The Stones Of Florence

A journey through the glorious Italian city’s scenery, history, and culture, from the New York Times–bestselling author of Venice Observed and The Group. Mary McCarthy’s classic celebrates the Italian city often looked upon as the provincial sister to the better-dressed, more “feminine” Venice. To McCarthy, Florence, or Firenze, is a place of ageless enchantment, from the Duomo to the fortressed palaces. The Renaissance began here; art and architecture flourished. From its roots as a center of medieval trade to its transformation into one of the world’s wealthiest cities, McCarthy charts Florence’s rich and turbulent history. She introduces a cast of towering real-life characters. Through her probing writer’s lens, the poetry of Dante and the magnificent artistry of Raphael and Botticelli come vibrantly alive. Along this illuminating journey, McCarthy offers fascinating bits of trivia: There are no ruins in Florence because the Florentines aren’t sentimental about their past; America took its name from a Florentine traveler named Amerigo Vespucci. From Michelangelo to the Medicis to the story behind a statue’s missing head, The Stones of Florence is Mary McCarthy’s hymn to this unique city. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Mary McCarthy including rare images from the author’s estate.

Captivating portraits of two of the world’s most beguiling cities from the New York Times–bestselling author of The Group. Mary McCarthy blends art, politics, religion, music, and history to create unique living portraits of two of Italy’s most enchanting cities in these enthralling books now available in one volume. The Stones of Florence: The book Library Journal called “Mary McCarthy’s classic” takes readers on a timeless journey to the place where the Renaissance began. From Michelangelo to the Medicis, The Stones of Florence is McCarthy’s hymn to this immortal hub of art and commerce. Venice Observed: McCarthy trains her gaze on the immortal City of Canals. At once a comprehensive travelogue and a powerful piece of reportage, Venice Observed contains “searching observations and astonishing comprehension of the Venetian taste and character” (New York Herald Tribune).

The bestselling author of Brunelleschi's Dome and Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling captures the excitement and spirit of the Renaissance in this chronicle of the life and work of "the king of the world's booksellers" and the technological disruption that forever changed the ways knowledge spread. The Renaissance in Florence conjures images of beautiful frescoes and elegant buildings—the dazzling handiwork of the city's skilled artists and architects. But equally important for the centuries to follow were geniuses of a different sort: Florence's manuscript hunters, scribes, scholars, and booksellers, who blew the dust off a thousand years of history and, through the discovery and diffusion of ancient knowledge, imagined a new and enlightened world. At the heart of this activity was a remarkable man: Vespasiano da Bisticci. Born in 1422, he became what a friend called "the king of the world's booksellers." At a time when all books were made by hand, over four decades Vespasiano produced and sold many hundreds of volumes from his bookshop, which also became a gathering spot for discussion and debate. Besides repositories of ancient wisdom by the likes of Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero, his books were works of art in their own right, copied by talented scribes and illuminated by the finest miniaturists. His clients included a roll-call of popes, kings, and princes across Europe who wished to burnish their reputations by founding magnificent libraries. Vespasiano reached the summit of his powers as Europe's most prolific merchant of knowledge when a new invention appeared: the printed book. By 1480, the king of the world's booksellers was swept away by this epic technological disruption, whereby cheaply produced books reached readers who never could have afforded one of Vespasiano’s elegant manuscripts. A thrilling chronicle of intellectual ferment set against the dramatic political and religious turmoil of the era, including the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks, Ross King's The Bookseller of Florence is also an ode to books and bookmaking that charts the world-changing shift from script to print through the life of an extraordinary man long lost to history—one of the true titans of the Renaissance.

The #1 New York Times–bestselling author of The Group takes readers on a captivating journey to one of the world’s most celebrated cities. Mary McCarthy brings her novelist’s unerring eye to a book that blends art, politics, religion, music, and history to create a living portrait of “the world’s loveliest city.” Like a painter capturing the city’s essence on canvas, McCarthy uses words to create stunning visuals that bring both the old and new Venice to enchanting life. From her apartment overlooking the garden of a palazzo, McCarthy takes us into the museums and monasteries of this city of canals and gondolas, Machiavelli and Tintoretto. And she reveals some little-known facts: Venetians love pets, but prefer cats to dogs; during World War II, the Allies captured the city with a fleet of gondolas; and without Napoleon, Venice wouldn’t be what it is today. From the ancient roots of The Merchant of Venice’s pound of flesh to the quotidian details of daily life, it’s all here—the magnificent frescoes, the sublime music of Mozart, the virgins, and the saints. At once a comprehensive travelogue and a powerful piece of reportage, Venice Observed is a testimony of McCarthy’s love affair with the City of Canals. This ebook features superb color reproductions of the works of Giorgione, Veronese, Titian, Canaletto, Guardo, Bellini, and Tiepolo, and an illustrated biography of Mary McCarthy including rare images from the author’s estate.

Details the powerful effects of gems as an alternative therapy for physical, psychological, and spiritual healing • Reveals the physical, healing, and astrological properties of over 70 minerals, along with instructions for maintaining and recharging their powers • Examines the “life” energy of stones, their basic vibratory patterns, and how this energy is used therapeutically to treat various disorders • Shows how to use gems in color therapy and to harmonize the chakras Gemstones have been used for both therapeutic and spiritual purposes since the beginning of time and in all traditions. Used properly, they can contribute to and accelerate healing through the practice of lithotherapy, which uses gems and minerals to restore enzymatic functions, and they can energize spiritual development. Alternative medicines such as homeopathy have given prominence to the therapeutic character of certain minerals, but the use of gemstones in expanding awareness or establishing a holistic, energetic connection with the stone itself have scarcely been brought forward. In this reclaiming of ancient wisdom, Florence Mégemont explores the many potent and beneficial dimensions of the mineral world. Over 70 precious and semiprecious stones are inventoried as to their principal deposits, therapeutic applications, and zodiac correspondences. Readers will discover which physical and emotional disorders can be relieved by using which minerals and--with the application of chakra therapy--which gemstones are indispensable to their spiritual health. While not proposing that lithotherapy is a substitute for traditional allopathic treatment, Mégemont shows that it can be a powerful complement to it. Additionally, stones can act preventively, energizing both our health and spiritual resources to a state of balance and attunement.