"A Room with a View" Reader's Guide
Page 4FLORENCE, ITALY
In contrast, the beginning and ending of the book take place in Florence, Italy, the cradle of the Renaissance, the quintessential location for the open mind.
Forster quipped, “There is something majestic in the bad taste of Italy.”
While few would label little in Florence as bad taste, its features are some of the most majestic and most sought out in Europe. For hundreds of years, artistic pilgrims have flocked here to see Michelangelo’s David, the dome of the city’s famous cathedral, the Gates of Paradise on its baptistery and the countless paintings and sculptures by the great Renaissance masters found in its churches and museums. Public art fills parks, and squares. It seems that no matter where one turns, the view here is varied and inspiring.
The danger, of course, is that world views here are much less restrained than strict Edwardian society is comfortable with. – And so the struggle begins.
