Eight ways (and as many itineraries) to enjoy Florence in Chinese

As ISI Florence Director Stefano U. Baldassarri writes in the opening paragraph of his preface to this new and – in many ways – highly original guidebook, “Florence is a city of beginnings and renewals.” Its very name and the time period it is inevitably as well as universally associated with, the Renaissance, bear witness to this engaging feature. To no surprise, Florence, after Rome, is the Italian city that boasts the highest number of texts illustrating its monuments. Likewise, the city’s contribution to this fundamental yet generally neglected genre started as early as the beginning of the sixteenth century with Francesco Albertini’s well-known “Memoriale,” first printed in 1510. True to its educational mission, ISI Florence has promoted and sponsored this publication ever since the project was brought to its attention by art historians Francesco Vossilla and Zhang Zheng Ying. The two authors take their Chinese readers on seven itineraries through the historic center of the city and one in nearby Fiesole, providing them with a wealth of precious information on what to see, buy and eat, so as to make the most of their stay in “The City of the Flower.” The guidebook was presented at Palazzo Rucellai (ISI Florence’s headquarters) on June 10, 2015. To order it, contact  [email protected]