Using unknown and little-studied sources, Elizabeth McCahill argues that Rome in the first half of the fifteenth century represented a site of intense study, contemporary cultural fascination, and, above all, interpretation. She offers readers access to worlds often hidden, from backstairs intrigue at the papal court to the desks of solitary scholars. This book is a fine example of socially-informed ... Read moreintellectual history, written with exemplary clarity and incisive intelligence.
Christopher Celenza, Johns Hopkins University Meticulous and riveting, Reviving the Eternal City offers a multifaceted history of the Roman Curia under Martin V and Eugenius IV. Through incisive readings of sources as diverse as a vintner's diary, the letters of established (and struggling) humanists, papal bulls and Filarete's bronze doors, McCahill proves that Rome's renewal began long before the first 'Renaissance' pope donned the tiara.
Sarah Ross, Boston College In this masterful, original, and fluidly-written study of the intellectual and cultural milieu of the early Roman Renaissance, Elizabeth McCahill provides a rich and nuanced context for some of the most important humanist and artistic projects of the age. Readers of this book cannot help but come away with a richer and deeper appreciation of this foundational but surprisingly neglected era in early modern history.
Brian Curran, Pennsylvania State University Show Less