Thirteen of the most important critical essays on the Italian Renaissance are brought together in this volume.

• Brings together critical essays on the Italian Renaissance.
• Provides an ideal starting point for non-specialists studying this period.
• Includes new research as well as classic interpretations.
• Editorial apparatus helps students to engage with the material.

Paula Findlen is Professor of Italian History at Stanford University. She has been the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Nelson Prize from the Renaissance Society of America. Her previous publications include Possessing Nature: Museums, Collecting, and Scientific Culture in Early Modern Italy (1994), for which she was awarded the 1995 Marraro Prize and the 1996 Pfizer Prize; Merchants and Marvels (2001) with Pamela Smith; and Beyond Florence (2003) with Michelle Fontaine and Duane Osheim. Her most recent book, A Fragmentary Past: The Making of Museums and the Making of the Renaissance, will appear shortly.