This is compelling history. Not only does it do an exemplary job of making social history accessible and relevant, it employs a storytelling technique rarely seen among serious historians. Just as important is the bigger picture this volume presents, the shifting morals and values of the period and attempts to enforce them through the offices of the Church. Splendidly researched, the endnotes themselves make for vital reading. Many of the cliches and stereotypes associated with late renaissance Italy, or Venice, disappear as Ruggiero reveals a much more intricate and evolving culture relating to magic, systems of honor, the law, and even communal gossip than heretofore had been presented to the wider public. A terrifically good and important work.
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