Book excerpt: In the tradition of big-picture histories, The Day The Renaissance Was Saved shows how a single moment triggered the birth of the Renaissance. When the armies of Florence, Venice, and the Papal States clashed with the forces of the Republic of Milan on June 29, 1440, it was more than just another skirmish between the ever-fractious Italian city-states: the outcome of the battle would bring the Medicis to power in Florence and lead to the Renaissance.