Cities and the Grand Tour

This study illuminates how the great Italian cities were ‘experienced, described and represented’ by British travellers; how ‘the image of a city was created and perpetuated through the medium of travel literature’; and ‘what the different meanings and imaginative associations attached to these cities were’ (p. 2). Rosemary Sweet’s expertise in urban history allows an original orientation to the field of Grand Tour studies, showing how ‘descriptions of cities evolved away from a mode of comprehensive listing ... towards a more discursive format that sought to evoke atmosphere and a sense of place, that looked for the essence of the city in its streets and its people and which saw more emphasis on the experience of walking through the streets as a means of encountering and understanding the city’ (p. 21). This new way of seeing even extended back into the ancient world, after discoveries at Pompeii and Herculaneum illuminated the day-to-day reality of the classical city. Perceptions of Italy also reflected the increasing urbanisation of British cities and a growing sense of Britain’s status as a modern imperial power which surpassed that of Rome—not least in being founded on commerce and liberty, rather than slavery and luxury

Aesthetics · Art · Atmosphere (unit · Geography · Listing (finance · Mode (computer interface · Power (physics · Sociology · Urbanization · Historical Art and Culture Studies · Historical Influence and Diplomacy · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · History