Author:

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Published: 2015-07-07

Total Pages: 68

ISBN-13: 9781330932612

Excerpt from Italy Past and Present The special Rotunda of the Italian Exhibit contains the likenesses of men who carried on high the torch of human progress, forerunners and masters in science and art; it illustrates the various phases and steps passed through to attain Italian Unity; it renders bare justice to the principal leaders in the national struggle; it prospects the present state of the country as compared with its former condition in comparatively recent times: in one word it has the elements necessary to give an idea of what we were and what we are. People from afar, who live their own lives, in their own surroundings and atmosphere, not altogether familiar with our present standing, are wont to consider Italy from the standpoint of its majestic ruins, its glorious buildings, statues and pictures, the whole seasoned with melodic singing and maccaroni! A delightful haunt for tourists, where sunny skies enhance the joy of beautiful landscapes, noble remains of former times, unique collections of art, towns, villages and hamlets reflecting the life of past ages: so far, so good. Our climate is delightful, our country picturesque, the monuments and treasures of former civilisations bring home to one's mind the fact that in some aspects of life progress is not continual, that the sense of beauty embodied in stone or canvass is hardly a modern invention; the strains on the Venetian canals or the bay of Naples evoke musical sentiment; even the maccaroni, when properly prepared and cooked, carry their gastronomical lesson: but that is not all. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.