Strolling through the cobblestone streets of Florence, tourists snap photographs in front of iconic symbols of the city’s Medieval and Renaissance past while using maps, guides, and modern technology to navigate through its wonders. It is easy to imagine that tourists have always been drawn to Florence to see the same attractions for the same…
Finding Florence
The Classical Grand Tour 1650 – 1789 The evolution of the guidebook in 19th century Florence begins in fact with a late 16th century phenomenon known as the Grand Tour. The Tour was a popular journey taken, most often by young aristocratic men and a small number of women, throughout Europe as a means of refining…
The Rise of the Renaissance
Decline of the Classical Grand Tour Until the end of 1780, the Grand Tour was in full-swing with roughly 20,000 tourists abroad per year. But international politics soon disrupted the heavy flow of Tourists to Florence. In 1789 the French Revolution ripped through France, leaving behind new ideas, turmoil, and uncertainty throughout Europe. The end…
A Change of Pace
The Birth of Mass Tourism With the Industrial Revolution came huge economic changes, particularly for the middle-class in Britain. Changes to technology and wealth significantly altered who had the means to travel for pleasure. By the 19th century, the middle-class made up 60% of tourists from Britain to mainland Europe. This change of social class…
New Transportation & New Travellers
Locomotion: Travelling by Train Middle-class travel on a large scale would not have been possible without the speed and ease of train travel. With the completion of railway lines throughout Europe, travel became faster, less dangerous, and more comfortable. For the Italian states, railways had been running since the 1840s, but their routes were often unnecessarily…
Off the Beaten Path
Trying to Escape ‘Tourism’ One of the defining characteristics of the Grand Tour in the 17th and 18th centuries was its exclusivity. With the influx of middle-classes travellers, touring was no longer a sacred aristocratic pursuit. To distance themselves from their ‘social inferiors’ aristocrats gradually began to seek places where they could mingle with people…
Collecting Art & Antiquities
On the Hunt for Treasure “…were all the copies sold here for the last thirty years, placed side by side, they would reach from London to St. Petersburgh at least…” – B. Spence, 1852, The ‘Lions’ of Florence During the 18th century, Europe was obsessed with collecting – influenced by the Enlightenment and the need…
Falling for Florence
Becoming a Local After falling in love with Florence some travellers simply never left. These foreigners often went from tourists themselves to merchants of the tourism industry, opening hotels and shops that often catered to tourists from their home country. European immigrants to Florence used the popularity of guidebooks, and the frequency with which they…
Ending the Journey
From religious sites and traces of Roman antiquity, to Medieval wonders and Renaissance art, Florence has been able to cater to evolving tourist tastes and interests for centuries. While tourism has made its mark on the city – from graveyards for foreigners to tourist clogged streets, souvenir shops, and hotels – Florence has in turn made…
Saunterings in Florence 