The Italian society which gave birth to so many glories of Renaissance art was one of violent extremes and contradictions.
On the one hand it produced the tender work of Giotto and the brilliance of Leonardo; on the other, it encompassed the atrocities of the Borgias, the fanaticism of Savonarola and the cynicism of Machiavelli. Civil disorder, political machination, religious discord and deep-seated corruption provided a setting in which genius flowered and where virtuosity, originality and explosive energy shone through in politics, in art, in thought - and even in murder.
In this vivid survey, the entire sweep of Renaissance achievement is brilliantly portrayed and analysed by Professor Plumb, assisted by a distinguished team of historians - including Kenneth Clark, Hugh Trevor-Roper and Garrett Mattingly - and by over sixty illustrations of contemporary masterpieces.
