A Short History of Renaissance Italy

This book explores the cultural developments of the Italian Renaissance, a period of remarkable visual arts, literature, and philosophy that occurred against a turbulent backdrop of civic factionalism, foreign invasions, war, and pestilence. It covers the Fall of the Roman Empire in the West, the growth of Italian city-states, and the development of humanism, challenging political and religious certainties. The book examines the rich regional diversity of Renaissance cultural experience and considers the lives of men and women, their changing social attitudes and beliefs across three centuries. It is interdisciplinary in nature and includes literary excerpts, first-hand accounts, maps, and illustrations to bring the era to life.

Format: Unspecified
Length: 378 pages
Publication date: 30 November 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

From the dawn of the fourteenth century to the scientific discoveries of Galileo in the early seventeenth, this book delves into the cultural transformations of one of history's most remarkable and vibrant periods: the Italian Renaissance. What makes this era truly remarkable is that it emerged amidst a turbulent backdrop of civic factionalism, foreign invasions, war, and pestilence. The fifteen chapters of this book span a seamless journey from the Fall of the Roman Empire in the West to the growth of Italian city-states, where a new approach to learning known as humanism was forged amidst the crucible of pandemic disease and social unrest. Traversing the entire Italian Peninsula—from Florence to Rome, Milan, Venice, Naples, and Sicily—this book explores the rich regional diversity of Renaissance cultural experiences, while also considering the lives, social attitudes, and beliefs of men and women across three centuries. This second edition has been thoroughly updated, featuring dozens of color images, timelines, and links to the author's companion book of primary sources, Voices from the Italian Renaissance.

Interdisciplinary in nature, this book brings to life a diverse range of characters, including merchants, bankers, artists, saints, soldiers of fortune, poets, popes, and courtesans. With brief literary excerpts, first-hand accounts, maps, and illustrations that vividly depict the era, this text serves as an ideal resource for students enrolled in college survey courses, as well as for the interested general reader or traveler to Italy seeking to deepen their understanding of the extraordinary period.

Weight: 910g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032218687
Edition number: 2 ed