The Stones of Florence and Venice Observed

“Colourful, witty and knowledgeable, this is Mary McCarthy’s superb personal journey through two celebrated cities whose names are forever associated with one of the most glittering periods of history.

For Mary McCarthy, ‘the Florentines invented the Renaissance, which is the same as saying they invented the modern world – not, of course, an unmixed good.’ On the other hand, ‘there is no use pretending that tourist Venice is not the real Venice. The tourist Venice is Venice.’ And, as she lures the reader down the alleyways and streets, through the buildings and into the past, she preserves for all time the breath-taking vistas, the passion and colour of the local life and the unmistakable flavour of these fabled places.”