Entertaining and informative this definitive overview of the Italian Renaissance will both captivate ordinary readers and challenge specialists Dr. Plumb s impressive and provocative narrative is accompanied by contributions from leading historians including Morris Bishop J. Bronowski Maria Bellonci and many more who have further illuminated the lives of some of the era s most unforgettable personalities from Petrarch to Pope Pius II Michelangelo to Isabella d Este Machiavelli to Leonardo. Spanning an age that witnessed great achievements in the arts and sciences The Italian Rennaisance is a perfect introduction to the movement that shaped the Western world.