The Lost Towers of Florence, A Vanished Medieval Skyline

by Chris Dobson

Overview

The modern visitor to the city of Florence might wonder what on earth this book is about. Surely it is Bologna or San Gimignano that are famous for their towers, or maybe even Lucca, but not Florence? Yet in the High Middle Ages - long before the Medici came to power - the skyline of the city was entirely different from what we see today, studded with hundreds of massive towers built by the rival Guelph and Ghibelline factions that plunged Florence into a bloody and pitiless civil war that plagued the city for generations.

In this short eBook, historian Chris Dobson describes those now-vanished towers: how they came to be built, why they have almost entirely disappeared, and where you can still get an impression of what these incredible buildings were like, if you know where to look. It is written for the general reader who is visiting Florence or Tuscany, but it also has much to offer the ‘armchair traveller’ or history enthusiast.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940045669368
Publisher:	Chris Dobson
Publication date:	02/02/2014
Sold by:	Smashwords
Format:	eBook
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Chris Dobson comes from a background in the history of applied arts: he has worked in and around museums for over 30 years. Chris is unique in his various fields of study, and in fact in most of the museum world: not only does he have the 'hands-on' experience of an artist but he also carries out independent academic research and curatorial work for public and private collections.

Chris's speciality has always been the Middle Ages and Renaissance in Italy, and from the very beginning his research has incorporated the work of Italian artists and sculptors. In time it has included ever more graphic art and sculpture, and almost inevitably, the Florentine Renaissance now forms the main focus of his work. Today he writes and publishes books on the art and history of Italy, and particularly Florence.