This interdisciplinary conference in Rome aims to discuss the question of whether the European Renaissance - as a period that was decisive for the genesis of the modern world - was of unique significance or whether eras of other civilizations which in literature are labeled "Renaissances" also deserve this label (Jack Goody). The scope of our conference juxtaposes (Latin) Europe with the civilizations of China, the Islamic world and India - that is, civilizations whose sciences and technologies were far superior to those of Europe until ca. 1200. This question continues to be of great relevance for discussions about an alleged "European Special Path" (Michael Mitterauer) and the causes of the "Great Divergence" (Kenneth Pomeranz) between Europe and the rest of the world. These discussions regard the reasons for the economic and military dominance of European polities/states since the end of the eighteenth century and, more broadly, the preconditions of the European version of modernization. Our hypothesis is economic processes alone are insufficient to explain the manifold changes that accompanied the Industrial Revolution. Rather, we assert that is necessary to also include cultural and social aspects such as the European 'patronage landscapes' of the Renaissance into any effort to reconstruct the distinctively European "spaces of possibilities" (Möglichkeitsräume). Based on an interdisciplinary approach (history, art history, philology, literary history, philosophy, Jewish studies, sinology, etc.) the main question of the supposed "singularity" of the European Renaissance as distinct from comparable phenomena in other geographical and cultural contexts will be examined. The individual contributions are grouped according to broad cultural areas (Latin Europe, Byzantium, the Islamic World, India, China) as well as thematic fields such as the sciences, arts, literature, rhetoric, and religion. In conclusion, the relevance of the central hypothesis will again be discussed during a round table.