Modern Florence

Shakespeare found Florence an attractive reference in four of his plays: The Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado, All's Well, and Othello. The characters of the Florentines in these plays are somewhat similar: Lucentio, Claudio, Diana, and Cassio are all young, virtuous, intelligent, but easily misled, in marked contrast to Spanish adversaries such as Don John and Iago - not to mention the Spanish- Italian Cesare Borgia (next). Image: UCB Shakespeare Program Collection, photographer Velma Bourgeois Richmond.