Florence, or Firenze, is a place of ageless enchantment, from the Duomo to the fortressed palaces. The Renaissance began here; art and architecture flourished. From its roots as a center of medieval trade to its transformation into one of the world’s wealthiest cities, McCarthy charts Florence’s rich and turbulent history. She introduces a cast of towering real-life characters. Through her probing writer’s lens, the poetry of Dante and the magnificent artistry of Raphael and Botticelli come vibrantly alive. Along this illuminating journey, McCarthy offers fascinating bits of trivia: There are no ruins in Florence because the Florentines aren’t sentimental about their past; America took its name from a Florentine traveler named Amerigo Vespucci. From Michelangelo to the Medicis to the story behind a statue’s missing head, The Stones of Florence is Mary McCarthy’s hymn to this unique city. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Mary McCarthy including rare images from the author’s estate.
Venice Observed
Author: Mary McCarthy
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 9780156935210
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 172
Book Description
A penetrating work of reportage on Venice. "Searching observations and astonishing comprehension of the Venetian taste and character" (New York Herald Tribune).
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 9780156935210
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 172
Book Description
A penetrating work of reportage on Venice. "Searching observations and astonishing comprehension of the Venetian taste and character" (New York Herald Tribune).
The Metaphysical Book of Gems and Crystals
Author: Florence Mégemont
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1620552981
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 251
Book Description
Details the powerful effects of gems as an alternative therapy for physical, psychological, and spiritual healing • Reveals the physical, healing, and astrological properties of over 70 minerals, along with instructions for maintaining and recharging their powers • Examines the “life” energy of stones, their basic vibratory patterns, and how this energy is used therapeutically to treat various disorders • Shows how to use gems in color therapy and to harmonize the chakras Gemstones have been used for both therapeutic and spiritual purposes since the beginning of time and in all traditions. Used properly, they can contribute to and accelerate healing through the practice of lithotherapy, which uses gems and minerals to restore enzymatic functions, and they can energize spiritual development. Alternative medicines such as homeopathy have given prominence to the therapeutic character of certain minerals, but the use of gemstones in expanding awareness or establishing a holistic, energetic connection with the stone itself have scarcely been brought forward. In this reclaiming of ancient wisdom, Florence Mégemont explores the many potent and beneficial dimensions of the mineral world. Over 70 precious and semiprecious stones are inventoried as to their principal deposits, therapeutic applications, and zodiac correspondences. Readers will discover which physical and emotional disorders can be relieved by using which minerals and--with the application of chakra therapy--which gemstones are indispensable to their spiritual health. While not proposing that lithotherapy is a substitute for traditional allopathic treatment, Mégemont shows that it can be a powerful complement to it. Additionally, stones can act preventively, energizing both our health and spiritual resources to a state of balance and attunement.
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1620552981
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 251
Book Description
Details the powerful effects of gems as an alternative therapy for physical, psychological, and spiritual healing • Reveals the physical, healing, and astrological properties of over 70 minerals, along with instructions for maintaining and recharging their powers • Examines the “life” energy of stones, their basic vibratory patterns, and how this energy is used therapeutically to treat various disorders • Shows how to use gems in color therapy and to harmonize the chakras Gemstones have been used for both therapeutic and spiritual purposes since the beginning of time and in all traditions. Used properly, they can contribute to and accelerate healing through the practice of lithotherapy, which uses gems and minerals to restore enzymatic functions, and they can energize spiritual development. Alternative medicines such as homeopathy have given prominence to the therapeutic character of certain minerals, but the use of gemstones in expanding awareness or establishing a holistic, energetic connection with the stone itself have scarcely been brought forward. In this reclaiming of ancient wisdom, Florence Mégemont explores the many potent and beneficial dimensions of the mineral world. Over 70 precious and semiprecious stones are inventoried as to their principal deposits, therapeutic applications, and zodiac correspondences. Readers will discover which physical and emotional disorders can be relieved by using which minerals and--with the application of chakra therapy--which gemstones are indispensable to their spiritual health. While not proposing that lithotherapy is a substitute for traditional allopathic treatment, Mégemont shows that it can be a powerful complement to it. Additionally, stones can act preventively, energizing both our health and spiritual resources to a state of balance and attunement.
