Nicholas Terpstra is Professor of History at the University of Toronto. His recent publications include Cultures of Charity: Women, Politics, and the Reform of Poor Relief in Renaissance Italy (2013) and Religious Refugees in the Early Modern World: An Alternative Interpretation of the Reformation (2015). Colin Rose is a PhD Candidate in the Department of History at the University of Toronto. He has published on petitioning the court in early modern Parma and on vendetta and judicial practice in Bologna.
This volume is one of the first to address the strengths and challenges of digital work focused on the historical data provided by one city. Nicholas Terpstra and his team have developed a model project to show how new technologies can transform and enhance our historical understanding of places and spaces, breaking down traditional divisions between disciplines and forging new capacities to communicate scholarly information. Caroline Bruzelius, Duke University, USA A highly innovative, fascinating study that will open up new horizons, this groundbreaking book is the first to analyse Renaissance urban history using the powerful tools of digital humanities. This is a highly recommended study, written in non-technical language, of what mapping tools can and cannot do for the study of urban history. Kathleen Christian, The Open University, UK