Book Synopsis Even before the advent of mass tourism, Verona was a popular destination for travellers, including those undertaking the popular Grand Tour across Europe. In this book, Caroline Webb compares the experiences of travellers from the era of Shakespeare to the years following the incorporation of the Veneto into the new kingdom of Italy in 1866. She considers their reasons for visiting Verona as well as their experiences and expectations once they arrived. The majority of English visitors between 1670 and 1760 were young members of the aristocracy, accompanied by tutors, who arrived on their way to or from Rome, as part of a Grand Tour intended to finish their classical education. With the Industrial Revolution in the second half of the eighteenth century, and the resultant increasing wealth of the upper middle classes, the number of visitors to Verona increased although this tourism was derailed once Napoleon invaded Italy in the late 1790s. After 1815 and the allied victory at Waterloo there was a new flood of visitors, previously deprived of the opportunity of continental travel during the Napoleonic wars. As the nineteenth century progressed, especially with the arrival of the railway, an increasing number of visitors appeared from across Europe and even from across the Atlantic, keen to explore the fabled city of Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet. In comparing a myriad of varied accounts, this book provides an unrivalled perspective on the history of one of Italys most seductive cities. Review Quotes From more than 400 books and manuscripts, Caroline Webb has selected impressions of Verona [...]. The overall effect is entertaining, and Visitors to Verona is also an informative guide to the city and to many aspects of Italian history. Linday Duguid, Times Literary Supplement, 2017 This book is a delight to read and provides a charming and fresh picture of Veronas daily life in past centuries. The author combines facts and travellers accounts with masterly skill in a cohesive and lively framework. Giandemetrio Marangoni, Professor, University of Verona, Italy Visitors to Verona brings together a fascinating collection of writings, offering all kinds of insights into the national characters of both the Italians and the British, how they changed over centuries of travel and tourism and how each reacted to the other, whether with prejudice and admiration, or both. Its an intriguing slice of history and rich food for thought. Tim Parks, Author of Italian Neighbours and A Season with Verona About the Author Caroline Webb graduated in History from the University of London and read Italian and Art History in Cambridge and Verona. She has worked as a historical researcher and teacher and is co-author of The Earl and His Butler in Constantinople: The Secret Diary of an English Servant among the Ottomans (I.B.Tauris, 2008).