Cultures of Belief in Renaissance Florence

This project analyses the processes by which public preaching was elaborated and rendered rhetorically and visually persuasive in Renaissance Florence. It will systematically map changing patterns of belief across the fifteenth century and demonstrate the central role of public spiritualities in the elaboration of the ideas, artefacts, and monuments which have come to be associated with 'the Renaissance'. Focussing on the craft of the preacher and analysing religious texts in their liturgical, spatial and temporal contexts, the research will contribute a new perspective on the underlying religious and social transformation of Florence during a crucial period in the city's history.