Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy by Jacob Burckhardt

July, 2001

Massive and superior, of course, but still not exactly what I was looking for. I want the story, not a synopsis of its economic causes and psychic effects. Still, what a fund of knowledge he had. There is also this quote from a man once "well-known," one Luigi Cornaro:

"...how cheerful, amusing, and contented I am ... in my eighty-third year I have written a most amusing comedy."

What stands out above all is Burckhardt's contention that individuality marks the Renaissance type, while race-membership marked the medieval.