The Civilisation of the Renaissance in Italy

Italian rulers, scholars and households share the stage in Jacob Burckhardt's study of Renaissance culture. In S. G. C. Middlemore's English translation, the book connects political power with changing ideas about individual achievement, fame and education. Its contents range from the rival governments of Venice and Florence to the recovery of ancient writings, the growth of libraries and the work of humanist teachers. These subjects place literature and learning within the social conditions that supported them.

Domestic life gives this broad history a more intimate scale. Burckhardt discusses the education of children and household members, then turns to country villas, where farming, hospitality and intellectual pursuits meet. Descriptions of estates near Florence show how wealth shaped both the landscape and the pleasures of rural society. Readers interested in the relationships between government, scholarship and everyday habits will find a cultural history built around those connections.