Comparing Lorenzo's The Regime Of Italy And Italy

The Italian Renaissance was one of the most colorful, vital, and exciting times in history. Renaissance eventually comes from the French word "Renaistre," meaning "to be born again." The Renaissance was a revival or a rebirth of cultural awareness and learning among art, law, language, literature, philosophy, science, and mathematics. This period took place between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries. The Renaissance in Italy flourished in the 15th century and spread throughout most of Europe in the 16th century.

For my research paper I have chosen to compare two countries which have totally different cultures, Italy, and the United States of America. I decided to compare these countries for two reasons, the first being that as an Italian I can better point out the differences I have noticed living back and fourth in the US since a young age, and the second and main reason is because during our course we have been discussing on how bribing practices were banned and partially reintroduced in the U.S. due to unfair competition from foreign companies abroad.

To many, the name Lorenzo de Medici just sounds like an irrelevant Italian man. At a closer look, Lorenzo was one of the most important people in the history of Italy. Born to Lucrezia Tornabuoni and Piero di Cosimo de ' Medici, Lorenzo ruled Florence from 1469 until his death in 1492 after his father’s death. He helped make Florence the most important city-state from 1469-1492. Lorenzo de Medici was the most important ruler of Florence because he formed political alliances to protect his people, he was a strong supporter of education, and he was an advocate to many great artists.

“I’ll be out of here and away from all you knaves for one time anyway, as not a month will pass before you’ll see whether I’m nobody or a somebody.” The story of Bianco Alfani reflected the nature of 14th century Florentine society where, as Alfani remarked, the election to public office could make or destroy a person. In late 14th century and early 15th century Florence, decreased population and expanding commerce provided a favorable environment for ambitious individuals. The real life examples of Buonaccorso Pitti and Gregorio Dati demonstrated the positive role of ambition in Florence. Pitti, a nobleman had an extremely successful career, partaking in military campaigns, holding public office in Florence and being an ambassador to

* Cosimo’s grandson, Lorenzo the Magnificent, ruled Florence in a totalitarian fashion during the last quarter century of the fifteenth century

The Renaissance period is known for the revival of the classical art and intellect born in ancient Greece and Rome. The Renaissance is also a time that is marked by growth, exploration, and rebirth. The Italian Renaissance started in Florence and progressively made its way into Venice and then into the great city of Rome. During the Renaissance, Rome was home to some of the most renowned works of art and the finest architectural masterpieces in the world - too many that still holds true today. Along with the delicate architecture and grand artistry, Rome was also home to a mixture of people and cultures. It is in this cultural context and through the book A Street Life in Renaissance Rome: A Brief History with Documents, that understanding how men, woman, and specifically Jews and Christians lived in Rome becomes important to better understand this period of renewal.

Through scholarly research of Florentine politics and daily life during the rule of the Medici, it is affirmed that Giralamo Savonarola used religion and fear to inhibit the progression of the Renaissance in Florence.

The Italian and Northern Europe Renaissances were both an important mark in history by changing the ideals of life, thought, culture, and art of the people’s of this time. In this paper I will explain the motive for change in these cultures, including the similarities and differences of the two cultures.

The political advantages of the bank also permitted the Medici family to maintain their control over Renaissance Florence. On an international level, the bank provided the Medici family a degree of favourable contact with the Pope and other Renaissance princes. The Medici thus relied on a system of diplomacy in which they attempted to cultivate and maintain personal ties with individual rulers. As historian Gene Brucker explains, “This [system of] personal diplomacy was most likely to succeed when it was reinforced by mutual interests; Medici loans to Francesco Sforza [the ruler of Milan] were repaid when the latter sent troops to Florence to thwart a revolutionary movement.” Milan was not the only state to trade the Medici political favours for bank loans. Economic historian Raymond de Roover, the author of the most comprehensive economic studies of the collapse of the Medici bank, also notes that male relatives of the Pope’s bankers (the Medici) received preferential treatment upon entering the holy orders, and were rapidly made bishops, cardinals, and in some cases, popes. Giovanni di Lorenzo de’ Medici, for example, received the tonsure at age seven and became a cardinal at age fourteen because of the influence his father, Lorenzo il Magnifico, had with

Out of the seven continents in the world, Italy; The seventy second largest nation in the world is located in Europe. Italy is a boot-shaped country that covers 294,149 square kilometers of land and 7,200 square kilometers of water, totaling 301,340 square kilometers and is apart of the eastern Hemisphere and located in Southern Europe. Located in the Mediterranean Sea is where this Peninsula lies and is surrounded by rolling hills, valleys, along with Alps and Apennine Mountains. Italy is accompanied by Croatia, San Marino, Slovenia, Vatican, Austria, Switzerland and France (Where is Italy). Not to mention Italy is home to some of the largest active Volcanoes in Europe.

With Giovanni’s death in 1429, there were those who tried to capitalize on the opportunity to displace the Medici family from its place in the social and political landscape of the time. One such opportunity was taken with the help of a wealthy rival, the Albizzi family, who put in motion a plot to have Giovanni’s son, Cosimo de Medici, arrested on accusations of treason and banished to Venice. This did not happen without consequences. With Cosimo’s exile he took with him a large source of Florentine capital, the Medici Bank. The Pope intervened and restored the Medici’s to power. Thus began Cosimo’s restoration of Florentine pride and the support of great artists that many admire today.

Lorenzo was born in 1499 and was known as Lorenzo il Magnifico, the Magnificent. Lorenzo continued with his grandfather’s work and funded talented artists such as Michelangelo, Da Vinci, and also a public art school. Lorenzo was definitely more concerned with his power, popularity, and success rather than the banking business. He married a niece of a cardinal, and to keep his success locked in, Lorenzo married off his daughter to Pope Leo VIII’s son. Lorenzo also bought his son, Giovanni, the role of Cardinal. Giovanni eventually became Pope Leo X. In doing all of this, Lorenzo widened the Medici family’s influence, but he also lessened their personal bank account. Because the amount of money they had was getting smaller and smaller, the Medici power began to weaken. Luckily, Cardinal Giovanni de Medici had become Pope Leo X in 1513. Giovanni, Pope Leo X, was able to make the family wealthy again by selling the freedom from punishment of sins. Starting now, the Medici family turned its attention from the banking business to the business of the church. In 1523, Giulio, son of Giuliano and cousin of Giovanni, became Pope Clement VII. To keep the family full of wealth, Giulio married off his cousin, Catherine, to the heir of the French throne. The Medici family eventually had three French kings through this arrangement. Lorenzo had a great-great-grandson named Cosimo I who was born in 1569. As the Grand Duke of

World War I began in August of 1914, after the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand at Sarajevo, in what is now Yugoslavia. Following this period Italy was in a state of civil war, with the parliament incapable of providing effective leadership. There was a rise in social tension, as well as economic problems. This resulted in a new, more aggressive breed of Italian politicians. They followed a violent anarchic political credo, also known as fascism. Although Italy’s economy was weak, following World War I, it was effected more by political factors, such as the rise of fascism, and social factors as seen through the newspaper, Il Popolo d’Italia.

The main political alignments of the newly unified Italy were the liberalists, socialist and the Catholic Church supporters and they all had different views and opposed each other. When Giolitti was in power he tried to win over all the key groups in order for them to accept and support the liberal state, however he was unable to do so because in trying to please one section he would end up alienating the other.

instability, as the nation tried to re-create the social bonds broken by the war and