Giovanni and Lusanna: Love and Marriage in Renaissance Florence

Many witnesses testify that Giovanni and Lusanna acted “as lovers are wont to do” (77). How does their society perceive romantic love, and how do Giovanni and Lusanna abide by, or reject, these perceptions? What makes their relationship unique for its time?

How do 15th-century gender roles structure the lives of Giovanni and Lusanna? How are Lusanna’s actions throughout her relationship with Giovanni reactions to these gender roles?

Brucker describes his book as a microhistory, which focus on the lives of individuals rather than the actions of governments. Why would a historian choose to write a microhistory? What does a microhistory allow us to learn about a specific society that a more traditional history does not?