This A-to-Z reference offers a survey of Renaissance personalities, innovations, and other terminologies with an in-depth introduction about the period. By the fourteenth century, Italian society bore little resemblance to that of the feudal age. Merchants and financiers were establishing a new social order with greater freedom than their counterparts north of the Alps. This meant that cultural transformations would first flourish in Italy and later be carried to the rest of the continent. Dictionary of the Renaissance is a comprehensive reference guide to the period, including informative entries about major artists and other important figures, significant events and locations, and other key terms and concepts associated with the Renaissance. The introduction provides a historic overview of the cultural, political, economic, and scientific transformations that occurred in Italy between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries.