"The Art of the City: Rome, Florence, Venice" by Georg Simmel offers insightful essays that delve into the essence of these iconic Italian cities. Simmel, a pioneering thinker of the early 20th century, explores the interplay between architecture, culture, and human experience, presenting each city as a unique aesthetic creation. Through eloquent prose and profound observations, he invites readers to reconsider their perceptions of beauty and urban life. Whether discussing Rome's grandeur, Florence's artistic legacy, or Venice's enchanting landscape, Simmel's essays resonate with depth and intellectual curiosity. This collection is a captivating exploration of the artistic soul of these timeless cities.

Due to a passing in the family a few years ago and my subsequent health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for years after the bereavement. Thank you for the opportunity.

The Art of the City: Rome, Florence, Venice was written by the great German thinker, Georg Simmel. Simmel was a sociologist who was a successful lecturer and writer in the late 1800s and the early 20th century. In this collection of essays he explores the impact of architecture on the humans who live there. This book should not be considered a travel book but rather the author’s perspective on the cities of Rome, Florence and Venice.

Simmel’s writing is beautiful, interesting and thought-provoking. Although it is only 96 pages long, this is a book that you will want to take you time with in order to see these three magnificent cities through his eyes.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

Four essays, written back around 1900. Subjects covered are Rome, Florence, Venice, and one philosophical essay. Dated. Not really a travel book, per se. Just wasn't my cup of tea.

These essays are full of depth and insight. I was struck by the beauty of the language and the descriptive passages as much as by the wealth of knowledge and information.

Four short essays that I'd struggle to class as travel journals so much as philosophical journies.. While a little dated in some respects, Simmel is a very elegant writer and I found myself drawn by his words. Lovely snap shot of the early twentieth century.

This was an ARC in exchange for an honest review. With thanks to Netgalley and Pushkin Press.

Thanks to Pushkin Press and Netgalley for the advance reading copy.

An interesting, if somewhat dated, collection of essays. I certainly wouldn’t regard it as a travel book, more a sociological and philosophical exploration of what makes (or rather, made) these cities tick. The book would be valuable for anyone studying facets of urban Sociology and indeed Simmel was one thinker I studied whilst undertaking my Sociology degree.

The introduction effectively sets the scene for what George Simmel sought to achieve with this collection of essays and many 19th century writers familiar to Sociologists are referenced throughout the collection. The three cities Simmel discusses are cities I am personally familiar with; Rome, Venice and Florence. Despite this, I wasn't able to mirror my own personal experiences with what is written in the book. I think this highlights the datedness of Simmel’s perspectives and way of thinking. With that in mind it is perhaps more useful to consider this collection as a snapshot of how people were thinking at the time as opposed to more contemporary perspectives.

The intellectual writing style is rather dense and perhaps not for the casual reader. There were times reading it that I thought “I am too thick for this” which is my issue and not a failing of the book itself. Overall, I didn’t particularly appreciate it personally, but I can see its merit as an academic source to anyone studying urban sociology or Simmel’s work.

I certainly wouldn't say this was a book for every man on the street, but it's OK in small doses. The first essay declares that Rome is an instance of chance, that it's built up a very Rome-ness and a beauty out of being unplanned, and from showing each and every timeline it's lived through to the visitor at one go, without apology or pretending the past and present are unconnected. So a lump of rubble will always remain a Roman Bath remain, and not suffer the ignominy of being an ugly ruin, so Roman is it. Florence, too, he deems a kind of pointillist painting, where each stipple is an element you can find anywhere else, but combines to make a beauty. He finds something of a much different sort in Venice, talking often of a "facade" – "the lying beauty of the mask". This, then, is nothing more than glamour. Of course, reviewing writing about architecture is like photographing a ballet about a painting, or something – only the second main essay is more philosophical socio-politics, than anything, and not strict architecture. Yes, it's entirely salient and pertinent, as the introductory summary proves, but like I say, not for everyone.

A short and unusual book, which you'll probably need to read more than once to get a grasp of it. Simmel deserves to be better known in English and the translator's long introduction is excellent. There's lots of insights here into Rome, Venice and (most briefly) Florence which anticipate recent writing on cities, but the final essay, 'The Metropolis and the Life of the Spirit' is probably the best of the lot. Worth a look.

This book comprises of 4 essays by Simmel. 3 of which are on Italy's Rome, Florence and Venice. It talks about the architectural nature, landscape and the people of Rome, Florence and Venice as aesthetic creations. It is beautifully written and I loved the essay on Rome the most. I never thought to look at things the way Simmel did and it has brought a whole new perspective to the way I see things. I am going to make sure I read this again if i ever get to visit any of the beautiful cities mentioned in the book.

The four short essays contained here are not so much 'travel writing' as fitting into the category of what today we would call psychogeography. Given that Simmel is writing at the turn of the 19th/20th centuries (1898/1906/1907) his terms of references might not be our own: he is responding to authors like Goethe, especially Jakob Burckhardt, the man who invented the Renaissance for the C19th but whose conception of that period feels alien to modern academics.

In that sense, these essays capture a time, pre-WW1, when issues surrounding the morality and moral values of aesthetics were much in evidence: he uses terms like 'spirit' in a quite unselfconscious way, for example, as he probes 'modern' urbanity via an attention to Rome, Florence and Venice.

The writing is balanced and elegant, probing and intellectualised - the essays are short but dense and require some unpacking. Anyone working on psychogeography, receptions of the Renaissance (or of classical Rome), or C19th cultural thought will likely get more from these pieces than a casual reader.

George Simmel was an urban sociologist and philosopher writing at the turn of the C20th. This short book (96pp) collects 4 of his essays together for the first time in English.

The first 3 essays cover Rome, Florence and Venice, and look at questions of beauty (what makes Rome beautiful?), nature, spirit, past & present, and artifice. The final essay considers the impact of life in a metropolis on the psyche - intellect, individuality, money, emotion... - and why attitudes/behaviours can be so different from provincial areas.

Although I may not agree with everything he writes, I enjoyed reading this, found it quite accessible (for a philosophical text!) and would love to read it again if visiting Italian cities.

Thanks to #NetGalley and Pushkin Press for an ARC for review.

Book is about the psychology ahd philosophy of Rome, Florence and Venice. No specific art in any of cities was discussed.