Italy was at the forefront of europe's transition from the feudal medieval world to one of cultural and commercial renaissance. italy sponsored the first printing press outside of germany when cardinal turrecremata of the benedictine monastery at subiaco invited two printers, to establish a press. the types that they designed marked the first step toward a roman-style typography based on letterforms that had been developed by italian scribes. they created a typographic "double alphabet" by combining the capital letters of ancient roman inscriptions with the rounded minuscule that has evolved in italy from the caroline miniscule.