Research Catalog

Dreaming of Italy : Las Vegas and the virtual grand tour / text by Giovanna Franci, photographs by Federico Zignani ; afterword by José Gamez.

Title
Dreaming of Italy : Las Vegas and the virtual grand tour / text by Giovanna Franci, photographs by Federico Zignani ; afterword by José Gamez.
Author
Franci, Giovanna.
Publication
Reno : University of Nevada Press, c2005.

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Details

Additional Authors
Zignani, Federico
Description
157 p. : ill. (chiefly col.); 28 cm.
Summary
Giovanna Franci compares three Las Vegas Italian-themed resorts - Caesars Palace, Bellagio, and The Venetian - to their Italian counterparts: the ancient Forum in Rome, the breathtaking Lake Como resort town of Bellagio, and eternal Venice, jewel of the Adriatic. Franci not only examines architectural format and decorative details but considers how the mystique of these Italian sites has been transplanted to the Nevada desert. In the process, she addresses the compelling phenomena of modern mass tourism and post-modern travelers to whom the distinction between the "real" and the "fake" is often far less important than the appeal of a destination that allows a visitor to make a "virtual Grand Tour" within the confines of a single city. Federico Zignani's photographs bring to life the physical details and ambiance of both the Las Vegas resorts and their Italian inspirations.
Subject
  • Fantastic architecture
  • Architectural design > Nevada > Las Vegas
  • Resort architecture > Nevada > Las Vegas
  • Architectural design > Italy > History
  • Las Vegas (Nev.) > Buildings, structures, etc
  • Las Vegas (Nev.) > Description and travel
  • Italy > Description and travel
Genre/Form
History.
Note
  • "Translated by Debra Lyn Christie"--T.p. verso.
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references (p. 156-157).
Processing Action (note)
  • committed to retain
Contents
1. Introduction : Las Vegas and the postmodern grand tour -- 2. Las Vegas, from gambling mecca to postmodern icon -- 3. The grand tour in Italy revisited -- 4. Theoretical digressions : the beautiful, the ugly...the fake -- 5. Italian-Themed resorts : Caesars Palace, the bellagio, the Venetian : the copies and the originals -- Afterword / José Gamez.
ISBN
0874176107
OCLC
  • 60343364
  • SCSB-12520953
Owning Institutions
Harvard Library