Customer Reviews

The Stones of Florence

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I have the large hard-cover version of this book with absolutely wonderful black and white photographs. They are what originally drew me to it - I had read "The Group" in college but wasn't a big fan of Mary McCarthy. Well, that changed fast!

In Florence, more than in any other city I know of, history and art are entwined in such a way that you can't talk about one without talking about the other. In this book, Ms. McCarthy conveys this duality better than I have ever seen done before. Her style is quite literary, in a dreamy way, so it reads smoothly and flows logically. You learn a lot without realizing it. The photographs are somewhat old-fashioned; sharp-focus B&W, many of minute details. The text and the pictures complement each other beautifully - her style is such that even without the pictures, you can see what she's talking about in your imagination - the very best kind of writing.

Ms. McCarthy also wrote "Venice Observed," a similar kind of book. Both are out of print, but are not too hard to find in used book stores, where I found the Venice book. I highly recommend them to anyone with an interest in Florence, art, the Renaissance, history...

There are several reasons to go for Mary McCarthy's THE STONES OF FLORENCE. You are about to go to, are in or have been to Florence, Italy; you enjoy the literature of travel; you appreciate a well-written book. I fall into the latter two categories and thoroughly enjoyed this idiosyncratic work. McCarthy wrote this in the very early 1960's when the very nature of Tuscany's chief city couldn't help but attract tourists at the same time it seemingly did everything to discourage them. She swiftly dispenses with the contemporary city and spends the book peering back into its Renaissance soul, primarily the 14th through the 16th centuries when Florence was the Western center of intellectual activity. What emerges is the picture of the greats-Dante, Giotto, Brunellseschi, Donatello, Fra Angelico, della Robbia, Botticelli, Da Vinci, Machiavelli, Michelangelo, Cellini, and various Medici to name a few-functioning amidst social, political and occasional natural upheaval. As she suggests about one artist, perhaps the productivity was inspired by the need to make order out of chaos. That and no doubt the fact that the Florentines used and valued art in their daily lives in ways that it is not today. That science, engineering, architecture and art were closely aligned offered cross disciplinary assistance is also key-without the mathematicians, for instance, would artists have been able to as easily co-opt perspective and volume?

THE STONES OF FLORENCE is both direct and impressionistic. McCarthy's prose moves right along, never bogged down by a "perhaps" or the need to recite contemporary opinion. Her progress from the 14th to the 16th century is zig-zaggy, so that most of the Renaissance is spoken of as if on a continuum. There is a sly wit at work (in the personality contest, the score is Leonardo 10, Michelangelo 0) and McCarthy presents a strong spine-she is unequivocal about the decline of the Renaissance in the 16th century as the major players moved away from Florence and the populace fell into a "gee-gaw" mentality.

This is a travelogue and, after a fashion, an art history catalogue, and yet there are no pictures (in this edition). That and its not too chronological organization would suggest an abstract mess but it is nothing of the kind. I became very much aware of how much of the Renaissance was covered in my early education as every reference brought up old lessons and visits to museums out of the tar pits of memory. I felt at home, not at a loss.

In the first chapter of THE STONES OF FLORENCE Mary McCarthy weighs in against everyone who might want to know about Florence who deeply irritates her: casual tourists, Europeans who love Florence deeply... who, you might wonder, is the book intended for? But once she gets this out of her system (though not ever entirely--as the book continues she often takes little sideswipes at everyone, even including Goethe!), the book settles down to be a very idiosyncratic and informative study of a city Mccarthy loves and knows well. Skip the intro (or at least try not to let it get under your collar) and keep plugging along: this is a highly readable and fun little book.

THE STONES OF FLORENCE is a complex art history book Mary McCarthy first had published in 1959. The original contained photographs and this paperback has none. I think my reading would have been a bit easier if I had seen the photographs, but perhaps they were few or not that good. I've taken enough art history classes that covered Italian art and traveled and visited museums housing Florentine art, so I could visualize many of the works McCarthy discusses. If you have no background on this suject you might find the book tough going. On the other hand, one has to start somewhere (though this may not be the best place). STONES is filled with enough anectdotal material to make it interesting, but if you don't aready know who Giotto, Cimabue, Ucello, Masaccio, Fra Agelico, Donatello and Brunelleschi were, McCarthy's discourse may prove dense at times.

