The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy: v. 2

Volume 2.  Swiss-born Jacob Burckhardt, with his "The Civilization of the Renaissance" in Italy, attempted to expand the discourse on the late medieval city-states that dominated the Italian peninsula.  This authoritative study by a distinguished scholar presents a brilliant panorama of Italian Renaissance life, explaining how and why the period constituted a cultural revolution. It traces the influences of classical antiquity on the age's thinkers and artists and chronicles the revival of humanism, the conflict between church and empire, and the rise of both the modern state and the modern individual.