Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Although wishful travelers may want to use this oversized book to plan their dream vacation, art and architecture historians will probably find it more useful, as architect and architectural history professor Cresti documents and analyzes the dates, floor plans and styles of 38 Tuscan villas. Descriptions such as "To speak of a facade in this instance is almost inappropriate, inasmuch as the space enveloping and traversing the building's entire front tends to collect in the openings, thicken in the hollows, condense around the statues, and find its shape according to the differences of level" accompany full-color photographs of edifices, interiors, gardens and more. For each villa, Cresti eloquently describes the building and explains a bit about its history. Listri's photos are the book's meat, though, and make this a beautiful volume for both armchair travelers and historians. (Oct.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Review by Library Journal Review
Handsome photo books of luxuriant abodes in romantic locales make nostalgic mementos of trips past and future, but do they belong in libraries? Do they have lasting appeal and value? While successful as objects of reverie, as interpreters of complex foreign cultures they often fall short. These two examples, aimed expressly at English-speaking Italophiles, engage the eye like elaborate operatic sets. They are long on sun-drenched Boccaccian scenes of enclosed gardens, parterres, and opulent frescoes but skimp on critical cultural content. Villas on the Italian Lakes is a sumptuous visual tour of 12 magnificent private villas that line the storied northern lakes. The author and photographer, whose previous collaborations include Restoring a Home in Italy and Private Tuscany, are a veritable "villa industry" for affluent American book-buying tourists. An awestruck, gushing introduction to Italy's lake district is augmented by historic photos of earlier tourists and towns in the region. Two hundred photos of the lakes, villas, and their breathtaking interiors reveal a richness of detail in carefully modulated colors and tones. Texts and captions emote a tour-guide tone at the expense of more reasoned architectural analysis. A larger and more expensive version of Villas of Tuscany that covered 50 villas was published in 1993. Other than reducing the number of villas to 38, this edition appears unchanged. Cresti's (Univ. of Florence) overview of the development of patrician country estates by Italy's wealthy families too soon gives way to a relentless cavalcade of 300 photos, some of which are poorly exposed and even garish. Tuscan villas around Florence, Lucca, and Siena, most of which are open to the public, are presented chronologically from the 14th to 20th centuries. Villa introductions touch on history, ownership, architects, modifications, art, and interiors. There are enough double-page spreads of frescoes, wallpapers, ornate ceilings, fountains, and sculpture to produce sensory overload. While both books will undoubtedly attract avid viewers, their value to all but the most comprehensive travel, architecture, and design collections is limited.-Russell T. Clement, Northwestern Univ. Lib., Evanston, IL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Review by Library Journal Review
