Peter Bondanella Libri

A biography of Federico Fellini that shows how his exuberant imagination has been shaped by popular culture, literature, and his encounter with the ideas of C G Jung, especially Jungian dream interpretation. It links his mature accomplishments to his first employment as a cartoonist, gagman, and sketch-artist during the Fascist era.

These biographies of the great quattrocento artists have long been considered among the most important of contemporary sources on Italian Renaissance art. Vasari, who invented the term "Renaissance," was the first to outline the influential theory of Renaissance art that traces a progression through Giotto, Brunelleschi, and finally the titanic figures of Michaelangelo, Da Vinci, and Raphael. This new translation, specially commisioned for the World's Classics series, contains thirty-six of the most important lives and is fully annotated.

Il Decameron è una raccolta di cento novelle, raccontate in dieci giorni da sette donne e tre uomini, allontanatisi da Firenze per sfuggire alla peste che contagiò la città nel 1348. L’opera è quindi suddivisa in “Giornate” e nel Proemio l’autore spiega il carattere del suo libro. Nella Giornata I si parla “di quello che più aggrada a ciascheduno”, nella II “di chi, da diverse cose infestato sia, oltre alla sua speranza, riuscito a lieto fine”, nella III “di chi alcuna cosa molto da lui desiderata con industria acquistasse, o la perduta ricoverasse”… e così via. Boccaccio vi dipinge un eccezionale affresco della Firenze del Duecento, delle virtù e dei vizi dei suoi abitanti: dalla prontezza del servo Chichibio, che volge in riso l’ira del padrone, al crudele Tancredi, che fa uccidere l’amante della figlia; dalla generosità malinconica di Federigo degli Alberighi, che per amore sacrifica il suo falcone preferito, alla folle gelosia di Guglielmo da Rossiglione. Racconti a tema libero, novelle a lieto fine, storie d’amore fortunate o tragiche si alternano a esempi di grandezza d’animo, scherzi e beffe, imprese eroiche, in una grandiosa epopea laica e profana dell’uomo medievale.

Voltaire said, "Machiavelli taught Europe the art of war; it had long been practiced, without being known." For Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527), war was war, and victory the supreme aim to which all other considerations must be subordinated. The Art of War is far from an anachronism—its pages outline fundamental questions that theorists of war continue to examine today, making it essential reading for any student of military history, strategy, or theory. Machiavelli believed The Art of War to be his most important work.

Machiavellis Werk, ursprünglich als Empfehlung für den designierten Fürsten von Florenz verfasst, zählt zur Weltliteratur und gilt als erstes Werk der modernen politischen Philosophie. Es behandelt die Grundsätze politischer Herrschaft, die moralischen Eigenschaften des Regenten und verschiedene Herrschaftstechniken zur Schaffung effizienter Ordnung. Machiavelli wird oft missverstanden; der Satz „Der Zweck heiligt die Mittel“ ist nicht von ihm, sondern stammt von seinen Kritikern. Sein Ziel ist die Begründung eines autonomen, moralfreien Politikbegriffs, jedoch nicht die Förderung von Immoralität im politischen Handeln. Sein pragmatisches Ethos betont, dass der politisch Handelnde von der historischen Situation, den Zielen und den realen Möglichkeiten abhängt. Die zentralen Tugenden des idealen Herrschers sind Necessità (Einsicht in die Notwendigkeit), Fortuna (Geschick basierend auf historischem Wissen) und Virtù (Fähigkeit zur Autonomie). Für die kommentierte Neuedition wurden die ältesten Handschriften sowie die von Machiavelli verwendeten historischen Quellen wie Livius und Thukydides kritisch betrachtet. Der italienische Text basiert auf der kritischen Ausgabe von Giorgio Inglese.

Packed with facts, attributions, and entertaining anecdotes about his contemporaries, Giorgio Vasari's collection of biographical accounts also presents a highly influential theory of the development of Renaissance art.Beginning with Cimabue and Giotto, who represent the infancy of art, Vasari considers the period of youthful vigour, shaped by Donatello, Brunelleschi, Ghiberti, and Masaccio, before discussing the mature period of perfection, dominated by the titanic figures of Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo.This specially commissioned translation contains thirty-six of the most important lives as well as an introduction and explanatory notes.About the Series:For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.