Lisa Kaborycha, A Short History of Renaissance Italy, Second Edition, Routledge, 2023
“This book is an exemplary narrative and analysis of a major chapter in the history of Western civilization.” —Gene A. Brucker, Author of Renaissance Florence
SECOND EDITION NOW AVAILABLE FROM ROUTLEDGE
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The fifteen chapters move briskly from the Fall of the Roman Empire in the West through the growth of the Italian city-states, where, in the crucible of pandemic disease and social unrest, a new approach to learning known as humanism was forged, political and religious certainties challenged. Traversing the entire Italian Peninsula— Florence, Rome, Milan, Venice, Naples, and Sicily— this book examines the rich regional diversity of Renaissance cultural experience and considers men’s and women’s lives, their changing social attitudes and beliefs across three centuries. This second edition has been updated throughout; it now contains dozens of color images and timelines, as well as links to the author’s new companion book of primary sources, Voices from the Italian Renaissance.
A sampling of readers’ comments on the first edition from Amazon:
“This is a textbook by genre only. It is in reality a marvelous introduction to Renaissance Italy, as suitable for the general reader as for the captive readership in a college class.”
“Kaborycha does a huge service in breaking down conventional disciplinary boundaries and treating the period as an fascinating tapestry of history, politics, art, music, religion, and literature.”
“A beautifully written account and a probing analysis of the entire Renaissance.”
“As an art historian, I find Dr. Kaborycha’s book comprehensive, succinct, and witty…Thumbs up for the author and her vision for a job well done.”
“There is no shortage of books on Venice, Florence, the Medicis, the Sforzas and any number of other specific Italian subjects. But I was searching for an overview of the Italian Renaissance and, to my surprise, found it hard to find a single volume that provided it. Dr Kaborycha’s survey of Renaissance Italy is exactly what I was looking for…she has provided a clear, well-written picture of this fascinating and complex period in only 300 pages.”
“When a copy of this text arrived unsolicited from the publisher, it nearly met the fate of most other such books unrelated to my historical specialties. Nevertheless, flipping through the volume revealed an enthusiasm and writing style that encouraged further investigation.”