Imagining the Americas in Medici Florence
Author: Lia Markey
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 0271078227
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 602
Book Description
The first full-length study of the impact of the discovery of the Americas on Italian Renaissance art and culture, Imagining the Americas in Medici Florence demonstrates that the Medici grand dukes of Florence were not only great patrons of artists but also early conservators of American culture. In collecting New World objects such as featherwork, codices, turquoise, and live plants and animals, the Medici grand dukes undertook a “vicarious conquest” of the Americas. As a result of their efforts, Renaissance Florence boasted one of the largest collections of objects from the New World as well as representations of the Americas in a variety of media. Through a close examination of archival sources, including inventories and Medici letters, Lia Markey uncovers the provenance, history, and meaning of goods from and images of the Americas in Medici collections, and she shows how these novelties were incorporated into the culture of the Florentine court. More than just a study of the discoveries themselves, this volume is a vivid exploration of the New World as it existed in the minds of the Medici and their contemporaries. Scholars of Italian and American art history will especially welcome and benefit from Markey’s insight.
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 0271078227
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 602
Book Description
The first full-length study of the impact of the discovery of the Americas on Italian Renaissance art and culture, Imagining the Americas in Medici Florence demonstrates that the Medici grand dukes of Florence were not only great patrons of artists but also early conservators of American culture. In collecting New World objects such as featherwork, codices, turquoise, and live plants and animals, the Medici grand dukes undertook a “vicarious conquest” of the Americas. As a result of their efforts, Renaissance Florence boasted one of the largest collections of objects from the New World as well as representations of the Americas in a variety of media. Through a close examination of archival sources, including inventories and Medici letters, Lia Markey uncovers the provenance, history, and meaning of goods from and images of the Americas in Medici collections, and she shows how these novelties were incorporated into the culture of the Florentine court. More than just a study of the discoveries themselves, this volume is a vivid exploration of the New World as it existed in the minds of the Medici and their contemporaries. Scholars of Italian and American art history will especially welcome and benefit from Markey’s insight.
Florence of Arabia
Author: Christopher Buckley
Publisher: Corsair
ISBN: 1780336799
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 205
Book Description
The bestselling author who made mincemeat of political correctness in Thank You for Smoking, conspiracy theories in Little Green Men, and Presidential indiscretions No Way to Treat a First Lady now takes on the hottest topic in the entire world-Arab-American relations-in a blistering comic novel sure to offend the few it doesn't delight. Appalled by the punishment of her rebellious friend Nazrah, youngest and most petulant wife of Prince Bawad of Wasabia, Florence Farfarletti decides to draw a line in the sand. As Deputy to the deputy assistant secretary for Near East Affairs, Florence invents a far-reaching, wide-ranging plan for female emancipation in that part of the world. The U.S. government, of course, tells her to forget it. Publicly, that is. Privately, she's enlisted in a top-secret mission to impose equal rights for the sexes on the small emirate of Matar (pronounced "Mutter"), the "Switzerland of the Persian Gulf." Her crack team: a CIA killer, a snappy PR man, and a brilliant but frustrated gay bureaucrat. Her weapon: TV shows. The lineup on TV Matar includes A Thousand and One Mornings, a daytime talk show that features self-defense tips to be used against boyfriends during Ramadan; an addictive soap opera featuring strangely familiar members of the Matar royal family; and a sitcom about an inept but ruthless squad of religious police, pitched as "Friends from Hell." The result: the first deadly car bombs in the country since 1936, a fatwa against the station's entire staff, a struggle for control of the kingdom, and, of course, interference from the French. And that's only the beginning. A merciless dismantling of both American ineptitude and Arabic intolerance, Florence of Arabia is Christopher Buckley's funniest and most serious novel yet, a biting satire of how U.S. good intentions can cause the Shiite to hit the fan.
Publisher: Corsair
ISBN: 1780336799
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 205
Book Description
The bestselling author who made mincemeat of political correctness in Thank You for Smoking, conspiracy theories in Little Green Men, and Presidential indiscretions No Way to Treat a First Lady now takes on the hottest topic in the entire world-Arab-American relations-in a blistering comic novel sure to offend the few it doesn't delight. Appalled by the punishment of her rebellious friend Nazrah, youngest and most petulant wife of Prince Bawad of Wasabia, Florence Farfarletti decides to draw a line in the sand. As Deputy to the deputy assistant secretary for Near East Affairs, Florence invents a far-reaching, wide-ranging plan for female emancipation in that part of the world. The U.S. government, of course, tells her to forget it. Publicly, that is. Privately, she's enlisted in a top-secret mission to impose equal rights for the sexes on the small emirate of Matar (pronounced "Mutter"), the "Switzerland of the Persian Gulf." Her crack team: a CIA killer, a snappy PR man, and a brilliant but frustrated gay bureaucrat. Her weapon: TV shows. The lineup on TV Matar includes A Thousand and One Mornings, a daytime talk show that features self-defense tips to be used against boyfriends during Ramadan; an addictive soap opera featuring strangely familiar members of the Matar royal family; and a sitcom about an inept but ruthless squad of religious police, pitched as "Friends from Hell." The result: the first deadly car bombs in the country since 1936, a fatwa against the station's entire staff, a struggle for control of the kingdom, and, of course, interference from the French. And that's only the beginning. A merciless dismantling of both American ineptitude and Arabic intolerance, Florence of Arabia is Christopher Buckley's funniest and most serious novel yet, a biting satire of how U.S. good intentions can cause the Shiite to hit the fan.
