Burckhardt’s work on the Italian fifteenth century returns, the era of the versatile individual

With the times running, in search of D’Annunzi and Danti to celebrate, the Ministry of Culture should pick up the large book of Jacob Burckhardt The Italian Renaissance. Civilization and art and extrapolate quotes to make citizens shine with Italian pride, sticking them on the sides of buses. Especially the Florentines, who love to use the word Renaissance so much, are glorified here as never before, and would find in the pages written by a German-Swiss an orgasmic justification for their historical arrogance. “Florence, by far the most important building site of the Italian spirit, indeed of the modern European spirit”. And again: “The highest political awareness and the greatest variety of development are found united in the history of Florence, which well deserves to be called the first modern state in the world in this sense”.