GREAT CITIES AND THE SPIRIT OF PLACE VOLUME 1 SIENA

In this series of books, Geoffrey Baker adds a new dimension to travel writing by looking below the surface of those places we find magical. We love to visit Venice, Rome, Paris, Siena and New Orleans, to mention a few well known destinations. Why are they so special? Baker argues it’s because they have their own distinct atmosphere, their own unique identity and because they evolved in ways so different to what we are used to in modernity. This is why we find escaping to them transports us to a more satisfying world.

In this first of the series, Baker looks at how the origins of Siena; how the city developed during years of great artistic sensitivity, and how its citizens, understanding its unique spirit of place, have striven to protect and preserve this and to retain its magic. Those who live in great cities, over the centuries have recognized and understood this spirit of place, or genius loci. They are in tune with this underlying spirit and work ceaselessly to protect and preserve it. They do it by reinforcing its special qualities whereas today we seem hell bent on eroding and destroying a beauty that we can no longer create and that modern man often fails to recognize or understand.

The twentieth century’s strength in technological advance has a flip side in that not only do we have difficulty retaining the traditional beauty of cities, but the forces of modernity may conspire to invite decline. Baker explains the reasons for this and identifies the chief culprits. He argues that our cities are as precious as any of the great works of the past by masters such as Beethoven, Leonardo or Michelangelo. Indeed, being composed by so many, over time, their magnificence exceed works by these great individuals.

Losing our cities is comparable with the loss of our forests, the encroachment on animal preserves and the rape of our planet. If we continue to pursue our path of selfish ignorance, we will surely lose our cities as well.