This book examines Roman society during the time of the Great Schism, from 1378 until the triumphal entry of Martin V in 1420. The results of the historical and historical-artistic investigations published in this volume effectively question a series of traditional interpretative paradigms, as explained by Serena Romano and Walter Angelelli. Armand Jamme's study traces the attempts to conquer Rome by princes and aristocratic clans between 1405 and 1417 and concludes that Rome was above all an urban territory composed of distinct entities. Joëlle Rollo-Koster accompanies the reader in examining the period of political instability caused by Ladislao di Durazzo, who inserted himself into Roman politics and dominated through the shrewd use of ritualized presentations of power.

Two baronial families, the Orsini and the Colonna, are at the center of Dario Internullo's and Andreas Rheberg's essays. The two scholars show that both the Orsini and the Colonna took advantage of the presence of the court in Avignon to expand their network of contacts at the international level. It is difficult to reconstruct the topography of Rome, so it is uncertain how the Roman barons occupied urban spaces. While we know a great deal about the city fortresses of the Colonna and the Orsini, we do not know enough about the other aristocratic palaces. Even the urban panoramas painted in the miniature of the Limbourg brothers and in the fresco by Taddeo di Bartolo do not help, as Silvia Maddalo demonstrates. More detailed are the images frescoed by Masolino in Palazzo Orsini and in Castiglione Olona, but the houses and buildings are not recognizable. It is perhaps possible to assume that they testify to a change in the urban structure of Rome sometime later.

During the schism, cultural circles anticipating humanism and individuals such as Leonardo Bruni emerged at the papal court. Ilaria Morresi shows that Bruni himself developed a network of international relations. Bruni's contemporary pope, Gregory XII, is the protagonist of Antonio Manfredi's essay. Francesca Manzari clearly explains how the popes built a huge urban theater in order to highlight papal sovereignty through liturgy and architecture. Pio F. Pistilli's article focuses on the Castel Sant'Angelo and shows that the pope made it suitable for his defense. Claudia Bolgia explains the papal influence on the tabernacle of Santa Maria del Popolo, a center of urban devotion. While the pope was active, Julian Gardner shows the cardinals were not: their commissions were mainly funerary. The only exception was Cardinal Brancaccio, who financed the tabernacle in Trastevere by Taddeo di Bartolo. Brancacci's aim, however, may only have been to reaffirm his power in front of his antagonists, the Stefaneschi.

Beatrice Cirulli's article traces a meticulous panorama of the world of the Roman painters between 1340 and 1417, and Philine Helas concentrates her research on the cult of Saint James the apostle, showing his links with the Lateran. Matteo Mazzalupi analyzes a Madonna col Bambino by the anonymous Master of Velletri, a painter very active in Rome who exported his models beyond the city's walls. His work clearly demonstrates the influence exerted by Rome on the periphery. On the other hand, Francesca Pomarici highlights the cultural influence of the Roman suburbs on the city. In the essays of Julian Gardner and Nicolas Bock, the protagonist is the varied and multifaceted Roman art world. A wealth of foreign models and artists is evident in Benedetta Montevecchi's article. Luxury objects, therefore, testify to a plurality of contacts and influences, a great circulation of people, techniques, and ideas. At the same time, however, this circulation seems to correspond to social fragmentation. To find the stubborn persistence of Roman identity and tradition, it is necessary to investigate the history of monasteries. This is the research of Irene Quadri and Roberta Cerone. Both scholars clearly show that the monasteries guarded and enhanced the memory of saintly women and men necessary for the survival of Rome's identity. Even while preserving traditions, though, the monasteries were progressive in their affirmation of the Observant movement. Finally, Maria Beltramini and Laura Cavazzini investigate the sense of permanence in Rome in Brunelleschi and Donatello, noting how the two exponents of the new postmedieval era were fascinated by Roman antiquities, as well as by the medieval city.