Nicholas Terpstra Libri

The book explores the plight of children in late Italian Renaissance cities, where nearly half were under fifteen. It delves into the harsh realities of grinding poverty and unstable family structures that led to abandonment and orphanhood. Amidst a society where political leaders positioned themselves as paternal figures, these vulnerable children posed both a significant challenge and a unique opportunity for societal change and reform.

Focusing on Renaissance Bologna, this work explores the significant impact of confraternities on social, political, and religious life. It delves into how these brotherhoods shaped community dynamics, influenced governance, and played a crucial role in religious practices. Through detailed analysis, the book reveals the multifaceted nature of confraternities and their contributions to the cultural landscape of the time.

Set against the backdrop of 16th century Florence, the story explores the tragic fate of adolescent girls at the Casa della Pietà, a shelter founded by idealistic laywomen. With a staggering mortality rate, only 202 of the 526 girls survived their time there. Nicholas Terpstra investigates the causes behind these losses, delving into the societal conditions and the shelter's environment that contributed to the untimely deaths, revealing a poignant narrative about compassion and survival in a harsh world.

This book examines the emergence of the religious refugee as a mass phenomenon from the fifteenth through the eighteenth centuries.

Based on extensive archival research and individual stories, Abandoned Children of the Italian Renaissance demonstrates how gender and class shaped individual orphanages in each city's network and how politics, charity, and economics intertwined in the development of the early modern state.

This Element takes a global expansive and locally rooted approach to answering how early moderns experienced sense and space by focusing on 4 cities as its key examples: Florence, Amsterdam, Boston, and Manila. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.