1. The Renaissance City

2. Towards the end of Mediterrenean leadership New urbanization cycles and the transformation of cities hierarchy. The discovery of America and its consequences. The shift from Mediterrenean to Western and Northern Europe. Urban development and political instability. Warfare and its effects.

3. Economic recovery Demographic increase and agricultural production. The issue of food supply. The international grain trade. The regulation of relation between city and countryside. Investment in landownership. Villa rustica.

4. Social structures The impact of immigration. Ethnic movement. Jews and Muslims. A greater polarization of the social hierarchy but a persistence of a mixed use of urban space. Social control. Deterioration of marginal groups status.

5. Cultural life Humanist ideas for social and cultural reform. Court culture and patronage. The urbanization of art. The ideal city. The impact of Protestan Reformation and Counter-Reformation. Schools and new universities. Jesuit colleges.

7. Urban landscape Rebuilding and expanding city walls. A growth of new secular buildings. The renewal of streets and squares. Urban rituals. The tourist function of urban ceremony. Built environment and image of the city.

8. Governance A general diminution in the local independence of urban communities. The decline of city leagues. The growth of municipal officials and the increase of trading regulations. The consolidation of civic oligarchy. Greater role of professional men. Fiscal pressure on urban communities.

9. Florence The persistence of the medieval city. Iniziatives for a rationalised street grid. Renewal of the squares. Piazza SS. Annunziata and Via dei Servi. Building new private palaces. The role of rich merchants and bankers.