The Power Of The Past: Florence

The indefatigable Bill Moyers (I'm beginning to suspect they've cloned the guy) takes viewers on a historical journey in this engaging stroll through Florence's rich artistic and cultural past. Covering the period from 1300 to roughly 1550, The Power of the Past focuses on the great artists and sculptors which sprang from Florence: Brunelleschi, Alberti, Giotto, da Vinci, Donatello, and Michelangelo. Interviews with art historians; author Umberto Eco; and Neri Capponi, an illustrious Florentine, offer a framework for seeing the products of Renaissance Florence in context. Ironically, the major strength of the program is also its potential flaw. Presented as a philosophical shift from a God-centered universe to one in which man was "the measure of all things," the Renaissance is explained in simple terms. Students and patrons without a modicum of knowledge concerning the Renaissance will find this introduction stimulating if skewed toward the arts and humanities (as opposed to philosophy, religion, and politics). Those who already have an interest in the Renaissance, however, are unlikely to find anything they don't already know here. Recommended, with the above reservation. (See THE COMMITTEE: TAXATION WITH REPRESENTATION for availability.)