The Italian Renaissance by Hay, Denis - 1961: in its Historical Background

Professor Hay provides a clear picture of what the Renaissance was, what it mean and how it spread. His approach is historical, and he shows the Rennaissance as a growing and changing series of attitudes and ideas, rooted firmly in the general history of the period, and not as a static and isolated phenomenon.

There is no other book in English, except the translation of Burckhardt, which embraces the political history as well as the history of art and ideas. The book will appeal to the general reader as well as to students of history and art.