"At last we have a complete edition, based upon the author's autograph, of his remarkable text, a source which has been much cited but little studies for its own sake. The 'chronicle' or 'memoir' (1445-1481) of Andrea Stanziali/Vidali so-called da Schivenoglia - the author gave it no title - provides information about Mantua from 1445 to 1483, but has an importance and value which go beyond the internal history of Mantua. Andra provides a broad picture of a society living under Signorial government in fifteenth-century Lombardy, and also tells us quite a lot about his own mentality and attitudes."--Foreword, volume 1, page 13.