How Long to Read The Culture of Cleanliness in Renaissance Italy

How Long Does it Take to Read The Culture of Cleanliness in Renaissance Italy?

It takes the average reader 4 hours and 40 minutes to read The Culture of Cleanliness in Renaissance Italy by Douglas Biow

Assuming a reading speed of 250 words per minute. Learn more

Description

Concerned about sanitation during a severe bout of plague in Milan, Leonardo da Vinci designed an ideal, clean city. Leonardo was far from alone among his contemporaries in thinking about personal and public hygiene, as Douglas Biow shows in The Culture of Cleanliness in Renaissance Italy. A concern for cleanliness, he argues, was everywhere in the Renaissance. Anxieties about cleanliness were expressed in literature from humanist panegyrics to bawdy carnival songs, as well as in the visual arts. Biow surveys them all to explain why the topic so permeated Renaissance culture. At one level, cleanliness, he documents, was a matter of real concern in the Renaissance. At another, he finds, issues such as human dignity, self-respect, self-discipline, social distinction, and originality were rethought as a matter of artistic concern. The Culture of Cleanliness in Renaissance Italy moves from the clean to the unclean, from the lofty to the base. Biow first examines the socially elevated, who defined and distinguished themselves as clean, pure, and polite. He then turns to soap, an increasingly common commodity in this period, and the figure of the washerwoman. Finally he focuses on latrines, which were universally scorned yet functioned artistically as figures of baseness, creativity, and fun in the works of Dante and Boccaccio. Paralleling this social stratification is a hierarchy of literary and visual artifacts, from the discourse of high humanism to filthy curses and scatological songs. Deftly bringing together high and low-as well as literary and visual-cultures, this book provides a fresh perspective on the Italian Renaissance and its artistic legacy.

How long is The Culture of Cleanliness in Renaissance Italy?

The Culture of Cleanliness in Renaissance Italy by Douglas Biow is 280 pages long, and a total of 70,000 words.

This makes it 94% the length of the average book. It also has 86% more words than the average book.

How Long Does it Take to Read The Culture of Cleanliness in Renaissance Italy Aloud?

The average oral reading speed is 183 words per minute. This means it takes 6 hours and 22 minutes to read The Culture of Cleanliness in Renaissance Italy aloud.

What Reading Level is The Culture of Cleanliness in Renaissance Italy?

The Culture of Cleanliness in Renaissance Italy is suitable for students ages 12 and up.

Note that there may be other factors that effect this rating besides length that are not factored in on this page. This may include things like complex language or sensitive topics not suitable for students of certain ages.

When deciding what to show young students always use your best judgement and consult a professional.

Where Can I Buy The Culture of Cleanliness in Renaissance Italy?

The Culture of Cleanliness in Renaissance Italy by Douglas Biow is sold by several retailers and bookshops. However, Read Time works with Amazon to provide an easier way to purchase books.

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