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Literary Criticism Italian

On the Causes of the Greatness and Magnificence of Cities/ Delle Cause della grandezza e magnificenza delle citta (1588)

by (author) Massimo Ciavolella/Luigi Ballerini & Geoffrey Symcox

Publisher
University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division
Initial publish date
Dec 2012
Category
Italian
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9781442645073
    Publish Date
    Dec 2012
    List Price
    $45

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Description

The first treatise ever written on the sociology of cities, On the Causes of the Greatness and Magnificence of Cities (1588) marked a radical departure from previous literature on urban centres. It provided a revolutionary analysis of how cities function, and of the political, economic, demographic and geographic factors that cause their growth and decline. Noteworthy too is Botero&rsquos strikingly original use of sources in his analysis: moving beyond familiar classical and biblical references, he drew groundbreaking insights from reports by travelers and missionaries about cities in the non-European world, especially in China.

Though seminally important to the history of urban studies, On the Causes of the Greatness and Magnificence of Cities has not been available in a modern translation until now. This edition of the treatise &ndash which includes an introduction by Geoffrey W. Symcox on the intellectual context within which it was conceived &ndash is a must-read for anyone interested in the life of cities both historical and contemporary.

About the authors

Massimo Ciavolella/Luigi Ballerini's profile page

Geoffrey Symcox is a professor emeritus in the Department of History at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Geoffrey Symcox's profile page

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