This is a highly personal guide to the beauties of Italy. Henry James writes about his travels through Tuscany at the turn of the century, to cities such as Venice, Florence, Ravenna and Sienna, considering and reappraising their architectural and cultural histories. The account also contains amusing observations on customs and some commentary on painting and sculpture. Even ghosts, mysteries and remote realities play their part in some of the later essays. Henry James is the author of The Bostonians, The Europeans, and the travel essays Transatlantic Sketches, Portraits of Places, English Hours, The Art of Travel and The American Scene.