Learning through Images in the Italian Renaissance

Federico Botana is an art historian who specialises in the art of fourteenth- and fifteenth-century Italy. Previous publications include The Works of Mercy in Italian Medieval Art (2012) and several academic articles on illuminated manuscripts. His main research interest concerns the didactic uses of images, especially manuscript illustrations and mural painting.

• Illustrations; Acknowledgements; Editorial note; Abbreviations; 1. Introduction; 2. Two youths; 3. Mental images; 4. Virtues, sins, and the senses in the fior di virtù; 5. Serving the state in the fior di virtù; 6. Dealing with others in the esopo volgarizzato; 7. The flesh in the fior di virtù and the esopo volgarizzato; 8. Mathematics, body, form, and metaphor in libri d'abbaco; 9. The cosmos in goro dati's sfera; 10. Navigation and geography in the sfera; 11. Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.

'…[Botana's] thoroughly researched study of illustrated pedagogical manuscripts uncovers a scholarly diet that was diverse, popular and above all practical, arising from the smut and noise of the urban street and the pragmatic requirements of business and civic life. ... Florence and its books, Botana shows, brimmed with character and life …' James Waddell, The Times Literary Supplement