Christopher Wren was a reluctant traveler. In 1661 he declined the offer of a position in Tangier to fortify the British garrison there, and his only well-documented journey outside Britain was his visit to Paris in 1665–66, when he famously met Gian Lorenzo Bernini.1 Nonetheless, his buildings are replete with French and Italian references, which have been carefully identified in classic monographs such as those by John Summerson, Kerry Downes, and Margaret Whinney.2 Indeed, in Restoration London, French influence permeated all aspects of cultural life, and Rome provided the touchstone for a new identity for the Anglican Church as a rival to Catholicism. Yet cultural horizons extended beyond Europe. During the same period, Londoners were gathering in Ottoman-inspired coffee bars to exchange news and ideas, and in 1679 the first Turkish bathhouse, known as the Royal Bagnio, opened in Newgate Street. London was a melting pot of new...

You do not currently have access to this content.