The idea of a rebirth in the art and civilization of the western world during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries has proved an enduring one. Expertly traversing religion, art, history and culture, the author suggests that the region that produced Luther and Durer owed as much to its own past heritage as to new ideas from Italy. A must-read book for all those interested in the history of culture, and [it] would be great news [for it] to be translated in [other] languages ... so that it could be accessible to a greater number of readers