Excerpt from Italian Castles and Country Seats There have been many book on Italy; many books there are about Italian villas, but the rare good fortune has been given to me, not only to see many of the most beautiful villas of Italy, but to be lavishly and comfortably entertained by their hospitable owners whom I am happy to be able to call my friends. My preparations for this present book have been a round of joyous happenings, and if my opinions of Italy and the Italians are enthusiastic, it is because I must write of a country as I see it, and of a people as I find them. Nor am I forced to write from even an outsider's view-point, for my hosts have not only given me freely of their hospitality, but of their friendship and confidence, allowing me to tell my friends and readers what I wish of a life they have generously allowed me to share in their beautiful country. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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