A History of Florence, 1200 - 1575
Author: John M. Najemy
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1405178469
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 528
Book Description
In this history of Florence, distinguished historian John Najemy discusses all the major developments in Florentine history from 1200 to 1575. Captures Florence's transformation from a medieval commune into an aristocratic republic, territorial state, and monarchy Weaves together intellectual, cultural, social, economic, religious, and political developments Academically rigorous yet accessible and appealing to the general reader Likely to become the standard work on Renaissance Florence for years to come
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1405178469
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 528
Book Description
In this history of Florence, distinguished historian John Najemy discusses all the major developments in Florentine history from 1200 to 1575. Captures Florence's transformation from a medieval commune into an aristocratic republic, territorial state, and monarchy Weaves together intellectual, cultural, social, economic, religious, and political developments Academically rigorous yet accessible and appealing to the general reader Likely to become the standard work on Renaissance Florence for years to come
Medici Money
Author: Tim Parks
Publisher: Profile Books
ISBN: 1847656870
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 288
Book Description
The Medici are famous as the rulers of Florence at the high point of the Renaissance. Their power derived from the family bank, and this book tells the fascinating, frequently bloody story of the family and the dramatic development and collapse of their bank (from Cosimo who took it over in 1419 to his grandson Lorenzo the Magnificent who presided over its precipitous decline). The Medici faced two apparently insuperable problems: how did a banker deal with the fact that the Church regarded interest as a sin and had made it illegal? How in a small republic like Florence could he avoid having his wealth taken away by taxation? But the bank became indispensable to the Church. And the family completely subverted Florence's claims to being democratic. They ran the city. Medici Money explores a crucial moment in the passage from the Middle Ages to the Modern world, a moment when our own attitudes to money and morals were being formed. To read this book is to understand how much the Renaissance has to tell us about our own world. Medici Money is one of the launch titles in a new series, Atlas Books, edited by James Atlas. Atlas Books pairs fine writers with stories of the economic forces that have shaped the world, in a new genre - the business book as literature.
Publisher: Profile Books
ISBN: 1847656870
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 288
Book Description
The Medici are famous as the rulers of Florence at the high point of the Renaissance. Their power derived from the family bank, and this book tells the fascinating, frequently bloody story of the family and the dramatic development and collapse of their bank (from Cosimo who took it over in 1419 to his grandson Lorenzo the Magnificent who presided over its precipitous decline). The Medici faced two apparently insuperable problems: how did a banker deal with the fact that the Church regarded interest as a sin and had made it illegal? How in a small republic like Florence could he avoid having his wealth taken away by taxation? But the bank became indispensable to the Church. And the family completely subverted Florence's claims to being democratic. They ran the city. Medici Money explores a crucial moment in the passage from the Middle Ages to the Modern world, a moment when our own attitudes to money and morals were being formed. To read this book is to understand how much the Renaissance has to tell us about our own world. Medici Money is one of the launch titles in a new series, Atlas Books, edited by James Atlas. Atlas Books pairs fine writers with stories of the economic forces that have shaped the world, in a new genre - the business book as literature.
