Baldassare Castiglione’s “The Book of the Courtier” with Dr. Kristin Stasiowski

Baldassare Castiglione was a diplomat, soldier, courtier, and humanist philosopher, who was also the author of the well-known treatise on morality and etiquette entitled “The Book of the Courtier” (Il Cortegiano). Perhaps the most entertaining “how-to” guide for those aspiring to build a life at court, Castiglione outlines—with erudition and insight—all of the many ways in which someone could best handle the intricacies and intrigues of palace life in order to become a prince’s most capable and adored admirer. In his book, Castiglione offers a meditation on life in the Renaissance princely court as well as a keen psychological study on human behavior and power dynamics in groups that leads readers through an outline of how to climb the ladder of success both in their personal and lives. 

Led by an expert in Italian literature, Kristin Stasiowski, Ph.D., this seminar will introduce participants to one of the Renaissance’s towering intellectual figures and one of his most important works. Designed to inform curiosity as well as future travels, participants will come away with an increased appreciation of the way that literature shaped the daily lives and habits of everyone in Renaissance courts throughout Italy.