Choice magazine has just published its list of outstanding academic titles from 2009, and we’re delighted that one of the titles on the list is Eamonn Canniffe’s book The Politics of the Piazza: The History and Meaning of the Italian Square. We think this recognition is very well deserved!
As well as the award from Choice, the book has received many good reviews. Here’s a selection…
Eamonn Caniffe’s book is very important. It describes the spatial, political, and historical characteristics of Italy’s heterogeneous public spaces…for any architect in search of inspiration it is tempting to see this as the most relevant book on Italian urban space since Camillo Sitte wrote ‘City Planning According to Artistic Principles’ in 1889
Architecture Today…The book is thoroughly researched, appropriately referenced, precisely written, highly reliable, and genuinely insightful…fills an important gap in the study of the history of cities and is a welcome addition to the literature on urban space. It should be of great interest to a broad audience, including students, tourists, scholars in various disciplines, and professional urban designers, and a welcome addition to many libraries…Highly recommended.
Choice[I] recommend the book to a variety of readers. Not only to those who are interested in the Classical examples of Italian square…but also to those who are looking for information on recent developments in the public spaces of Italy… Caniffe has provided a well-structured and well-partitioned book on the politics of the piazza.
Bulletin of Italian Politics…The Politics of the Piazza is an important publication that provides a coherent, comprehensive, and fascinating account of the evolution of the public square through the complicated political, social, and religious life of the Italian peninsula and the islands, spanning more than two-thousand years. In the process Eamonn Canniffe deftly intertwines expertise in the critical analysis of architectural forms and their relationship to the spaces they occupy, with knowledge of momentous historical events that have come to define the nation.
The Politics of the Piazza makes an important contribution to our understanding of the changing political landscapes that have influenced public space in Italy. The study succeeds in both being a chronological survey, demonstrating a breadth of knowledge of critical developments from ancient Rome to the present, and a series of insightful case-studies.
Nicholas Temple, University of Lincoln, UK
As well as being the author of The Politics of the Piazza, Eamonn Canniffe is the editor for the new Ashgate Studies in Architecture series.
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