This is the first English-language translation of the description of 15th-century Dubrovnik by the humanist Philippus de Diversis. The text provides a unique account of all aspects of urban life; it is unusual in that it includes themes which were not usually found in city praises, such as the plague control measures and the functioning of public offices.
Diversis’ aim was to describe “the honour and the reputation of the city of Dubrovnik, which through his endeavour was to last forever”. His work is documentary, literary, and personal, and as this edition testifies, it is still read and admired six centuries later.