Tuscany in Mind
As this anthology amply demonstrates, the first-person account of Tuscan living is not merely a contemporary phenomenon but has a noble lineage. Tuscan geography, food, history, and culture have prompted all manner of literary responses. Robert Browning versified over paintings encountered in Florence's galleries. D. H. Lawrence reveled in the pre-Roman Etruscan city of Volterra with its steep streets. In Florence, Mary McCarthy discovered a "masculine" aesthetic, contrasting with Tuscany's "feminine" city, Siena. Elizabeth Romer praised Tuscan cooking in her luscious description of a Tuscan wedding banquet. Eric Newby detailed the architectural glories of a small Tuscan church. Versifying in quatrains, John Ormond extolled the regal beauty of Tuscan (and Umbrian) cypresses. But no one captures the essence of Renaissance Florentine architecture better than John Ruskin in his erudite essay on Santa Croce. Lovers of Tuscany will find poetry and prose here examining their well-beloved land from myriad vantage points and from multiple centuries, all validating their obsession with this singular part of Italy.Mark KnoblauchCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved