interact with the cultural void of fourteenth century Italy! And as the process of recollection began, Italy began to gain a reputation as the centre of a new civilization in Europe. It is no accident that Italy was the birthplace and cradle of the Renaissance. The Italian writers of the period appear to have seen themselves as returning to their cultural roots, in the world of classical Rome.1 A stream, they argued, was purest at its source; why not return to that source, instead of being satisfied