The Beauty and the Terror: The Italian Renaissance and the Rise of the WestA new account of the birth of the West through its birthplace--Renaissance Italy The period between 1492--resonant for a number of reasons--and 1571, when the Ottoman navy was defeated in the Battle of Lepanto, embraces what we know as the Renaissance, one of the most dynamic and creatively explosive epochs in world history. Here is the period that gave rise to so many great artists and figures, and which by its connection to its classical heritage enabled a redefinition, even reinvention, of human potential. It was a moment both of violent struggle and great achievement, of Michelangelo and da Vinci as well as the Borgias and Machiavelli. At the hub of this cultural and intellectual ferment was Italy. The Beauty and the Terror offers a vibrant history of Renaissance Italy and its crucial role in the emergence of the Western world. Drawing on a rich range of sources--letters, interrogation records, maps, artworks, and inventories--Catherine Fletcher explores both the explosion of artistic expression and years of bloody conflict between Spain and France, between Catholic and Protestant, between Christian and Muslim; in doing so, she presents a new way of witnessing the birth of the West. |
Contents
1492 | 1 |
1 The Fifteenth Century | 15 |
2 Beyond the Alps | 29 |
The French Descent | 39 |
4 The Borgias vs Savonarola | 55 |
5 The Art of War | 69 |
6 Soldiers and Society | 79 |
7 Wars for the New World | 91 |
8 Popes Princes and Republics | 107 |
9 The Runup to the Reformation | 125 |
10 The League of Cambrai | 137 |
11 Women and Power | 149 |
12 The Ghetto and the Politics of Venice | 159 |
13 The Battle for the Church | 173 |
14 The High Renaissance | 185 |
Common terms and phrases
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