Excerpt from The Builders of Florence It has been said already that this book has no pretension to completeness, and a glance at the table of contents will show that from among the many important and monumental buildings of Florence few indeed - only twelve - have been Chosen for treatment here. Be it so, the critic will say, but if few, yet why these few? Why go afield to Settimo and neglect the Badia of Florence? Why speak of Santa Maria Novella and find no word for Santa Croce? The reader, who sees his favourite Church or palace thus passed by, is asked to believe at least that an underlying reason and no mere caprice has dictated the Choice of which he com plains. History and architecture, let him remember, are the twin determinants here, and that not separately but together, inwoven in this book as they surely are in fact and in life. But so, it will be understood how Choice has been at once limited and directed, fixed on certain buildings as possessing both architectural and historic interest, and such as lend themselves readily as illustra tions of the City's life, whether commercial, ideal, or political. And, even in Florence, such buildings are not innumerable. His purpose thus cleared and defined, with some of the con sequences to which it has led in the minor yet important matters of selection and arrangement, the author, as he commits his work to the press, takes this welcome occasion to thank all those private and public persons and authorities whose kind help has assisted and encouraged its appearance. 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.