Representations of Urban Italy: Rome, Florence, Venice

Rome, Florence, and Venice are central to the Western image of the city. With ancient Rome as a model, we will enrich our historical knowledge of these cities and their famous sites. We will explore how literature, urban planning, and the arts represent them. Genres to be explored (in English) will include travel memoirs, classic films (Rome Open City, La dolce vita), adaptations of novels (The Talented Mr. Ripley, Room with a View), “magic realism” (Winterston’s The Passion), detective fiction (Donna Leon, Michael Dibdin), modern and contemporary Italian prose and film (Moravia, Ozpetek’s Facing Windows), and toga epics (Gladiator, Rome). Culinary history and practice will be included. 3 hrs. sem.