Italy Illuminated, Volume 1, Books I-IV (I Tatti Renaissance Library) »

Jeffrey A. White is Associate Professor of Classical Languages at St. Bonaventure University.

Biondo Flavio (1392-1463), humanist and historian, was a pioneering figure in the Renaissance recovery of classical antiquity. While serving a number of the Renaissance popes, he inaugurated an extraordinary program of research into the history, institutions, cultural life, and physical remains of the ancient Roman empire. The Italia Illustrata (1453), which appears here for the first time in English, is a topographical work describing Italy region by region. Its aim is to explore the Roman roots of the Renaissance world. As such, it is the quintessential work of Renaissance antiquarianism. This is the first edition of the Latin text since 1559.

Anthony T. Grafton - New York Review of Books

An informative and immensely readable book.

Introduction

Preface

Book I

1. Liguria

2. Tuscany

Book II

3. Lazio

Book III

4. Umbria

5. Piceno

Book IV

6. Romagna

Note on the Text

Notes to the Text

Notes to the Translation

Bibliography

Index