Cinema and the City: Florence

Danielle Cohen Prof. Monica Francioso Cinema and the City Reflection Paper #1: “Tea with Mussolini” and The Grand Tour The Grand Tour was a journey originally intended for mainly upper class British men as a rite of passage to adulthood during the late-seventeenth century to the mid-nineteenth century. Soon to be joined by Americans tourists and women, the exploratory expedition ventured to Venice, Rome and Florence in order to educate individuals in various concentrations including economics, anthropology, religion, sociology, geography, art history, etc. However, it is imperative to note that these British and American people only traveled to these places for the Italian past, not present. It was widely believed that the current Italian people were dirty, uneducated and overall uncivilized; British and American folk saw them as symbols of looseness and immorality, especially in regards to their temptation of romance and sex. As a result, the groups that embarked on these gra...