Del Norte Public Library

Discusses the revival of interest in classical knowledge; how scholars, artists, and scientists used this knowledge as the foundation for new ideas; and the lives of ordinary people.

Discusses the infamous Renaissance woman's origins as the illegitimate child of Pope Alexander VI, forced first marriage at the age of thirteen, increasing power during two subsequent marriages, and role in the era's political struggles.

"Thirty miles to the southwest of Venice, in a small park in Padua, lies a modest red brick building, the Scrovegni (or Arena) Chapel, that contains one of the jewels of Early Renaissance art: the most extensive fresco cycle by Giotto. Perfectly preserved, it established Giotto's genius for displacing the Byzantine style of painting and introducing the fundamental principles of Renaissance humanism into art. Painted around 1306, the nearly forty large...

In this history of world architecture, commentator Jonathan Glancey conducts an odyssey through 5000 years of buildings, from ancient Sumeria to the glass-and-steel towers of today's cityscapes.

Shows many of Da Vinci's triumphs, including the creation of The last supper and the Mona Lisa, and some of his bitter defeats including the crash-landing of his flying machine, as well as the bitterness of his rivalry with Michelangelo. Includes five shorter extra features about Da Vinci and his world, including a timeline.

Night after night, a ghost appears in the royal castle of Pergamontio, terrifying the princess. Mangus the Magician doesn't believe in ghosts, but still the King charges him with finding this one and freeing his daughter from its torment. If he can't, Mangus will pay with his life. The magician's only hope is his faithful, street-smart servant boy, Fabrizio, who must solve the mystery of the ghost using logic and reason -- and a bit of magic of his...

" When did the custom of meals served at regular hours begin? At what time did humankind rise to the table and commence eating with individual plates and utensills? Since when have we begun to speak of "cusine" and to judge our foods, their methods of preparation and manner of consumption, on social criteria of gastronomic merit? In this rich, illuminating book an array of authorities explore the history of food from prehistoric times to the present...

In Renaissance Italy, Artemisia Gentileschi endures the subjugation of women that allows her father to take credit for her extraordinary paintings, rape and the ensuing trial, and torture, buoyed by her deceased mother's stories of strong women of the Bible.

"Florence, the 1550s. Lucrezia, third daughter of the grand duke, is comfortable with her obscure place in the palazzo: free to wonder at its treasures, observe its clandestine workings, and devote herself to her own artistic pursuits. But when her older sister dies on the eve of her wedding to the ruler of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio, Lucrezia is thrust unwittingly into the limelight: the duke is quick to request her hand in marriage, and her father...

A wily dwarf Bucino Teodoldo recounts fantastic escapades with his mistress, celebrated courtesan Fiammetta Bianchini. Escaping the 1527 sacking of Rome with just the clothes on their backs (and a few swallowed jewels in their bellies), Fiammetta and Bucino seek refuge in Venice. Starved, stinking, her beauty destroyed, Fiammetta despairs but through cunning, will, Bucino's indefatigable loyalty and the magic of a mysterious blind healer called La...