Imagine navigating the backstreets of seventeenth-­century Rome in the dazzling but dangerous company of Caravaggio. Who will you meet as you drop in at the fabulous Villa Borghese—its owner, Cardinal Scipione Borghese, nephew of the pope, or Fillide Melandroni, well-­known courtesan and occasional artist’s model? Fast-­forward to the eighteenth century, and explore the Venice of Canaletto, Casanova, and Carnevale.

With twelve chapters, each devoted to an artist or group of artists, and a dozen itineraries to choose from, you can immerse yourself in the world of the great and the not-so-good, wandering in and out of churches, palaces, and grand residences to admire their work "in situ"—­all from the comfort of your armchair.

Each of the chapters begins with an illustrated map, featuring hand-drawn vignettes that bring to vivid life episodes from the artist's often turbulent existence, as well as key landmarks and local color. Set off on your own Grand Tour for the twenty-­first century.

Experience Italy through the eyes of the world's greatest artists, in a beautifully illustrated volume showcasing the cities where they lived and the masterpieces they created. - (WW Norton)

Kirkus Reviews

A treasure map of Italy. Art historian Trend creates 12 curated itineraries centered on an artist or group of artists who lived and worked in Italy. Because much of their art still survives in the churches, chapels, and palaces for which they were commissioned, discovering those works offers travelers—even armchair travelers—a chance to explore Italy beyond its famous museums. Trend's tour includes world-famous artists, such as Giotto, da Vinci, Michelangelo, Titian, and Canaletto, and lesser-known women artists. Besides illuminating particular works, the author depicts the backstreets and piazzas, landscapes and vistas that inspired their art. He follows Giotto to Padua, Assisi, and Florence; Raphael and Michelangelo to Florence and Rome; Titian, Tintoretto, and Canaletto to Venice. Veronese worked in Venice, too, and his paintings, spanning his entire career, still can be seen in 15 churches and palazzi. Trend points out Caravaggio's altar pieces in Rome, then follows the painter to Naples, where he fled after killing a man; we learn the sites of three of his paintings in that city, including what turned out to be his final work, at the Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano. Hoping for a papal pardon, Caravaggio died before he was able to return to Rome. The majority of the figures Trend follows are men, but he honors many women artists who, from 1500 to the 18th century, found unprecedented recognition and opportunities in Bologna. Of some 70 women, he chooses two painters and two sculptors, well known in their time, whose works adorn public spaces. The beautifully produced volume contains more than 450 color plates, photographs, and illustrations; each chapter opens with a whimsical map, hand-drawn by Montoriol, indicating the people and places that feature in that area. In an appendix, a gazetteer lists major sites by region. A richly detailed, innovative travel guide. Copyright Kirkus 2025 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.

Introduction

1. Giotto: Padua-Assisi-Florence

2. Piero della Francesca: Arezzo-Monterchi-Perugia-Sansepolcro-Urbino

3. Bellini & Mantegna: Mantua-Verona-Venice

4. Leonardo da Vinci: Vinci-Florence-Milan

5. Raphael and Michelangelo: Florence-Rome

6. Titian & Tintoretto: Venice

7. Veronese: Verona-Vincenza-Venice

8. Sofonisba Anguissola: Cremona-Bergamo-Brescia-Milan-Florence-Siena

9. Women Artists of Bologna: Bologna

10. Caravaggio: Rome-Naples

11. Artemisia Gentileschi: Florence-Pisa-Rome

12. Canaletto & Co.: Venice

Gazetteer

Sources & Further Reading

Picture Credits