When Italy was at the center of the world

The Medici, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, Columbus. A few names, among the many that could be mentioned, can be summarized in a single word: Renaissance. An unconventional era, marked by wars, intrigues, and betrayals, in which Italy saw an unprecedented flourishing in all fields of human knowledge. And with the sheer power of these brilliant minds, it was able to revolutionize the world, ushering in modernity. In his latest essay, "When Italy Was Reborn" (HarperCollins, 2026, €19.50, 288 pages. Also available as an ebook), Aldo Cazzullo evokes our own Renaissance through not only its protagonists, art, and literature, but the events and thoughts of the time: man at the center of the universe, man who trusts in himself and is the architect of his own destiny . A great adventure of freedom and resourcefulness, which takes Ariosto's winged horse to the moon and the navigators to discover the New World. Until the twilight of the Renaissance, marked by three tragedies: the burning of Giordano Bruno, the abjuration of Galileo, and the death of Caravaggio.

A compelling tale of a time when Italy was the world's cultural superpower, as Aldo Cazzullo explains: "For Italy, the Renaissance was very important because it is the only moment in history, after ancient Rome, when Italy was at the center of the world, when Italian culture spoke to all men, everywhere, in every era, and therefore also to us. Italy rediscovered ancient Rome, discovered America, created the greatest works of art in the history of humanity, and gave shape to a thought, an idea: Christian humanism, which, in my opinion, is the greatest contribution that Italy has made to universal civilization."

The Renaissance was an era of great figures. Which one fascinates you the most?

The Renaissance was created by extraordinary men: Leonardo, Raphael, Brunelleschi, Lorenzo the Magnificent, Pico della Mirandola, Ariosto. I also adore Christopher Columbus and defend him from the accusation of being the first colonialist. For me, Columbus is the man who opened up new worlds, new horizons, following the path of Dante's Ulysses. But if I had to choose a figure, I would choose Michelangelo. At twenty-two, he sculpted his first Pietà; between twenty-six and thirty-three, he painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel with the finger of God touching the finger of man. And then the other Pietàs, the dome of St. Peter's. I consider The Last Judgment the greatest work ever created by a human being. This vortex, this whirlwind in which no one is safe, no one is certain of salvation; the saints have no halos, the angels have no wings. Even demons are human beings like us, all are naked, because we are all naked, we are all equal before God. And then Moses. I begin the book by telling how the first impression of beauty and art I had in my life was when I was six years old. My parents took me to Rome and I saw Moses, so imposing, so beautiful, this face that had seen God and recognized himself in God, because we are all created in the image and likeness of God. This almost luminous face... I remember that as soon as I fell asleep, the image of Moses would appear before me.

We have mentioned many men…but what role did women have in the Renaissance?

Women played a very important role in the Renaissance. Yes, of course, it was still a male-dominated society, but there were great women who rose to power during that era. Catherine de' Medici became Queen of France, and after her, Maria de' Medici ascended the French throne. Lucrezia Borgia was a great woman, denigrated precisely because she was a woman. She wasn't the poisoner; she was a Franciscan tertiary, a woman beloved by the people. Unfortunately, she was the victim of the plots of her brother and her father, the pontiff, Pope Alexander VI Borgia, who died, according to Guiccardini, by self-poisoning—that is, by drinking a cup of wine laced with poison intended for a cardinal. And then Vittoria Colonna, the woman who inspired Michelangelo. Her cousin, Pompeo Colonna, wrote a book entitled Apologia mulierum, in defense of women, in which he argued that women were better at politics than men. It seems obvious now, but at the time it was revolutionary. And then I like to remember that in Orlando Furioso, which is the bestseller of the Renaissance, the first word is 'women': 'Of women, of knights, of weapons, of loves, of courtesies, of daring deeds, I sing.' And the first character to enter the scene is a woman, Angelica, this beautiful woman with whom everyone falls in love, including Rolando, who loses his mind over her. Then there's Bradamante, the warrior, who defeats men in battle. In short, the Renaissance is also the age of women."

Politically, however, things were not going very well.

During the Renaissance, Italy was an economic superpower, a cultural superpower, an artistic superpower, but not a political or military power. Until the death of Lorenzo the Magnificent, the balance was guaranteed by him, by his policies, and by the principle that the same sovereign could not rule Naples and Milan, the two largest Italian cities of the time. Then this balance was shattered by Ludovico il Moro, lord of Milan, who called on the French to support him. The French reached Naples without encountering resistance; they understood that Italy was fragile, and they wanted to take it all. Emperor Charles V of Habsburg then had the same ambitions, and Italy became a battlefield where the powers of the time clashed. The Renaissance, therefore, was also a period of constant wars on its soil, of barbarism, of massacres. Just think of the sack of Rome in 1527, in which around 30,000 people were murdered. In short, the Italian Renaissance had enormous dark sides."

Are Renaissance values still relevant today?

Today, the values of the Renaissance are more than timely: they are urgent. What is the essential value of the Renaissance? Humanism, Christian humanism, the idea that every human being is at the center of the world, like Leonardo's man inscribed in a perfect circle. Every human being has a direct relationship with God. Before God, all human beings are equal; every man and every woman has a dignity that must always be respected. Today, human dignity is denied; human beings are exploited or even replaced. Our bodies are being replaced by cyborgs, robots, humanoids; our minds are being replaced by artificial intelligence. The Renaissance, too, was an era of technological progress—so much so that the printed book is the great Renaissance innovation—but it was progress at the service of humanity. Why was Leonardo always drawing? He drew because he wanted everyone to know about his discoveries. Today, progress is put at the service of a very few men who are accumulating enormous amounts of money and power. It seems to me that recovering the ideals of humanism, the principle of the dignity of the human being and the dignity of work, is essential: the very survival of our species depends on it."