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Italy in the Seicento retained her prestige as the country most advanced in the arts of civilization. She was still, with France, and prior to the formation of the Royal Society, in the van of scientific research. The Academy of St. Luke in Rome was the greatest art school in the world. Scientists like Galileo, historians like Paolo Sarpi, added new lustre to her name. Venice, 'the eldest child of liberty' was still glorious and powerful. Thus it was that English students flocked in numbers to Padua and that travellers regarded a sojourn in Italy as the highlight of their experience.

First published in 1964, The Paradise of Travellers devotes particular attention to travel books. Not only the records of such celebrated tourists as Fynes Moryson and John Evelyn, but those of many others, equally interesting, are examined. It is shown that, as the century advanced, Englishmen were entertained and even welcomed in Rome by learned ecclesiastics and eminent Cardinals. The Protestant and Catholic worlds were learning the need, and even the charm, of co-existence.