From Publishers Weekly
The catalogue of an exhibition at the Palazzo Grassi in Venice, this extraordinary album presents the Greek legacy to Western civilization. Contributors focus on the sculpture, painting, architecture, artifacts, literary culture, religious cults and philosophical questings of Magna Graecia, the Greek colonies that flourished along Italy's west coast between the eighth and sixth centuries B.C. Yet the temporal scope extends from Minoan and Mycenaean settlements, typified by Cretan palaces dating from the 16th century B.C., up through Byzantine influences on medieval art. Italian archeologist Carratelli leads an international team of 70 specialists who discuss such topics as the Celts' galvanizing contacts with the Hellenic world, the genesis of the Greek alphabet and urban planning as a systematic expression of the Greek colonizers' culture. Among the 1600 plates (600 in color) are some recent discoveries: the cargo of a Greek ship that sank in the Mediterranean around 500 B.C., a splendid bearded bronze head and the goods found in graves from Campania and Sicily.
Copyright 1996 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
This luxurious catalog from a recent exhibition in Venice includes 60 essays, each by a different scholar, that combine well to create an informative, noteworthy text. The text is equaled if not surpassed by the quality and abundance of the 1600 illustrations, 600 of which are in color. Chronologically arranged and compiled by more than 70 scholars, the work traces the art and culture of Magna Graecia, the Greek settlements that appeared along the west coast of Italy in the eighth century B.C. Because of the detail and the extensive degree to which this study looks at the art of ancient Greece, this work will stand out in the minds of scholars for years to come. Its high quality and wide range will make it appeal to both scholars and informed lay readers; recommended for academic and larger public libraries.?Mary Morgan Smith, Northland P.L., Pittsburgh, Pa.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
