assa covertly reveals cultural assumptions that we can make about the Renaissance is with regards to the premise of the book, which is manners and how to be a polite "Renaissance man." By examining the ways in which Della Cassa espouses that individuals interact and conduct themselves in public, the reader gets a general impression of how the culture of Renaissance Italy existed. Giovanni Della Cassa begins his treatise on manners by stating that virtues (a commonly wrote about theme in the Renaissance [ie. Machiavelli]) are "without doubt far greater and more praiseworthy things than charm or manners," but also emphasizes that manners and good behaviour are very important because "good manners must also be practiced many times daily, whereas justice, fortitude and other greater and nobler virtues are called into service much more seldom." Della Cassa elaborates on his justification of good manners by providing the reader with an example of a person who lacks virtue, but has good manners and attains high rank while "leaving far behind those who were gifted with those nobler and more outstanding virtues." With his comparison between virtues and manners in Section I of Galateo, Giovanni Della Cassa gives the reader a flavour of the mindset of the middle-class urban dweller of Renaissance Italy. Without doubt we can see a comparison to our contemporary world, especially with his description of the good mannered but non-virtuous person, supporting to the idea that this period in time was a catalyst for our modern world. The fact that he mentions that manners are practiced on a more regular basis than virtues reflects the developing urban mindset of the 14th and 15th ce
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