The Renaissance in Italy: A History

by Kenneth R. Bartlett

The Italian Renaissance has come to occupy an almost mythical place in the popular imagination. The outsized reputations of the best-known figures from the period—Michelangelo, Niccolo Machiavelli, Lorenzo the Magnificent, Pope Julius II, Isabella d'Este, and so many others—engender a kind of wonder. How could so many geniuses or exceptional characters be produced by one small territory near the extreme south of Europe at a moment when much of the rest of the continent still labored under the restrictions of the Middle Ages? How did so many of the driving principles behind Western civilization emerge during this period—and how were they defined and developed? And why is it that geniuses such as Leonardo, Raphael, Petrarch, Brunelleschi, Bramante, and Palladio all sustain their towering authority to this day?   To answer these questions, Kenneth Bartlett delves into the lives and works of the artists, patrons, and intellectuals—the privileged, educated, influential elites—who created a rarefied world of power, money, and sophisticated talent in which individual curiosity and skill were prized above all else. The result is a dynamic, highly readable, copiously illustrated history of the Renaissance in Italy—and of the artists that gave birth to some of the most enduring ideas and artifacts of Western civilization.

Genres: History, Renaissance, Italy, Nonfiction, Art, European History

414 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 15, 2019

About the author

Kenneth Bartlett is a professor of History & Renaissance Studies at the University of Toronto. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto, where he served as the editor of Renaissance and Reformation/Renaissance et Reforme and president of the Canadian Society for Renaissance Studies. He has received multiple teaching awards and was appointed the first director of the Officer of Teaching Advancement for the University of Toronto. Professor Bartlett has written three books, including Humanism and the Northern Renaissance.

Reviews

[Castles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book describing the Renaissance through mainly the cities, princes, dukes, families and people of the time.
It was fascinating to read about places of the renaissance other than Florence and Rome, and to deepen my learnings on the subject.

The language is updated and easy and there are a lot of interesting anecdotes, making the reading sometimes, like the author say, follow a plot similar to “game of thrones”.

While art is not the main issue of this book, it is of course threaded through all the events described, and each chapter ends with several works of art, visually expanding the knowledge of the chapter.

[Guclu · Rating 5 out of 5]

It has drastically improved my understanding on Renaissance period in Italy. I am planning to read it over given the richness of the book. I also loved the narrative and explanations on power politics.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Each chapter shows many paintings, architecture etc. which are key to the topics discussed. Goes through the core states of the Renaissance - Beginning with Florence where it began, and ending in the Papal States where it ended (Italian Wars, Protestant Reformation, etc). Lots of writing and commentary on the images shown too, and because it's all Renaissance it's all incredibly beautiful. The written history here is solid - taught well, you feel a personalised description of most of the key players. I'd say the popes were a bit skimmed over, but given the sheer quantity of them it's fine, I mean nearly a third of the book is about the Papacy to be fair. I suppose I would have wanted more raw history, but it gives a fair bit of that regardless. Not just events in a textbook, but also the cultural developments and lives of key Renaissance figures. Anyway, I really enjoyed this long and thorough read (font is quite small, it's packed full of information for ~400 pages). It's an 8/10 for me.

[Jesse Castellana · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting topic, but I would have preferred something more history focused, whereas this book was more about art. The organization was also a bit strange. Each city has its own section, with a run-through of each ruler's history and then a list of their patronage of art and learning.

[David Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book covers much of Renaissance Italy, not just Florence. It shows how the Renaissance took hold in Venice, Rome, Milan and never really existed in Naples. It was interesting how even under tyrannical Dukes and Popes the art and humanism of the Renaissance still flowered. If you don't already know some of the names of the people of the Renaissance, it might be a little too much to follow, but great stories none the less.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has such a wide breadth of information, organized in a very logical and easy to follow way. I enjoyed the shifting focus from city to city, rather than a broad chronological overview. I ws also very pleased to get into some of the smaller locations you don't often read about, like Ferrera and Urbino. It was also interesting to read about places like Naples, earlier Venice and occasionally Rome where the renaissance wasn't as prevalent as a wider lens view of it would imply.
The writing is engaging, and filled with information without feeling heavy. Overall, it is a great first step into the world of renaissance Italy, and should open your curiosity to further exploration.