Cicerone

Cicerone is an old term for a guide who conducts visitors and sightseers to museums, galleries, etc., and explains matters of archaeological, antiquarian, historic or artistic interest. The word is presumably taken from Marcus Tullius Cicero, as a type of learning and eloquence. The Oxford English Dictionary finds recorded examples of the use earlier in English than Italian, the earliest quotation being from Joseph Addison's Dialogue on Medals. It appears that the word was first applied to learned antiquarians who showed and explained to foreigners the antiquities and curiosities of the country.

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