The Renaissance was a time of significant accomplishments in architecture, art, music, science and exploration. It began in the Italian city-states, with Florence generally described as the cradle of the Renaissance. Venice was a trading superpower with a large empire. The Catholic Church and Trade Unions were influential on society. Marriages strengthened business and family ties. A system of social welfare was created to help the poor, especially...

Explore the earliest printed cookbook, composed in the early 15th century and printed around 1470 (making it one of the first generation of books in print on any subject). Learn to create its blancmanger, a combination of capon breast, white flour, rosewater, sugar, and almond milk that still exists in Turkish cuisine. And discover how to make pasta by feel and texture, no measurements allowed.

Award-winning Professor Ken Albala of the University of the Pacific takes viewers on a fascinating international journey through civilization across the ages and around the world, all through the lens of cooking. In 24 fascinating lectures, while he cooks, Dr. Albala welcomes viewers into his own home kitchen, encouraging them to explore unfamiliar cuisines as a type of gastronomic time travel that will allow them to get a taste of history like they2ve...

"Michelangelo created some of the world's most recognizable art, from the statue of David to the intricate ceiling fresco of the Sistine Chapel. Beyond his well-known painting and sculpting, he was a gifted poet and architect. Young readers can learn about the entirety of Michelangelo's life, from his time as a young apprentice, and his relationships with several Catholic popes and the Medici family, to his unwillingness to stop working into his late...

"Romeo and Juliet is the classic tragedy of western literature. Created by William Shakespeare, it is tale of two very young lovers from Verona, Italy who defy the wishes of their feuding families, get married then, and tragically, end their own lives in the name of love. It is their deaths that ultimately help the rival families of the Capulet's and Montague's find reconciliation. Manga Classics brings an incredible new reading experience with this...

Mangus the Magician and his thirteen-year-old servant, Fabrizio, are commanded to go to Venice, on pain of death, to find a book by Friar Luca Pacioli which reportedly contains a magical means of making money; but Venice is a strange and dangerous city, and someone else is also after the book--then Mangus is arrested, and taken to the prison, and Fabrizio and Bianca, an orphan he has met, must find a way to secure the book, save Magnus, and themselves....

In the fascinating Great artist series, we investigate some of the best artists in history - examining their influence, style and what exactly made them so unique. In this double package we examine two giants of Renaissance painting - Titian, noted for his radical approach to light, colour and composition and Raphael, the master of portraiture and balance.

Start your journey in Renaissance Italy where - right in the pope's backyard - two men gave very different yet powerful critiques of the church, years before the Reformation. By examining these representative figures, Professor Worthen unpacks several key themes running through Christianity for the past 500 years.

"The glorious and infamous history of the Borgia family--a world of saints, corrupt popes, and depraved princes and poisoners--set against the golden age of the Italian Renaissance."--Amazon.com

The startling truth behind one of the most notorious dynasties in history is revealed in a remarkable new account by the acclaimed author of The Tudors and A World Undone. Sweeping aside the gossip, slander, and distortion that have shrouded the Borgias for centuries, G. J. Meyer offers an unprecedented portrait of the infamous Renaissance family and their storied milieu.
 
They burst out of obscurity in Spain not...