The lost historic centre

Anyone becoming familiar with the history of Florence can't help but read about the loss of the old historic centre, comprising the Old Market and the Old Ghetto, in the late 19th century - it's one of the big events in the city's history and, along with WWII and the flood, one of the few such events in recent centuries. I've read about it often, but until recently it was just the sad fact that explained the boring modernity of the Piazza della Repubblica. Now with the acquisition of two books, both in Italian, I'm beginning to appreciate just what was lost, and how big an area was levelled - the four corners of the area roughly being the Duomo, the Piazza della Signoria, Palazzo Strozzi and Santa Maria Maggiore.

Com'era Firenze
Cento anni fa
by Piero Bargellini
€12.90

The first book, picked up for  in a bookshop in Florence, is a collection of photos of old Florence, with a few photos of the lost centre to whet one's appetite for...

Firenze 1892-1895
Immagini dell'antico centro scomparso
by Maria Sframeli
€42.00

Which I found in the London Library and just had to own - you can get it for €35.70 from Amazon.it. It's full of fine and heartbreaking photographs of what was lost, and includes a map showing where each photograph was taken. The excuse of slum-clearance was used, as ever, and there may be some truth in this. But leaving aside such unromantic considerations for a minute, let's wallow.