J H Plumb: 5 books

Spanning an age that witnessed great achievements in the arts and sciences, this definitive overview of the Italian Renaissance will both captivate ordinary readers and challenge specialists. J. H. Plumb's impressive and provocative narrative is accompanied by contributions from leading historians,...

Renaissance Venice lived by its ships. They brought riches, power, and security to a city more cosmopolitan than any other in Europe. Here, in this short-form book by noted historian Sir J. H. Plumb, is the story of Venice’s early years.

Of all the Italian cities, Florence was the cradle of the Renaissance. But Florentine life was brutal, not gentle. However wealthy and beautiful it appeared, economically and strategically, its position was always desperate. Despite its perils, the families and artists of Florence flourished. Here, from...

In the fifteenth century, Rome was reborn - not spiritually, for Renaissance popes were not men of the spirit, but physically, artistically, and politically. St. Peter's, the Vatican, the churches, the tombs, the squares, the palaces and gardens of Rome, which enchant the eye and delight the heart, encouraged...

Milan possessed great wealth, and in the Sforza and Visconti families, able rulers, who created a state equal in power to Florence and Venice. The story of Renaissance Milan, writes the eminent British historian Sir J. H. Plumb, is best reflected in the lives of its three greatest dukes: Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Francesco Sforza, and Ludovico Il Moro.