Customer Reviews

Renaissance Discovery of Classical Antiquity

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This is a book for professional historians, especially Renaissance scholars, and not for a general audience. Whole passages in Latin, Italian, and Greek are left untranslated for the reader, and unless you have some knowledge of Italian humanist culture, the references may be baffling. Nonetheless, scholars will find this an enjoyable and incredibly erudite little study. Weiss focuses on the Renaissance fascination with the physical remains of the ancient world (marbles, ruins, coins, inscriptions, etc.) and traces its course from the earliest humanists to the late Renaissance. Despite the esoteric topic, Weiss' writing is informal, and sometimes even humorous, and demonstrates a real passion for Italy and its ancient remains.