La Serenissima – Alfonso Lowe (Signed Presentation Copy)

Description

– The Last Flowering Of The Venetian Republic –

In 1694 died Doge Francesco Morosini, the scourge of the Turks, and with his death went the last hope of reviving the Venetian empire which for three centuries has been the richest in the Mediterranean. At its greatest the empire stretched from Bergamo and Brescia on the mainland of northern Italy, up and eastward to the Austrian border, with the peerless beauty of Venice herself at its heart. In 1797 the last Doge abdicated before the military power of Napoleon Bonaparte, and Venice finally lost her independence. It was during this last century of her statehood that Venice, renowned as ‘ La Serenissima’ was the pleasure paradise of Europe and focus of the Grand Tour. To this city of the libertine gambler Casanova, of magical light and water, masked carnivals and gondolas, tourists flocked eager for gaiety, romance and excitement. People also thronged to Venice and the Veneto to enjoy an exceptional flowering of the arts and intellect. Here in the dying republic, the eighteenth century could boast Tiepolo, Guardi, Canaletto, Rosalba and a host of artists whose works were in constant demand; the music of the Venetian academies and the voices of the castrati enchanted musicians in the discerning age of Handel and Bach. That this artistic resurgence should coincide with the decline of Venice’s political power and with an apparent growth of frivolity is a remarkable paradox. La Serenissima is an exploration of that paradox.

Price: R450.00

Edition: First edition

Published: 1974

Publishers: Cassell

ISBN: 9780304938995 / 0304938998

Condition: Hardcover in very good condition – Brown cloth with gold embossed lettering. Dust jacket shows very minor scuff marks on the corners, and is now covered in a protective plastic sleeve. Inscription by author to original owner, as well as inscription to subsequent owner on the inside cover. Internally in very good condition – very clean and tightly bound.