An account of the reawakening of western civilization throughout Europe, this guide re-creates the Renaissance in a series of 1000 cross-referenced images depicting all aspects of history, culture, art, science, personalities and daily life accompanied by commentary. It is organized by topics, colour-coded and cross-referenced to encourage a broad approach. Opening with an introductory survey of the defining features of this subject, the book is completed by a reference section with biographies and genealogical tables, timelines and sources of further information. It presents the Renaissance as a multi-faceted event, spanning from Italy to the rest of the Europe, and from the world of patrons and painters, courts and councils to everyday lives, at a time when people learned how to measure time, to print books and to devise machines. The illustrations are grouped into 100 topics which are allocated to eight major themes covering every aspect of intellectual, political, religious, economic, social, technological, artistic and architectural life in the Renaissance.