"When Caravaggio first arrived in Rome in 1592, it was the richest, most glamorous city on earth--and one of the most dangerous."

The Art of Travel series celebrates the world's greatest artists and the cities they lived and worked in. See the sights through their eyes. Watch their masterpieces come to life.

Transport yourself back in time into the heart of Italy's great cities, with the country's best-loved artists as your tour guides. Meet Caravaggio navigating the mean streets of 17th-century Rome. Head to 18th-century Venice, where Canaletto paints supersized postcards for Grand Tourists, or to medieval Florence, where you'll find Giotto hard at work in the Bardi Chapel.

This beautiful, luxurious, and covetable book features 12 chapters, 21 artists, and 23 destinations, with itineraries that lead you through Italy's cultural hotspots to see their greatest works--whether up close and in person, or from the comfort of your armchair. Written by an art historian who also works as a travel writer for one of the UK's leading newspapers, the book has specially commissioned maps for each chapter, with charming hand-drawn vignettes that will immerse you in the historic worlds of the artists.

Forthcoming titles in the Art of Travel series: France, Japan, Spain, Britain, US

Imagine navigating the backstreets of seventeenth--century Rome in the dazzling but dangerous company of Caravaggio. Who will you meet as you drop in at the fabulous Villa Borghese--its owner, Cardinal Scipione Borghese, nephew of the pope, or Fillide Melandroni, well--known courtesan and occasional artist's model? Fast--forward to the eighteenth century, and explore the Venice of Canaletto, Casanova, and Carnevale.

With twelve chapters, each devoted to an artist or group of artists, and a dozen itineraries to choose from, you can immerse yourself in the world of the great and the not-so-good, wandering in and out of churches, palaces, and grand residences to admire their work "in situ"---all from the comfort of your armchair.

Each of the chapters begins with an illustrated map, featuring hand-drawn vignettes that bring to vivid life episodes from the artist's often turbulent existence, as well as key landmarks and local color. Set off on your own Grand Tour for the twenty--first century.