Between the two splendid poles of Naples and Milan - the two great rival powers of Italy - were a cluster of duchies and princely courts, each with its own desire for fame. Like small jewels, these isolated towns and palaces glittered with artworks of the greatest virtuosity and remarkably innovative literature, music, and the sciences. In the service of their own magnificence, these great cities and tiny duchies gathered to themselves a remarkable collection of brilliant artists, poets, and scholars.

The courts were the personal possessions of princes (including at least one woman); their task in the game of Italian politics was to maintain their status, wealth, and independence through skillful marriages, force of arms, strength of personality, and cultural power. Their aim as patrons of the arts and sciences was to enhance their prestige, their honor, and their glory.

1. Alison Cole explores these extraordinary courts, large and small, in the moment of their greatest brilliance, seeing them as the inheritors of a medieval courtly tradition, in contrast to Florence and Venice, whose model was ancient Rome.