McCarthy covers the history of Florence, but she is mainly interested in the Medieval and Renaissance art of the city so she moves very quickly to the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries. My sense is that she is favorably disposed to the Medieval art (13th and 14th), likes the Renaissance art a little less (14th and 15th), and positively dislikes the mad, bad Mannerists (16th). For example, describing the Mannerist Il Rosso's painting "Moses Defending the Daughters of Jethro" she says it reminds one of "the half-carnival atmosphere of an insane asylum or of a brothel during a police raid."

McCarthy says Florentine art collapsed in the 16th Century and never recovered, largely owing to the Medicis--those former pharmacists who thought they understood art. She says perhaps the Mannerists only reflected what they saw--Florence as a commercial hub with no spritiual core.

She says Florence, unlike Venice and Sienna is a manly town. Although various illustrious visitors have been attacted to the city over the ages, like Queen Victoria who "did water colors" at Vincigliata, or Florence Nightengale's parents who named her for the city, they mostly preferred to stay in villas in the Tuscan countryside or other cities in Tuscany. Florence has been and remains a commercial city (home of Gucci and Feragamo) and for the most part, it's buildings are blocky, black and white, and businesslike. She says Florence was a Guelph city (for the Pope, one of whom was a Medici) and one of the many Guelph-Ghibilline conflicts that involved Florence took place with Pistoia--source of the word pistol.

STONES is an interesting book and one that may provide you with some colorful information about the city of Florence, and perhaps persuade you to take your next vacation in Venice.

Prior to reading this book, my favorite book on Florence was "The City of Florence: Historical Vistas and Personal Sightings" by R.W.B. Lewis which, like much of what one reads about the city, is generally positive.

In searching out books on the subject, I had repeatedly come across references to "The Stones of Florence," which I avoided because I viewed Mary McCarthy (1912 - 1989) as a sort of upscale Danielle Steel, a popular novelist incapable of perceptive insights. That assessment was wrong.

Instead, from the first page, the reader is confronted with perceptive and knowledgeable opinions that challenge his or her own perceptions (e.g., the Florentines are a cantankerous, miserly bunch). You may not agree with her, but there is no doubt that she is highly intelligent and has seriously thought out her positions. In the end, the reader comes away with strong admiration for her intelligence, candor, and succinct writing style. For example:

"Up until this time (the age of Michelangelo), sculpture and architecture had been relied on by the Florentines to affirm the strength of the Republic. That is why the Uffizi, beautiful as many of its paintings are, is only a picture gallery, while the Bargello and the Museum of the Works of the Duomo are Florence." (p. 108).

"The kind of vulgarity in decoration that is today thought of as middle-class seems to stem straight from Tuscany in the time of the Medici grand dukes (citing Cosimo I)... The interiors of the grand-ducal palaces and villas are sumptuously, stuffily ugly in a way that is hard to connect with a period that was contemporary, after all, with classic Palladio in the Veneto." (p. 201)

"Lorenzo the Magnificent was `incredibly devoted to the indulgence of an amorous passion', as Roscoe, his eighteenth-century biographer, puts it; his sexuality was uncontrollable, a perpetual bullish rut." (p. 176)

This is not a book for readers considering a first trip to Florence or for those whose sole exposure has been a whirlwind tour of the Uffizi, Duomo and David. It presupposes an in-depth knowledge of the city itself, its history and literature. Those who have that knowledge will find it thought-provoking and rewarding.

The title of this book is explained by the fact that three years before writing "The Stones of Florence," McCarthy wrote "Venice Observed," in which she relied heavily on John Ruskin's masterpiece "The Stones of Venice."

Readers interested in an objective view of the Medici, particularly Lorenzo il Magnifico, should consider Medici Money: Banking, Metaphysics, and Art in Fifteenth-Century Florence (Enterprise) by Tim Parks. The final chapter is spectacular, pulling together what for me had previously been separate strands of history.

I just finished this book prior to a trip to Florence. This is a book of commentary and Mary McCarthy's observations and knowledge about Florence. I found it very useful, and in parts very fascinating. I'd recommend it before taking a trip to Florence.

