Boundless World History: Italy During The Renaissance

Italy’s strategic location between Eastern and Western Europe allowed it to establish a lucrative Eurasian trade. This allowed the ideals of the Renaissance to gradually spread to Rome and the rest of Europe. The Eurasian trade enabled families to acquire great wealth and this great wealth gave families the ability to become patrons of government, education, and the arts. Becoming a patron of government, education, and the

The Renaissance period was the period that was referred to as the "the rebirth" of Classical culture. During this era, many Italians believed that they observed the rebirth of antiquity or Greco-roman civilization (334). Throughout this time period, the art that came out was similar to the growth that happened in philosophy, literature, music and science. Renaissance art focused more on humans, the accurate portrayal of the natural world as well as the old architecture of the Romans. The Renaissance art was reflected politically because during this time, the cities were ruled by wealthy families. Families such as the Medici family were extremely powerful and influential during this time (335). In their prime days, the Medici family was considered the most influential money lenders and best bank in Europe (335).

The political changed from a monarch ruled to a merchant rule during the Renaissance. The social classes in Italy showed an example of anarchy and social division. The old rich who were merchant and newly rich who were capitalists competed against each other for political power. The middle burgher ranks were shop owner and small businesses, people siding with the newly rich. The Medici family caused a decline to Florence. They wanted money and were into banking.

During this time period, there were alterations in many civilizations. Some had multiple major fluctuations, while others did not change much but were long lasting. The Mongols, for instance, did similar (if not the same things) over and over again throughout their reign. What they did was successful and because of that, their empire was long lasting. Unlike the Mongols, Italy had much change during this period of time. Both of these things caused the two different societies to flourish and last. The Mongols had the greatest continuity over time, but Italy had the greatest change over time, ending in good results for both of the civilizations.

Top of the social tree were the ‘best people’, the aristoi. Possessing more money than everyone else, this class could provide themselves with armour, weapons, and a horse when on military campaign. The aristocrats were often split into powerful family factions or clans who controlled all of the important political positions in the polis. Their wealth came from having property and even more importantly, the best land, i.e.: the most fertile and the closest to the protection offered by the city

In Europe, after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, much of the continent fell into a cultural recession. For many centuries science, mathematics and the arts were extremely stagnant. Beginning in the mid 14th century, the Italian Peninsula began to undergo a transformation evident in the works of artists, writers and scholars. This era is known as the Renaissance and was a revival of the classical world following the appropriately named Dark Ages. Renaissance thinkers became known as humanists, interested in learning about religious and non-religious studies and celebrated worldly achievements. Florence, Italy was the center for many of the advancements that took place during this time period and was the birthplace of many of the Renaissance individuals we know today. The economic, political and artistic influences of the Medici family, combined with it’s ideal geographical location for trade, made Florence emerge as the birthplace of the Renaissance.

Most of them were educated individuals that compiled their wealth by trade and industry. “As the wealth and power had increased, they had sent their sons into posts of state administration, magistracy, the financial system, the high clergy, and the army” (Godechot 68).

First, 14th century Florence was governed by a guild regime. The Florentine commune was led by priors elected from upper guilds for two month terms. The short term limits and election from higher guilds meant every citizen of rank in Florence had a chance to hold office. Those worthy of being elected would have belonged to an upper guild and had the respect of peers. Also, public office was important for reputation and social standing. The desire for election was not limited to Florence but applied abroad as well, “Florentines yearned to go abroad as foreign rectors both because of need of added income and in the avid quest for honor and reputation.” The many communes of the Italian peninsula made repeated office holding possible for many citizens. Moreover, events such as the black plague starting in 1348 allowed more than just nobleman to become officials. The sudden change had, “temporarily reshuffled the deck of social rank and entitlements.” Men who had enough ambition and effort could become high standing members of Florence no matter their station at birth. The desire to be recognized by society at large would shape the lives of Pitti, Dati and Alfani.

The beginning of this period the European countryside was broken up into large estates owned by the wealthy nobles. Most people were peasants, who worked the land for the noble owners. All parts of life centered around religion mainly the Catholic Church which was very powerful. Throughout the Renaissance, the

Florence is arguably the starting place of the renaissance. With many different artists there, the Medici Family in control and a very strong trading system, it was a very powerful city-state during the renaissance. During this time, the feudal system was no more. The people in

Italy, for the most part of its contemporary history, has been leveraged by external and internal influences. The vastness of these influences predominated Italy in the early 19th century, which at the time was already a disconnected region in Europe. Foreign influence was among the influences in Italy that pushed it apart, such in the way of France and Austria, but what fragmented Italy further were its principalities and religious catholic base with Rome at the center. Rome was in the middle of much of these opposing sides; it had many foreign occupants during its time and was the last city to be unified into the Italian state. Therefore, this makes Rome a great example when looking into this time period when trying to understand these fragmentations.

Florence was a very wealthy and popular city, mainly due to its wool trade (one of the more

In this essay I will talk about; The growing wealth of Italy, divided Italy, the classical period, humanists, trade and exploration. The main reasons of why the Renaissance started in Italy during the 15th century were the growing wealth of italy because the history

Post-Middle Age Italy was afflicted by medieval wars and the bubonic plague. It needed a change to restore the vision of what Italy could become. This change revealed itself within the Medici family, who helped return glory and influence to Florence. The Medici family saw the value in contributing to the advancement of the greatest minds of the period. This was evident in their patronage of leading artists such as Michelangelo and of renowned teachers such as Galileo. The sphere of influence the Medicis enjoyed also extended to the political arena, which happened to be heavily influenced by the Catholic Church at the time. The Medicis capitalized on the power of the Church. Through this influence and the use of “amici degli amici,” or

When comparing Italy to the rest of Europe, they had a great government system. They were one of the only non-feudal countries in europe, as well as the most urban one. Italy was broken up into self governing city states, each having their own military and navy. The ability to govern oneself as well as fight and conquer other city states ultimately led to the people feeling more unified and free, and a happy people is always beneficial to a country.