{"product_id":"plague-and-pleasure-renaissance-escapism-in-the-life-of-pope-pius-ii-paperback-softback-9780813226811","title":"Plague and Pleasure; Renaissance Escapism in the Life of Pope Pius II (Paperback \/ softback) 9780813226811","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003ePlague and Pleasure\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eRenaissance Escapism in the Life of Pope Pius II\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eArthur White (Author), Michael Lewis (Foreword by)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780813226811\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePaperback \/ softback, published 30 November 2014\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e277 pages\u003cbr\u003e28.1 x 8.3 x 2.7 cm, 0.693 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cem\u003ePlague and Pleasure\u003c\/em\u003e is a lively popular history that introduces a new hypothesis about the impetus behind the cultural change in Renaissance Italy. The Renaissance coincided with a period of chronic, constantly recurring plague, unremitting warfare and pervasive insecurity. Consequently, people felt a need for mental escape to alternative, idealized realities, distant in time or space from the unendurable present but made vivid to the imagination through literature, art, and spectacle.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePope Pius II experienced both plague and war during his reign and he exhibited many escapist behaviors typical of his period: the building of his “Shangri-La” at Pienza, his constant sight-seeing travels, his passion for natural scenery or Roman remains, his public spectacles, andthe humanism that immersed him in an idealized Roman past. This see-saw mentality of the period could plunge into melancholy when facing harsh realities and then propel them into ecstasies of makebelieve to counter their dispair.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003ePlague and Pleasure\u003c\/em\u003e uses the life and times of Pope Pius II as the framework for presenting a view of the Renaissance that the public can understand and appreciate and which may at least narrow the gap between the past known to scholars and that known to the public they ultimately serve.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"The Catholic University of America Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52559273001240,"sku":"9780813226811","price":22.59,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/plague-and-pleasure-renaissance-escapism-in-the-life-of-pope-pius-ii-paperback-softback-9780813226811","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}