The beginning is a bit slow. But when it picks up, afer the first chapter or so, it goes much faster. I would have gotten more out of it, and it would have gone faster, if I had already read one of my other books about Florence, say "Florence: Biography of a City" or "Florence A Portrait." This is because, especially at the beginning, she comments on artists and places I'm not familiar with.

Her commentary about art and artists is really must read information. Especially about Uccello and, later, the Mannerists. There's some great history here, too. I'd STRONGLY recommend reading this book before a trip to Florence.

Of all the works on this great city, this book stands above the rest. It is both a travel guide and a art history book.

After reading The Stones of Florence, I speculated that although author Mary McCarthy has a good feel for words and a certain passion for Florence, she must have been in a bad mood when she started writing.

Now, I'm not someone who looks for travel literature that overly romanticizes the places it covers. But painting an accurate picture of a place is one thing, and grumbling under one's breath is rather something else.

Yet with The Stones of Florence one can almost imagine Ms. McCarthy's scowl as she rails against other writers who write about Florence, about the tourists who visit the city, the traffic on its streets, and the smog that surrounds it. Although modern environmental laws have improved the air quality in Florence in the years since this book was written in 1964, the city has become an ever more popular subject for writers, the traffic has worsened, and the crowds of tourists have grown larger and less cosmopolitan ... I shudder to imagine what Ms. McCarthy would write today.

In my eyes, most of the book's value comes from the fact that it is considered one of the parents of modern travel writing, a blend of history, literature, autobiography, and intelligence gathering. For students of the genre, this would probably make an interesting read. But for anyone thinking of reading this ahead of a long-awaited trip to the storied Tuscan capital, I dare say that seeing the city first from Ms. McCarthy's often jaded point of view could color the experience in an undesirable way.

Mary McCarthy(1912-1989), might well be described as a Renaissance woman, in the sense that she was a teacher, and a writer of intelligent and incisive fiction, nonfiction, and criticism. This is to use "renaissance woman" in the sense that that tag, "renaissance man," was first applied to the world's most famous artist, Leonardo da Vinci, himself a product of the Italian Renaissance as it took root in Florence. Not only was he an outstanding artist, he was also a scientist, engineer, architect, and all-around technology geek-- the best his times allowed. And Florence, for sure, remains one of the world's great destination cities, bursting with celebrated Renaissance art-- works by Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Botticelli-- to name but a few, that's readily accessible to the public. So here we have McCarthy's well-known, greatly-praised take on that city.

The author, a witty and sophisticated writer, published seven novels from 1942-1979, of which the most widely known is the semi-autobiographical,sexually outspoken "The Group,"made into a movie, about the lives of her Vassar classmates. She also published many works of nonfiction, many magazine articles, taught at several colleges, and won many awards. She was born in Seattle, Washington, orphaned at the age of six: her parents were killed in the great flu epidemic of 1918. Her private life was to continue to be eventful; she had many love affairs and several husbands, including, as her second, the esteemed critic Edmund Wilson. She also had a well-publicized friendship with Hannah Arendt, a respected writer-philosopher; and an even better publicized quarrel with the influential writer and playwright Lillian Hellman, of whom she told tv host Dick Cavett in 1980, "every word she writes is a lie, including and and the." (Hellman sued her for this, but the case was dropped at the playwright's death.)

Florence provided McCarthy with perfect subject matter, and the first thing to be said about this book is that every paragraph displays prodigious learning. Her discussions of the art, politics, geography and history of the city are unparalleled. Be warned though, there is, unfortunately, some repetition, as she's keeping so many subjects in play at once.

McCarthy's thesis is that, although Florence is a treasury of great art and architecture, it is neither easy nor pleasant to view it; after two lengthy visits there myself, Renaissance student that I am, every criticism of hers rings true. The people are as obdurate as their local stone, interested in their own concerns, and not necessarily thrilled by the throngs of tourists clogging their streets. The streets and sidewalks themselves are generally made of stone, very noisy, wherever you are. Sidewalks are just two to three feet wide: if you're forced into the roadway you risk your life under the wheels of the motorbikes and motorcycles whizzing by. You will never find a soft, non-stone bench to rest your feet. And the city grew in the valley of the river Arno: it's suffocatingly hot in summer, chilly, damp, rainy otherwise. Furthermore the Arno is prone to flooding of historic proportions.

