Little Work on the Wonders of the New and Old City of Rome

...the Capitol and other buildings and its wonders. In the third and final book I shall conclude, in which I will write about the palaces of the Popes, the residences of the Cardinals, and other buildings of the New City The "New City" refers to Renaissance Rome, the contemporary city as developed and rebuilt by the Popes, as opposed to the ancient ruins of the "Old City.". I will do this with as much brevity as I can, weaving in several things concerning the beautiful sights of the city of Florence Albertini was a Florentine priest and scholar; here he defends including his home city in a treatise about Rome. as the opportunity arises from my subject. I do this lest I be reproached by my own fatherland for the vice of ingratitude, especially since the Florentines themselves were called "Romans" for a long time at the beginning of that city’s history.

Nevertheless, may Your Holiness forgive me for this: that I have written in a simple and lowly style original: "stilo infimo." In Renaissance rhetoric, writers categorized style into "low" (instructional), "middle," and "high" (grand oratory). Albertini uses a "modesty topos"—a common literary device where an author humbles their own skill to show respect to their patron., rather than in a moderate or high style as would be fitting. For I am a debtor to both the learned and the unlearned; I pray that all of them, in the spirit of charity, may correct any errors they find, and that they may pray to immortal God on my behalf.