If you’ve ever wondered what everyday life really looked like behind the grand façades of palazzi and beneath the frescoed ceilings of Renaissance Italy, At Home in Renaissance Italy is an indispensable and utterly absorbing place to start.

Rather than focusing on kings, popes or battles, this richly illustrated volume offers a window into a world often overshadowed by the great public achievements of the Renaissance. It turns its attention to the homes themselves, giving an intimate look at the spaces people actually lived in, furnished with the objects that shaped daily routines, rituals and relationships.

The book gathers a remarkable range of material, from sumptuous textiles, furniture and jewellery to kitchen implements, dress and prints. Every door handle, tapestry, comb and letter is a clue to how Italians of the 15th and 16th centuries lived, worked, entertained and worshipped under one roof. They reveal how houses were dynamic hubs of culture, identity and social life, and how, regardless of status, everyday objects were invested with meaning.

Whether you’re fascinated by material culture, gender and family life, or the intersection of art and the everyday, At Home in Renaissance Italy will transform the way you think about the period. It is not just a catalogue of objects, it is a celebration of the ordinary lives that made the Renaissance real.