The Renaissance Courts: Society, Civil and Intellectual Life, Culture, Literature and Philosophy

This course seeks to deepen our knowledge of the history, material life and civil culture in the main courts of the Italian Renaissance (16th C.). In addition to literary (Machiavelli, Ariosto, Michelangelo, Guicciardini, Tasso) and philosophical (Renaissance, anti-Renaissance, idealism, anti-idealism) production at these courts, this course will explore the role of intellectuals and the conditions of civil life experienced by different social classes. Therefore it proposes to examine the Renaissance from a complex vantage point in order to shed light on its multiple manifestations – from artistic breakthroughs to the realities of social unrest, which might be described as anthropological in nature.

Required Text: G. Tellini, Letteratura italiana. Un metodo di studio, Firenze, Le Monnier Università, 2014 (II ed.). ISBN 978 88 00 745048. Additional reading materials will be provided by the instructor.