On the Causes of the Greatness and Magnificence of Cities/ Delle Cause della grandezza e magnificenza delle citta (1588)
- 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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Where to buy it
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.
