The Renaissance began in Italy, but it was not a purely Italian phenomenon. It grew out of European civilization, with roots in Antiquity, in Christian dogma, and in Byzantium.

The artistic ferment which had taken hold of Florence by 1420 was also reflected in the national schools of Siena, Umbria, Mantua and Rome; and the new ideas spread form Italy through France, the Netherlands, Austria, Spain and Portugal.

Artists as diverse as Piero della Francesca, Van Eyck, Dürer, Mantegna and Bellini are included, with superb illustrations of their work, and the book closes with the advent of the giants of the High Renaissance – Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael.