Art allows us to travel through time and space and has always embodied the spirit of a civilization. For this reason, following the ideas of Aby Warburg, it is destined to become anthropology. It is therefore possible to map out a geography—or rather, multiple geographies—of art, with the aim of understanding why certain places have, over time, called for being viewed in a particular way. Diachrony and synchrony: the chronological narrative of this book is punctuated by geographical detours, featuring both world-famous and lesser-known places and figures in Italian art. The first stop is Rome, the eternal city of order—first pagan, then Christian; the second is Tuscany, immortalized by Piero della Francesca’s perspective. In Venice, we witness an explosion of color in the paintings of Giovanni Bellini, Giorgione, and Titian. In Lombardy, we attend the “school of truth,” while in Bologna and Emilia, we perceive the density and gravity of forms. In central Italy, flying over the Marche and Umbria, tenderness and perfection intertwine. Proceeding southward, we arrive at the beating heart of the Mediterranean, divided between Naples and Palermo. A destination but also a point of escape between East and West is the city of Ravenna, the author’s birthplace. A journey through the spirit of the Peninsula’s places, guided by one of the greatest art narrators of our time—here in the role of a cartographer—in search of the deepest essence of who we are.