One of the sources of the formation of ideas dominant during the Renaissance was the rethinking of the historical past. The portraits of twenty-eight famous people that decorated the library of Duke Federico of Montefeltro can tell us how people of the fifteenth century perceived previous eras, and what historical heritage meant to these people. The book by N. V. Afanasyeva represents the result of research into a large amount of historical and art historical data. The book is intended for a wide range of readers interested in cultural history.