Travel to Italy

The City of Florence: Historical Vistas and Personal Sightings

Format: Paperback
Author: R.W.B. Lewis
ReleaseDate: 15 April, 1996
Publisher: Owl Books
Rating:

Before, After and During Your Visit to Florence, Read This!
The late R W B Lewis lived there off and on for twenty years and he relates not only the stories behind the famous sites of Florence, but also the hidden history, background and some of the experience that make it such a charming place to visit.
Before, after and during your visit to Florence, read this book, which is a marvelous book-long song of praise for the most famous city of the Italian renaissance. Even if you are not going to visit Florence, read this book and you will feel as if you had been there.

One of the many things I like about this book is the way that Lewis--a former OSS officer in World War II and a celebrated Yale professor--changes from historic accounts, to architectural criticism, to every day life in Florence and environs. We get off the beaten path and out into the countryside, away from the tourists and into some of the best little shops and squares Florence has to offer. We learn the stories of the Medici and their rivals, and the impact that these clashing great families had upon the churches and monuments of the city. We can almost taste the wines, foods and other delights of the city as Lewis enjoyed them. All of this in very elegant prose.

Best of all is Lewis timing and variety. Just as the reader begins to be a tad sated with the history, he switches to talk about local shops and their friendly proprietors, and then at the exact moment you are ready to move on, Lewis moves on to a very scholarly but still eminently readable discussion of this or that palazzo, piazza or church. For this liveliness alone the book is a joy. And it is clear that Lewis loved Florence--every page is infused with a place that never failed to fascinate him, and therefore fascinates us, too.

Richard Warrington Baldwin Lewis was born on Nov. 1, 1917, in Chicago, Illinois, and was the son of Episcopal minister Leicester Crosby Lewis and Beatrix Baldwin Lewis. After preparing at Episcopal Academy and Phillips Exeter Academy, he earned his B. A. in 1939 at Harvard University and his M. A. in 1941 at the University of Chicago, where he also received a Ph. D. degree in 1954. During World War II, Lewis enlisted as a private in the U. S. Air Force and became a second lieutenant, serving in the Middle East, North Africa and Italy.

He commanded a unit in Italy and received the Legion of Merit Award in 1944 for service behind enemy lines. After the war, he continued as a commanding officer of the Northern Italy War Crimes Investigation Team and was discharged from service in 1946 with the rank of major.
Professor Lewis taught at Bennington College 1948-1950 and was dean of studies at the Salzburg Seminar in Austria 1950-1951. He was a visiting lecturer at Smith College 1951-1952 and a resident fellow at Princeton University 1952-1954, then joined the faculty at Rutgers University as a professor of English. He served there until his Yale appointment in 1959.

At Yale, he served a number of times as director of graduate studies in American studies and also chaired the department. Appointed the Neil Gray Professor in 1977, Lewis' joint appointment in English and American studies at Yale reflected his abiding interest both in American literature and in American cultural life. He was also the author of a celebrated biography of Edith Wharton.

If you find this review helpful see my other reviews on travel, art and history books.


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Useful Mix of History & Experience
It is not specifically a travelogue or guidebook, but more of a memoir, but it would serve as a useful companion on a trip to Florence or as informational reading beforehand. The author relates his love and appreciation of Florence, mixing his own personal experiences with historical background. Not the best book out there, but a worthy addition to any Italophile's library.

A book on Florence by someone who loved the city
W. R. B. Lewis was a professor of American Literature at Yale. He died at the age of 84, in 2002. Although Lewis lived in the United States, Florence was a city that he and his family visited for much of his life. Lewis spent some time in Italy growing up. During World War II he was in Italy with the OSS (the forerunner to the CIA). Lewis was on a boat which was sunk by the Germans and he managed to swim to land and evade capture until he reached the allied lines. Lewis was in Florence again after it was captured by the Allies. He returned over the years with his family.

Lewis' The City of Florence is both a biography of Lewis' experience in Florence and the history of the city. Lewis' historical sketches cover the city from medieval times to modern times (Lewis describes one of the modern floods of the Arno, the river that runs through Florence).

The City of Florence is not a travel guide. Lewis explored Florence in a random fashion, as anyone does when they live in a place. He discusses some of his favorite museums and places to walk, but it would be difficult to plan a trip based on this book. Instead what you get is some of Lewis' feeling for the Florence he loves.

Lewis never does write about exactly why he loves the city. Perhaps he considers it obvious. For example, why Florence and not Siena. Lewis even likes Florence in August, when most Florentine residents flee the city if they can. He does not comment on Florence's notorious traffic and he comments only a little on the struggle to preserve Florence in the face of modern development.

If you are planning on visiting Florence, The City of Florence is probably worth reading to get a feel for the city. Lewis' historical sketches of Florence are engaging and would also be a good preparation for a visit. .

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