15. The City's Unparalleled Economic Prosperity

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. CONTENTS v
3. Foreword xi
4. Acknowledgments xv
5. Introduction xvii
6. List of Classical Abbreviations xli
7. Map of Italy Circa 1490 xliii
8. City Plan of Late Quattrocento Florence xliv
9. Chronology of Fifteenth-Century Florence xlv
10. PART ONE: ORIGINS
11. 1. A Defense of the Roman Origins of Florence 1
12. 2. The Republican Legacy 12
13. 3. Inquiry into the Origins of Florence 18
14. 4. So Depraved a Man as Julius Caesar Should Not Be Deemed the Founder of Florence 25
15. 5. The Original Site of Florence Contrasted with its Present Splendor 29
16. 6. The Only City Founded by Three Roman Generals 32
17. PART TWO: HISTORY AND SOCIETY
18. 7. Panegyric of Florence 39
19. 8. The Structure of the Florentine Government 44
20. 9. The Beauties of the Florentine Countryside 55
21. 10. A Letter to Bartolommeo Cederni on Gambling at the Feast of St. John 61
22. 11. A New Rome 64
23. 12. A Critique of Cosimo's Florence 69
24. 13. A Merchant's Praise of Florence 72
25. 14. On the Celebrations for Pius II's and Galeazzo Maria Sforza's Visits to Florence 77
26. 15. The City's Unparalleled Economic Prosperity 83
27. 16. Lorenzo the Magnificent's Utopian State 88
28. 17. The Glories of a New Golden Age 92
29. 18. The Pazzi Conspiracy 96
30. 19. A Condemnation of Lorenzo s Regime 103
31. 20. The Entry of Charles VIII, King of France, into Florence 115
32. PART THREE: LITERATURE
33. 21. The Lives of Dante and Petrarch 125
34. 22. Lives of the Illustrious Florentine Poets Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio 139
35. 23. A Heavenly Vision After the Battle of Campaldino 160
36. 24. The First Anthology of Vernacular Poetry 169
37. 25. Proem to the First Edition of Dante's Divine Comedy 175
38. 26. Florence Welcomes Dante upon His Return from Exile 179
39. PART FOUR: ART
40. 27. Giotto's Revival of Ancient Art 185
41. 28. Giotto Brings Art out of the Dark Ages 188
42. 29. The Marvel of Brunelleschi's Dome for the Cathedral of Florence 192
43. 30. Brunelleschi and Donatello Discover Ancient Roman Treasures 195
44. 31. Eminent Florentine Artists of the Quattrocento 200
45. 32. An Account of the Great Local Artists 204
46. 33. The Beauty of Florence Surpasses that of Ancient Athens 207
47. 34. An Artistic Vade Mecum for the City of Florence 213
48. PART FIVE: RELIGION
49. 35. Tuscany as the Cradle of Christianity 229
50. 36. Vision of the Future of Italy 232
51. 37. A Prophecy of a New Age 236
52. 38. The Consecration of the Cathedral of Florence 238
53. 39. A History of Florentine Piety 241
54. 40. A Guide to Florence's Holy Sites 246
55. 41. A Treatise on the Florentine Government 252
56. 42. An Epistle to the Fanciulli 266
57. 43. Two Poems on Spiritual Renewal 271
58. 44. The Rise and Fall of the Self-Made Prophet Girolamo Savonarola 276
59. PART SIX: FLORENCE THROUGH FOREIGNERS EYES
60. 45. Métropolite Isidore's Journey to the Council of Florence 287
61. 46. The Heir to Roman Justice 292
62. 47. Bittersweet Praise of Florence 299
63. 48. A Celebration of Florentine Eloquence 306
64. 49. Praise of the City Before Its Authorities 309
65. 50. A Sketch of Florence and Its Domain 316
66. 51. The Delights of the Medici Villa in Careggi 322
67. Bibliography 325
68. Index 343