Through close examination of Renaissance paintings, drawings, book illustrations, and other art works, Patricia Fortini Brown brings 14th- and 15th-century Venice alive. She explores the role of the guilds and the nobility, the unique island setting, the environment of the church and the private home, the political rivalries with other states, the taste for symbols and metaphors, the myriad qualities that made Venice distinct and its art unique. Carefully interweaving art-historical analysis of individual works (both famous and little-known) with rich contextual discussions, she reveals a culture of high beauty, artifice, and craftsmanship.