The Italian Renaissance culminated between the years 1494 and 1530. The figures examined in this classic volume illustrate four key figures representing the moral life of the period. The usual picture of that period is one of exuberant energy and positive achievement. Roeder reminds us that it was also one of moral travail and misery. Its triumphs are preserved in art, its reverses in its spiritual story. Both were the product of the same source: the period's spiritual vitality. The book is written with a sharp eye for detail, and no less, a keen appreciation of what made the Italian...