Visitors to Verona
Lovers, Gentlemen and Adventurers
Published on 23. July 2020
Book
Paperback/Softback
264 pages
978-1-350-17425-2 (ISBN)
Description
Even before the advent of mass tourism, Verona was a popular destination for travellers, including those undertaking the popular 'Grand Tour' across Europe. In this book, Caroline Webb compares the experiences of travellers from the era of Shakespeare to the years following the incorporation of the Veneto into the new kingdom of Italy in 1866. She considers their reasons for visiting Verona as well as their experiences and expectations once they arrived.
The majority of English visitors between 1670 and 1760 were young members of the aristocracy, accompanied by tutors, who arrived on their way to or from Rome, as part of a 'Grand Tour' intended to 'finish' their classical education. With the Industrial Revolution in the second half of the eighteenth century, and the resultant increasing wealth of the upper middle classes, the number of visitors to Verona increased although this tourism was derailed once Napoleon invaded Italy in the late 1790s. After 1815 and the allied victory at Waterloo, there was a new flood of visitors previously deprived of the opportunity of continental travel during the Napoleonic wars.
As the nineteenth century progressed, especially with the arrival of the railway, an increasing number of visitors appeared from across Europe and even from across the Atlantic, keen to explore the fabled city of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. In comparing a myriad of varied accounts, this book provides an unrivalled perspective on the history of one of Italy's most seductive cities.
The majority of English visitors between 1670 and 1760 were young members of the aristocracy, accompanied by tutors, who arrived on their way to or from Rome, as part of a 'Grand Tour' intended to 'finish' their classical education. With the Industrial Revolution in the second half of the eighteenth century, and the resultant increasing wealth of the upper middle classes, the number of visitors to Verona increased although this tourism was derailed once Napoleon invaded Italy in the late 1790s. After 1815 and the allied victory at Waterloo, there was a new flood of visitors previously deprived of the opportunity of continental travel during the Napoleonic wars.
As the nineteenth century progressed, especially with the arrival of the railway, an increasing number of visitors appeared from across Europe and even from across the Atlantic, keen to explore the fabled city of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. In comparing a myriad of varied accounts, this book provides an unrivalled perspective on the history of one of Italy's most seductive cities.
Reviews / Votes
From more than 400 books and manuscripts, Caroline Webb has selected impressions of Verona [...]. The overall effect is entertaining, and Visitors to Verona is also an informative guide to the city and to many aspects of Italian history. * Linday Duguid, Times Literary Supplement, 2017 * This book is a delight to read and provides a charming and fresh picture of Verona's daily life in past centuries. The author combines facts and travellers' accounts with masterly skill in a cohesive and lively framework. * Giandemetrio Marangoni, Professor, University of Verona, Italy * Visitors to Verona brings together a fascinating collection of writings, offering all kinds of insights into the national characters of both the Italians and the British, how they changed over centuries of travel and tourism and how each reacted to the other, whether with prejudice and admiration, or both. It's an intriguing slice of history and rich food for thought. * Tim Parks, Author of Italian Neighbours and A Season with Verona * This is a richly informative cornucopia of travel accounts of one of Italy's most fascinating cities. * Edward Chaney, Professor of Fine and Decorative Arts, Southampton Solent University, UK * Visitors to Verona is a rich compendium of travellers' impressions of Verona in the 18th and 19th century. It is lively, amusing and extremely instructive as to the checkered history of the city [...] thus reminding us of how much Verona has endured. [...] Caroline Webb has done a service to the visitor who wants to appreciate more deeply all that Verona means and has meant to its citizens and guests. * Massimo Bacigalupo, Professor of American Literature, University of Genoa, Italy *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
22 colour and 2 bw illus
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Weight
399 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-350-17425-2 (9781350174252)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
12/2016
1st Edition
I.B. Tauris
€27.49
Available for download
Person
Caroline Webb graduated in History from the University of London and read Italian and Art History in Cambridge and Verona. She has worked as a historical researcher and teacher and is co-author of The Earl and His Butler in Constantinople: The Secret Diary of an English Servant among the Ottomans (I.B.Tauris, 2008).
Content
Plan of Verona
Preface
1 The aims of travel
2 The practicalities of travel
3 Accommodation and food in the city
4 L'Arena di Verona
5 Travellers' opinions of the city
6 The city's civic architecture
7 The Veronesi
8 The French occupation
9 The Austrian occupation
10 Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
11 Scipione Maffei
12 Verona's many churches
13 San Zeno Maggiore
14 Religion through tourists' eyes
15 The Scaligeri monuments
16 Piazza Erbe
17 The Giusti gardens
18 Local artists and aristocratic 'collections'
19 Music and theatre
20 Matters of health
21 Visitors' views on local agriculture and industry
22 The dress of local people
23 How the English saw the Italians
Postscript
Appendix 1 A history time-line
Appendix 2 Biographical notes
Endnotes
Bibliography
Index
Preface
1 The aims of travel
2 The practicalities of travel
3 Accommodation and food in the city
4 L'Arena di Verona
5 Travellers' opinions of the city
6 The city's civic architecture
7 The Veronesi
8 The French occupation
9 The Austrian occupation
10 Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
11 Scipione Maffei
12 Verona's many churches
13 San Zeno Maggiore
14 Religion through tourists' eyes
15 The Scaligeri monuments
16 Piazza Erbe
17 The Giusti gardens
18 Local artists and aristocratic 'collections'
19 Music and theatre
20 Matters of health
21 Visitors' views on local agriculture and industry
22 The dress of local people
23 How the English saw the Italians
Postscript
Appendix 1 A history time-line
Appendix 2 Biographical notes
Endnotes
Bibliography
Index