The Florentine Renaissance

Florence in the 15th century was the undisputed centre of the Italian Renaissance - one of four exemplary ages in human history, according to Voltaire. What we have been derives largely from Jerusalem, Athens, Rome - and it was in Florence that these inheritances were blended to make us what we are now. Our Christianity, our learning, our literature and art, our civic liberties and even our conception of what constitutes a gentleman, are all the result of ancient thought and practice re-moulded by Florentine mind and deed which influenced science, medicine, geography and cartography as well as the visual arts. This is a guide to every aspect of the Italian Renaissance.