On the eve of the five hundredth anniversary of the discovery of the Americas, it bears remembering that in 1492, as Columbus was making his historic voyage, Europe was flourishing, at the very height of the Renaissance that transformed a continent. In art, politics, commerce, and society, the medieval world had given way to the modern era. But what was Europe really like then? What did London, Paris, Rome, and the other great centers of culture actually look like, and what was it like to travel from one to the other when the horse and the sailing ship were the most expeditious means available? How long would a typical journey take? Where would one stay and what could one eat along the way? And whom might one expect to meet? Both kings and pilgrims, to be sure. In Travel Guide to Europe 1492, the noted Italian historian Lorenzo Camusso offers modern-day readers and would-be adventurers ten itineraries for trips commonly taken in both the near and far reaches of fifteenth-century Europe. Whether Camusso's wayfarer is an ambitious young banker on the road From Florence to Bruges;the great painter Albrecht Rurer on his way from Nurember to Venice, a shipbuilder whose highly prized craft takes him from Seville to Antwerp via Barcelona, Beaune, and Paris; or a lonely pilgrim wandering from Vezelay to far-off Santiago de Compostela, he offers a vivid account of what such a journey would be like--the sights, sounds, perils, and pleasures--and in so doing he renders the very fabric of day-to-day life during this momentous ear in Europe's history.

Attempts to assess the impact of the exploration and conquest of America on early modern Europe and considers several different subjects, because the existence of America influenced the development of European civilisation in a variety of ways.

Felipe Fernandez-Armesto traces key elements of the modern world back to 1492, that single, fateful year- the way power and wealth are distributed around the globe; the way major religions and civilisations divide the world. Events that began in 1492 even transformed the whole ecological system of the planet. Our individualism and the very sense we share of inhabiting one world, as partakers in a common humanity, took shape and became visible. In search of the origins of modernity, 1492 takes readers on a journey around the globe of the time, in the company of real-life travellers, drawing the together the threads that began to bind the planet. The tour starts in Granada, where the last Islamic kingdom in Europe collapsed, then moves to Timbuktoo, where a new Muslim empire triumphed. With Portuguese explorers, we visit the court of the first Christian king in the southern hemisphere. We join Jews expelled from Spain as they cross the Mediterranean to North Africa, Italy and Istanbul. We see the frozen frontiers of the dynamic, bloody Russia of Ivan the Great, and hear mystical poets sing on the shores of the Indian Ocean. We observe the Aztecs and Incas lay the foundations of a New World in the Americas. Wars and witchcraft, plagues and persecutions, poetry and prophecy, science and magic, art and faith - all the glories and follies of the time are in this book. Everywhere, new departures marked the start of a new configuration for humankind, revealing how and why the modern world is different from the worlds of antiquity and the middle ages. History seems a patternless labyrinth - but a good guide can trace our paths through it back to the moment when some of the most striking features of today's world began.

Takes readers on a journey back in time in order to experience life in Europe during the Renaissance, describing clothing, accommodations, foods, local customs, transportation, a few notable personalities, and more.

This 1992 book shows how the discovery of the new world affected Europe intellectually, economically, and politically.

This book takes an imaginary journey through the Europe of 1492 as seen & experienced by imaginary persons of the time. Then we will follow Columbus¿s actual first voyage to the New World. Contents: The Old World; Germany; Flanders; England; France; The Ottoman Empire; Genoa; Portugal; Spain; Columbus & His Dream; The Ships & the Voyage; The Return to Spain; The New World; The Tainos, Aztecs, Maya, & the Incas; The Buffalo Hunters; Villages Under a Rock Roof; The Lake & Forest Tribes; The Admiral¿s Destiny; Voyages of Discovery After 1492; The Orient; Europe After Columbus; Important Dates in European History 1493-1558; & Important Dates in Italian Renaissance Art; Native North & South America; & 500 Years Later. Illustrations.

The spellbinding story of the year that changed our world forever. A novel that captures the passion, glory, and spectacle of the struggle for power and wealth waged by the Christians and the Moors . . . and the human tragedy and personal triumph that forever changed our world. 1492 is captivating . . . extraordinarily vivid --Publishers Weekly.