One of the most brilliant and original authors and architects of the entire Renaissance, Leon Battista Alberti's output encompassed engineering, surveying, cryptography, poetry, …
A critical biography of René Descartes, whose first principle (“I think therefore I am.”) reshaped modern philosophy. Often called ‘the father of modern philosophy’, René …
'Machiavellian' can signify duplicity and amorality in politics, but Machiavelli himself is far more complex than this cliche. A high-ranking Florentine government official and …
The Bolognese naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi was a prolific writer, polymath and prodigious collector who amassed the largest collection of naturalia in sixteenth-century Europe, as …
Aldus Manutius is perhaps the greatest figure in the history of the printed book: in Venice, Europe's capital of printing, he invented the italic type and issued more first …
Painter, poet and actor Salvator Rosa was one of the most engaging and charismatic personalities of seventeenth-century Italy. Although a gifted landscape painter, he longed to be …