The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence
Author: Alyssa Palombo
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
ISBN: 1466882646
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 320
Book Description
"In the tradition of Tracy Chevalier’s Girl with a Pearl Earring, Palombo has married fine art with romantic historical fiction in this lush and sensual interpretation of Medici Florence, artist Sandro Botticelli, and the muse that inspired them all." - Booklist A girl as beautiful as Simonetta Cattaneo never wants for marriage proposals in 15th Century Italy, but she jumps at the chance to marry Marco Vespucci. Marco is young, handsome and well-educated. Not to mention he is one of the powerful Medici family’s favored circle. Even before her marriage with Marco is set, Simonetta is swept up into Lorenzo and Giuliano de’ Medici’s glittering circle of politicians, poets, artists, and philosophers. The men of Florence—most notably the rakish Giuliano de’ Medici—become enthralled with her beauty. That she is educated and an ardent reader of poetry makes her more desirable and fashionable still. But it is her acquaintance with a young painter, Sandro Botticelli, which strikes her heart most. Botticelli immediately invites Simonetta, newly proclaimed the most beautiful woman in Florence, to pose for him. As Simonetta learns to navigate her marriage, her place in Florentine society, and the politics of beauty and desire, she and Botticelli develop a passionate intimacy, one that leads to her immortalization in his masterpiece, The Birth of Venus. Alyssa Palombo’s The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence vividly captures the dangerous allure of the artist and muse bond with candor and unforgettable passion.
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
ISBN: 1466882646
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 320
Book Description
"In the tradition of Tracy Chevalier’s Girl with a Pearl Earring, Palombo has married fine art with romantic historical fiction in this lush and sensual interpretation of Medici Florence, artist Sandro Botticelli, and the muse that inspired them all." - Booklist A girl as beautiful as Simonetta Cattaneo never wants for marriage proposals in 15th Century Italy, but she jumps at the chance to marry Marco Vespucci. Marco is young, handsome and well-educated. Not to mention he is one of the powerful Medici family’s favored circle. Even before her marriage with Marco is set, Simonetta is swept up into Lorenzo and Giuliano de’ Medici’s glittering circle of politicians, poets, artists, and philosophers. The men of Florence—most notably the rakish Giuliano de’ Medici—become enthralled with her beauty. That she is educated and an ardent reader of poetry makes her more desirable and fashionable still. But it is her acquaintance with a young painter, Sandro Botticelli, which strikes her heart most. Botticelli immediately invites Simonetta, newly proclaimed the most beautiful woman in Florence, to pose for him. As Simonetta learns to navigate her marriage, her place in Florentine society, and the politics of beauty and desire, she and Botticelli develop a passionate intimacy, one that leads to her immortalization in his masterpiece, The Birth of Venus. Alyssa Palombo’s The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence vividly captures the dangerous allure of the artist and muse bond with candor and unforgettable passion.
The Medici, Michelangelo, & the Art of Late Renaissance Florence
Author: Cristina Acidini
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300094954
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 406
Book Description
"Publisdhed in conjuntion with the exhibition: Magnificenza! the Medici, Michelangelo, & the Art of Late Renaissance Florence (In Italy, L'Ombra del genio: Michelangelo e l'arte a Firenze, 1538-1631) ..."--Title page verso.
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300094954
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 406
Book Description
"Publisdhed in conjuntion with the exhibition: Magnificenza! the Medici, Michelangelo, & the Art of Late Renaissance Florence (In Italy, L'Ombra del genio: Michelangelo e l'arte a Firenze, 1538-1631) ..."--Title page verso.
House of Secrets
Author: Allison Levy
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1786725711
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 466
Book Description
A look into the tantalising secrets of Florence's Palazzo Rucellai. When Italian Renaissance professor Allison Levy takes up residency in the palazzo of her dreams – the Palazzo Rucellai in Florence – she finds herself consumed by the space and swept into the vortex of its history. She spends every waking moment in dusty Florentine libraries, exploring the palazzo's myriad rooms seeking to uncover its secrets. As she unearths the stories of those who have lived behind its celebrated façade, she discovers that it has been witness to weddings, suicides, orgies, the dissection of a 'monster', and even a murder. Entwining Levy's own experiences with the ghosts of the Palazzo Rucellai's past, House of Secrets paints a scintillating portrait of a family, a palace and one of the most iconic cities in the world.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1786725711
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 466
Book Description
A look into the tantalising secrets of Florence's Palazzo Rucellai. When Italian Renaissance professor Allison Levy takes up residency in the palazzo of her dreams – the Palazzo Rucellai in Florence – she finds herself consumed by the space and swept into the vortex of its history. She spends every waking moment in dusty Florentine libraries, exploring the palazzo's myriad rooms seeking to uncover its secrets. As she unearths the stories of those who have lived behind its celebrated façade, she discovers that it has been witness to weddings, suicides, orgies, the dissection of a 'monster', and even a murder. Entwining Levy's own experiences with the ghosts of the Palazzo Rucellai's past, House of Secrets paints a scintillating portrait of a family, a palace and one of the most iconic cities in the world.