The beauty and the terror : the Italian renaissance and the rise of the west

Fletcher, Catherine 1975- (author.).

Summary: "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."--Provided by published.

Record details

ISBN: 9780190908492 (hardcover)
Physical Description: 419 pages : illustrations (chiefly color), map ; 25 cm
print
Publisher: New York : Oxford University Press, [2020]
Copyright: ©2020

Content descriptions

General Note:	"First published in the UK by The Bodley Head in 2020"--Title page verso.
Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references and index.
Formatted Contents Note:	Introduction : 1492 -- The fifteenth century -- Beyond the Alps -- 1494: The French descent -- The Borgias vs Savonarola -- The art of war -- Soldiers and society -- Wars for the New World -- Popes, princes and republics -- The run-up to the Reformation -- The League of Cambrai -- Women and power -- The ghetto and the politics of Venice -- The battle for the Church -- The High Renaissance -- From Pavia to Mohács -- Wars of Words -- The invention of pornography -- The sack of Rome -- Courtiers and the art of power in Italy and beyond -- The empire at war -- Weapons of war -- The Council of Trent -- Art, science and reform -- The peace of Cateau-Cambrésis -- The index and the Inquisition -- The Battle of Lepanto -- Epilogue : From hard power to soft.