Florence, Rome and the origins of the Renaissance

This study sets out to place the remarkable cultural events of the early Renaissance in a full historical perspective. Dealing with both literary and visual art, it describes the world of Dante and Giotto and explains the circumstances in which their innovations became possible. The political, economical, cultural, and religious life of Tuscany between 1260 and 1320 is explored, and the importance of the relationship with the papal court emphasized. Papal patronage encouraged classical influence on the visual arts; but the Papacy also played a leading role in the political and economic life of the 'Guelf League', in which it was linked with Florence, Siena, Naples, and France. Papal intervention in Florence in 1301, leading to Dante's exile, and the Papacy's removal to France in 1305, created new conditions in which the masterpieces of Dante and Giotto were created. This is the first paperback edition of Florence, Rome and the Origins of the Renaissance, which was published in hardback in 1986.

• Part 1 Tuscany and the High Medieval papacy: Guelf ascendancy, 1265-1277
• the supremacy of Florence, 1277-1294
• religion - the model of Francis of Assisi
• lay thought at Florence
• the beginning of Dante's poetic revolution
• classical influence in the visual arts
• the focus of the investigation. Part 2 The age of the papal withdrawal: the papal revolution, 1294-1305
• Tuscany without the Pope, 1305-1316
• realistic visual narrative
• Dante in exile and the poetic vision. Index

(The author) has succeeded in presenting a deeply-considered and most learned portrait of a great era in European civilization.'___ The Times Higher Education Supplement .