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The Italian Renaissance

Written by: Kenneth R. Bartlett, The Great Courses
Narrated by: Kenneth R. Bartlett
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Publisher's Summary

The effects of the Italian Renaissance are still with us today, from the incomparable paintings of Leonardo da Vinci to the immortal writings of Petrarch and Machiavelli. But why was there such an artistic, cultural, and intellectual explosion in Italy at the start of the 14th century? Why did it occur in Italy? And why in certain Italian city-states such as Florence?

Professor Bartlett probes these questions and more in 36 dynamic lectures. This is your opportunity to appreciate the results of the Italian Renaissance and gain an understanding of the underlying social, political, and economic forces that made such exceptional art and culture possible. At the heart of Renaissance Italy were the city-states, home to the money, intellect, and talent needed for the growth of Renaissance culture. You'll look at the Republic of Florence, as well as other city-states that, thanks to geographical and historical circumstances, had much different political and social structures. This course contains a wealth of details that will give you a feel and appreciation for the Italian Renaissance - its contributions to history, the ways it was similar and dissimilar to our times, and how the people of the time, both famous and ordinary, experienced it. You'll come away surprised by how much of our modern life was made possible by the Renaissance. Our concept of participatory government, our belief in the value of competition, our philosophy of the content and purpose of education, even our notions of love all have roots in the Renaissance period. Its loftiest ideals - the importance of the individual, the value of human dignity and potential, and the promotion of freedom - are ones we embrace as our own.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2005 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2005 The Great Courses

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Great insights

I enjoy listening to Kenneth Bartlett’s lectures, particularly this series on the Italian renaissance. There is so much depth here, and he manages to put it all in sequence. Lots of helpful context. Highly recommended.

I also recommend Bartlett’s The Italians before Italy: Conflict and Competition in the Mediterranean - I listened to both, and together they filled in a lot of Italian history for me.

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chronology is hard to track

its hard to pin down when the events happened. i wish it was more clear.

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  • JC
  • 2020-12-07

Engaging and relevant!

Loved this lecture series, perhaps the best I’ve listened to this far. Professor Bartlett is engaging, and his passion for the subject matter is evident the whole way through.

This course made me think a tonne about the state of the world today. It made the connections as to how we can trace so much of Western values and culture back to the Italian Renaissance.

Finally, writing this in the pandemic - it catapulted Italy to the very top of my wanderlust list. Looking forward to being able to visit places such as Milan, Florence, and Urbino armed with these new perspectives.

Cheers!

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Incredible survey of an incredible time and place

There existed a gap in my nationalized education growing up, from kindergarten to university, and it was rather large gaps of world history overall. This was my first near-academic introduction to the Renaissance in general, to the Italian Renaissance, and even to the events of the Papacy and evolution of Christianity as a religion.

so I'm very grateful to have listened to this, and I will be re-listening and looking to further reading of this time period in Europe and globally.

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Well done

A very well done series of lectures and extremely informative. Thank you to Professor Bartlett and The Great Courses.

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