... a time of political upheaval in Italy. At the time of his birth to a wealthy Florentine lawyer in 1469, the Medici family had been ruling Italy for 35 years. The political life in Italy was characterized by instability, fear, and invasion as the small states of Italy were pulled into the wars and politics of Europe by the larger, more powerful states ... years after his death. Italy's struggle as a state was also characterized by instability and failed attempts of finding a system of government to keep it unified, solid, and secure. Since Machiavelli's life centered around Italy and its...

• Word Count: 2744
• Approx Pages: 11
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... Throughout the Christian era and the Middle Ages, the Jews of Italy faced many restrictions and persecutions, with brief interludes of calm. The Renaissance, from approximately the early fifteenth to the mid-sixteenth century, offered some relief. The Counter-Reformation then shattered tolerance and introduced the ... ghettos developed in most major Italian cities and throughout Europe as well. Jews were confined to these ghettos for over two hundred years. Life in ghettos was characterized by harsh conditions, as well as humiliation and mistreatment by outsiders. From 1848 on, recognit...

• Word Count: 4666
• Approx Pages: 19
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... Clerestory: the third, or window, story of a church Cubicula: small underground rooms in catacombs serving as mortuary chapels Gospels: the first four books of the New Testament that chronicle the life of Jesus Loculi: openings in the walls of catacombs to receive the dead Lunette: a crescent-shaped space, sometimes over a doorway, that contains sculpture or painting Narthex: the closet part of ... mosaics. The minarets were added during the Islamic period. San Vitale (Ravenna, Italy) 169 316-318 6th C Octagonal church with a plain exterior (except for a porch which was added in the Ren...

• Word Count: 10708
• Approx Pages: 43
• Grade Level: High School