Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Freedom of Speech in Early Stuart England

2005; Iter Press; Volume: 41; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.33137/rr.v41i1.9084

2293-7374

David Colclough, Alastair Bellany,

Scottish History and National Identity

missioned particular works elsewhere-the Santa Casa di Loreto, for example, or the altarpieces that Cardinal Giulio de' Medici wanted from Raphael for the cathedral in Narbonne-and Clement VII focused the bulk of his patronage on Florence not Rome.As Hall points out, these reflected patterns in the city.Robertson, however, picks out the Villa d'Este at Tivoli, the Villa Farnese at Caprarola, and the Villa Lante at Bagnaia as examples of sites close to Rome that cardinals developed for pleasure despite the stress on austerity promoted by the post-Tridentine ecclesiastical hierarchy in the 1560s.The models for these, she points out, were the Villa Madama and Villa Giulia, papal commissions, but made before the conclusion of the Council of Trent and much closer to the center of Rome.The Villa d'Este and others suggest, then, that while Roman monuments remained important, the influence of the sitting pope could quickly wane beyond the city walls.This is an impressive, lucid, and well-edited collection (although the claim that Augustus was "the emperor who recognized Christ as the Savior" [283] suggests too close a proximity to sixteenth-century polemicists!).There is no doubt that for those of us who work on the visual arts of Rome without being by training or employment art historians-and here this reviewer should declare his hand-this is a rewarding and satisfyingly useful volume.The same would also be true, presumably, for beginning graduate students.Professional art historians, on the other hand, might turn directly to the full bibliography and look beyond; and I expect that undergraduates would find that they are supposed to know a little too much about Catholicism, Antiquity, and topography-some detailed maps of the city would definitely enhance the book, particularly given how eloquently the contributors write about changes, and their functions, in the urban fabric-for this collection to engage them.If I am right about the audience, the format of the book sits a little awkwardly with the function.It is lavish, hefty, and pricey (3½ lb and $120 in the US).Part of the reason for this is undoubtedly the considerable care that has gone into the illustrations, which include several valuable non-canonical images, some taken especially for the volume.But the price in particular is likely to deter potential researchers and librarians; and it would be a real pity if as a consequence the book did not find the readers it deserves.