Famous Castles and Palaces of Italy

Famous Castles and Palaces of Italy, by Edmund B. D'Auvergne, also the author of "The English Castles". Illustrated In Color From Paintings. Published in New York and London in 1912. (386 pages)

Preface:
...Italy has been discussed, it might seem exhaustively, in its every aspect and feature. Its cathedrals, its cities, its scenery, its art and its people have been the themes of books innumerable; but, strangely enough, its castles have been altogether neglected. This is the first book in any language that attempts to deal with them, with the single exception of the magnificent but incomplete German work of Professor Bodo Ebhardt. Thirty or forty years ago, an Italian author — Magenta — expressed the hope that some valiant writer would attempt such a work. He realized better than any strangers to Italy can do, the enormous difficulties in the way. The archives are scattered through hundreds of cities and thousands of private palaces, and access to them is obtained as an immense concession or not at all. Local antiquaries appear to be interested only in their churches and early Madonnas — the history of the medieval strongholds, in the shadow of which they live, they for the most part ignore. The history of innumerable ruined piles is utterly lost; and admission to those which have been turned into barracks and prisons is not always, or even often, to be procured. A comparative history of medieval military architecture in Italy, then, I have not been able to attempt. I have limited myself to those castles which have been the scenes of great historical events, or which may be considered representative of their style and epoch. I have included also a number of the more famous palaces of Italy, partly because these illustrate in many cases the transition from the military to the civil style, partly for the convenience of the traveler. As, unlike the castles, they have been the theme of countless volumes, most of quite recent date, I have dealt with them very briefly; and three or four I have neglected altogether, feeling that it was impossible to say anything fresh concerning them or to convey any adequate idea of their history or architecture within the space allotted to me. The book is primarily intended for the English-speaking traveler, of the itinerant and armchair varieties. I am not without the hope that it may lay the foundations for a thorough and scientific study of the medieval strongholds of a land which all hold so dear.
Edmund B. d'Auvergne.

Contents:
Introduction (The Castles of Italy) — Chapter I. The Castle of Sant' Angelo and the Vatican — Chapter II. Bracciano and Spoleto — Chapter III. The Castles of Naples — Chapter IV. Some Swabian and Norman Castles — Chapter V. Canossa — Chapter VI. The Castles of the Valley of Aosta — Chapter VII. Three Castles near Florence — Chapter VIII. Three Famous Communal Palaces — Chapter IX. Pavia and Milan — Chapter X. Ferrara and Este — Chapter XI. The Strongholds of the Malatestas — Chapter XII. Mantua — Chapter XIII. The Palaces of Urbino and Pesaro

List of Illustrations:
*Castle of Sant' Angelo
From a Painting by C.E. Dawson
Mausoleum of Hadrian
Castle of Sant' Angelo (17th Century)
Castle of Sant' Angelo (Entrance)
*Castle of Bracciano
From a Painting by C.E. Dawson
Castel del Ovo
*Castel Nuovo
From a Painting by C.E. Dawson
Castle of Lucera
*Castle of Lerici
From a Painting by C.E. Dawson
*Castle of Poppi
From a Painting by C.E. Dawson
*Court of the Bargello (Florence)
From a Painting by C.E. Dawson
*Castle of Ferrara
From a Painting by C.E. Dawson
Castle of Este ...
*Castle of Vignola
From a Painting by C.E. Dawson
Castle of San Martino .
Palace of Urbino
* These are colored plates.