Still, to be sure, this city is a magnet for visitors from around the world. If you dream of it too, prepare yourself: read this book first. No English-speaking writer better understood Florence, or had wider, denser scholarship to offer on the subject.

Reading "The Stones of Florence" by Mary McCarthy is, unfortunately, like a pedestrian climb to San Mineato, all uphill going. Ms McCarthy begins her book with a long chapter pointing out every fault and flaw of the city of Florence. Florence is too hot in the summer, too congested with traffic, the sidewalks are too narrow, the people are too unwelcoming and argumentative, on and on, for about twenty-five relentless pages.

By the time one arrives at the end of Chapter One--similar again to the climb to San Mineato, one is out of breath and wondering if the trip was worth the trouble, and not perhaps as impressed by the lovely surroundings as our erstwhile guide might have intended.

Of course there are other ways of getting to San Mineato (do go, dear traveler and take the bus, please, it is cheap and effective, sit in the nave in late afternoon to hear the monks sing vespers and then watch the sun set as you have dinner at the quaint terrace restaurant just to the left of the Piazzale Michelangelo, where you will find great pasta and refreshing drinks of granita... Surprisingly low, good prices and great views of the entire city, before retuning to the old city). And there are other, better ways of reading about Florence than this book which should have been subtitled, "Only I Know Florence So The Rest of You Bums Ought to Stay Away". Nanny nanny boo boo.

For it is only at page twenty-six (chapter two) that McCarthy finally launches into her Ms Know-It-All tone about the city's history. By then the reader is so enervated he or she cares but little about what one will see, or who was who, and either too frustrated or too exhausted or both to pay her much attention. The reader continues reading only because supposed experts have said that this is a book worth considering. Well, what do they know?

It is all too much like having Mummy and Daddy insist "Eat Your Vegetables!" or having your grumpiest crone of an aunt plunk you down in front of a mediocre painting and prod with her cane and insist an appreciative response from you because she is doing it "for your own good". Dreadful.

Maybe Mary was having a bad day, or week, or life, I don't know; but by the time one is done with this dreary work one wonders why Mary wrote the book at all. Maybe she needed the money, badly. One wonders even more why any publisher accepted it. It is rather inconceivable that any editor thought this book worth the time, bother, paper and ink.

Oh, well, yes, there are a few smatterings of truth to all that she says. Florence can be too hot. The last time I was in Florence it was July and the heat was of the record-breaking variety. All the more reason to stroll over to Vivoli's and have a gelato, or two. The traffic was hectic, but then, all the more reason to duck into a shop and come out with something new in gorgeous Florentine leather. The sidewalks are narrow, all the more reason to slow down, and drink in the details of this marvelous, indescribably fascinating city that has surprises for the first time or returning visitor at every turn. One could spend a month just enjoying the vast variety of door knockers on the ancient palaces, or for that matter, sampling the byways that offer relief from the tourist trail. But then, why pretend one is not a tourist--there is nothing wrong with visiting a place to experience it, with all of its surprises and wonders. And as for the people--yes there are street vendors who ought not be there, but on the whole we find the Florentines to be welcoming and pleasant, as we find all of the Italians--who respond to Americans as if their long lost cousin has just stopped in for a visit.

A visitor to any city could produce a long list of dislikes and turn them into a "Ten Things I Hate About You". Mary McCarthy's approach has no sense whatsoever that she loves or even likes the famous center of the Italian Renaissance. What a contrast it is to R W B Lewis' fabulous, thoroughly enjoyable, readable book on the same subject--filled with history and art that is more than facts and travel that takes one where the natives go, which I recommend highly to one and all and without qualification as the best single volume about Florence written in modern times. McCarthy is the reader's adversary. Lewis is the reader's friend; you can find it here...

The City of Florence: Historical Vistas and Personal Sightings, by R W B Lewis - don't miss it!

The title of Mistress Mary's book is, of course, a play on dear old Johnny Ruskin and his writings about Venice, but this is NOT a masterpiece of English literature. Far from it. It is a disappointment from start to finish, especially when read in comparison to the Lewis book.

If you find this review helpful you might want to read some of my other reviews, including those on subjects ranging from biography to architecture, as well as religion and fiction.