The new, full-colour Rough Guide to Tuscany and Umbria is the ultimate travel guide to some of Europe's most popular tourist destinations. Covering the region more comprehensively than any other guide, it's packed with up-to-date and expert information on all the attractions, from the great museums of Florence and Siena to the tiny rural hill-towns, as well as guiding you to the best of the beaches, forests, mountains and vineyard-clad hills. It also it gives you the lowdown on the best hotels and restaurants for all budgets, and illuminates the sights with background information on history, folklore, art, architecture and festivals. Dozens of photographs and easy-to-use colour maps complete a guide that has long been established as the best you can buy. Make the most of your time on EarthTM with The Rough Guide to Tuscany and Umbria.

"In the royal and princely courts of Europe, artworks made of multicolored semiprecious stones were passionately coveted objects. Known as pietre dure, or hardstones, this type of artistic expression includes?paintings in stone,? which were composed of intricately cut separate pieces that were made into magnificent tabetops, cabinets, and wall decorations. Other works included vessels and ornaments carved with virtuosic skill from a single piece of rare and brilliant lapis lazuli, chalcedony, jasper, or similarly prized substance; exquisite objects such as boxes, clocks, and jewelry; and portraits of nobles sculpted in variously colored stones. Derived from ancient Roman decorative stonework, the art of pietre dure was developed in Renaissance Florence, where the manufacture of such objects was enthusiastically sponsored by Medici princes. Ideally suited for ostentatious display, the works sent an unmistakable message of wealth and political might that was understood in centers of power everywhere. From Italy the medium spread across Europeto Prague, Madrid, Naples, Paris, and later Saint Petersburg. Precious and fragile, pietre dure objects are rarely brought together in large numbers. This richly illustrated catalogue contains more than 150 masterworks from across Europe, dating from five centuries, including almost every artistic use of semiprecious stone during this time as well as some of the finest examples of the medium. Eight essays by European and American experts discuss the individualized development of pietre dure in every European region, the latest developments in scholarship, the interrelationships between art and dynastic politics and between cultures, and a variety of techniques used to produce these luxurious masterworks."--Metropolitan Museum of Art website.

The eBook version of updated Green Guide Tuscany, organized by district for easy travel, presents the best of the region. Discover its Alpine peaks and valleys, explore a landscape of vineyards, grain fields, sunflowers and olive trees. Visit breath-taking cities, such as Renaissance Florence and Siena; and enjoy the glamorous coast with its picturesque ports and idyllic beach coves. From San Gimignano’s towers to the Tuscan Archipelago, Michelin's celebrated star-rating system, respected maps and trusted advice ensure an unforgettable journey. In this eBook you’ll find: • Full-color photos and plenty of detail travelers look for. • Attractions reviewed and rated, using Michelin's celebrated star-rating system, from the Romanesque architecture of three-star Lucca to the arcaded streets of one-star Poppi. • Walk-throughs of major museums, galleries, churches and attractions. Illustrations and floor plans are often included to pick out the highlights of major attractions. • Michelin walking and driving tours for a more in-depth, personal experience of the country. Take a driving tour through Chianti, or explore Siena's Piazza del Campo by foot. • Comprehensive illustrated sections on modern-day Tuscany, its art, architecture, history and culture, all written by experts in their fields. • Sidebars throughout the guide on intriguing topics from Michelangelo's crucifix and Botticelli to the Elba's semi-precious stones. • Detailed visitor information for every attraction, opening hours, entry fees, tour times, phone, website. • Michelin area and city maps. • Recommendations for great places to eat and stay for every budget. Download onto any kind of eReader (tablet or smartphone), and you’re set to go. Use the guide to orient yourself at any time with a treasure trove of 40+ detailed maps, even if you’re offline with no Wi-Fi or 3G connection. With the interactive navigation, it’s easy to move within the guide. Click from the index to a point of interest or from a sight description to its location on the map. With one touch, you can even phone an establishment directly from the page or click through to a website for more information. No matter what eReader you use, with the Green Guide Tuscany eBook in hand, you’re ready for adventure and exploration, and will experience an unforgettable journey.

Perhaps more than any other collector of his generation in the United States, Robert Lehman was interested in acquiring early drawings. He made a great effort to add drawings to the collection of paintings, sculpture, ceramics, glass, and other objects that his father, Philip Lehman, had begun assembling. The 116 Italian drawings analyzed and discussed in this volume are among the more than 2,000 works of art from the collection now housed in the Robert Lehman Wing of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Robert Lehman's collection demonstrates the variety of drawings produced in Italy from the fifteenth to the seventeenth century, a period when the purposes and techniques of drawings, as well as the aims and abilities of the artist who made them, became increasingly sophisticated. The volume includes an elaborate design for an equestrian monument by Antonio Pollaiuolo, a magnificent study of a bear by Leonardo da Vinci, a cartoon by Luca Signorelli, a study for a vault fresco by Taddeo Zuccaro, and many other drawings that are among the best Italian examples to have survived from that era. Most types of drawings, in a wide variety of techniques, are represented—figure studies, grand compositions, landscapes, cartoons, modelli, and even sculptors' studies. -- Metropolitan Museum of Art website.

An overview of the best Mediterranean sights to help you plan your visit, whether you're traveling by cruise ship, car, or train.

"Publisdhed in conjuntion with the exhibition: Magnificenza! the Medici, Michelangelo, & the Art of Late Renaissance Florence (In Italy, L'Ombra del genio: Michelangelo e l'arte a Firenze, 1538-1631) ..."--Title page verso.