Florence's Market in the Renaissance

Now each city-state had a product that made them prosper. For Florence it was cloth, Milan arms, but Venice and Genoa became extremely rich of off trade. That would be why the wealthiest city-state was Venice. That is because they were excellent shipbuilders, sailors, and merchants. They figured out how to trade with the biggest economic power in the region, the Ottomans. They created most their profit from trading paper to the Ottomans. Another way they turned a profit was with the highly sought after Florentine textiles due to the textiles vibrant color that was dyed with alum. Now they could only get this chemical for the Ottomans until 1460. That was when the Pope's godson found alum in Italy and they started to mine the alum. The family in charge of the alum mining rights were the Medici.

Next, the rise of commerce in Renaissance Florence was marked by key alliances and the development of the wool industry in the 13th century. The international banking web used by Dati and Pitti was developed earlier when; “[Florence] took over the papal banking monopoly… and established themselves

The Italian Renaissance was a period in history unlike most others; this was an era of ingenuity, expansion, and enlightenment that would revolutionize both society as the people of the Renaissance knew it to be, and as the future generations of individuals across the globe understand it today. Florence held itself out to be the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance, yet the people of this renaissance era never lost sight of the Greek and Roman heritage. The following essay will discuss the varying ways in which Florence was the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance, and will provide the reader with examples that demonstrate Greco-Roman ideas and practices in the Italian Renaissance.

Florence, Italy was a city just like any other during the Renaissance. It was city of 50,000 people, less than there were in Paris and Venice but more than most other European cities. The busiest parts of the city were the Ponte Vecchio, a place lined with markets and houses, the neighborhood of the Orsanmichele and Mercato Vecchio, or the Old Market. Florence was a place of beauty and leisure. A Venetian visitor once said, “There is in my opinion no region more sweeter than that wherein Florence is a placed for Florence is situated in a plain surrounded on all sides by hills and mountains…And the hills are fertile cultivated, pleasant…” (Unger, pg. 1). Florence was a very prosperous city; it made fortunes off of wool and

When the Renaissance started to take traction around the mid 14th century, there came upon a change to many different areas of life within Florence. With the change of the economic system throughout Italy, the rise of a wealthy Noble Class took shape . Within that Noble Class of wealthy merchants, led to key differences in the thoughts and ideals of the perfect Florentine citizen. A key groups of individuals who fell under this veil was the Medici family. The House of Medici began to amass its wealth and political power in Florence by the mid 13th century through their success in banking commerce .

The people of Renaissance were composed of four social classes, the nobles, the merchants, the tradesmen, and the unskilled workers (M. 2016). Nobles lived on large estates outside the city walls. Nobles controlled and owned most of the city’s land (M. 2016). They served as royal advisers, politicians, and military officers (M. 2016). Nobles gained wealth in industries like wool processing, shipbuilding, and banking (M. 2016). Merchants were often out to protect their wealth by controlling government and marrying into noble families (M. 2016).

European trade was the key method of spreading Italian ideas during the Renaissance. The city of Florence, Italy was the largest center for international commerce and trade at the time. Therefore, the flow of the Renaissance from Italy to the North can be largely attributed to the economic prosperity in Italy and particularly Florence. By the 16th century, however, Florence was not the only economic hub in Europe. Parts of

The Renaissance began in Italy during the 1300s in which a of rebirth of the arts, economy, science, and culture of Europe occurred. Before this time, during the Middle Ages, war and disease precluded advances in art and literature and the powerful influence of the Catholic church limited significant advances in science and philosophy. The Renaissance took influence from classical Greek and Rome and expressed and expanded upon many of the ideas of that time. Art became more realistic and focused on the human figure as humanistic ideals became more prevalent, and subjects shifted from chiefly religious scenes to scenes of daily life, of classical mythology, portraits, sculptures, and many more. The economy flourished as a wealthy merchant

The Renaissance first began in Florence and peaked there as well. It peaked during the 15th and 16th centuries under the rule of the Medici family. With the Medici family in power, the Renaissance flourished as they were large patrons of the arts and were for painters and sculptors as they enjoyed works of art. The Medici family financed many painters and without their contributions, the Renaissance would have not gotten to where it was. Florence is known to have housed some of the greatest painters, such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. What was a very early architectural achievement of the Renaissance being the dome on top of the Florence Cathedral as nothing of the same caliber had ever been done before. Not only was Florence important for the Renaissance, but it was also known as a banking center and for its textile production.

The work force to create this ideal city was present, talented artists were at an all time high and finally in demand. The Renaissance saw the artist become a highly admirable profession , a skilful career and thus intense competition occurred. Artists competed for jobs and because of this we see the character of Renaissance art in Florence being shaped by the Medici family. As one of the leading patrons , five generations of Medici played great parts in supporting the arts of the 15th century, they commissioned some of the greatest artists, giving opportunities to up and coming artists with new visions , their significant wealth allowing them to do this. They were deeply religious and funded the construction, restoration and decoration of ecclesiastical sites.

During the years of 1330-1550, the Italian Renaissance flourished in many aspects of different technologies such as painting, sculpture, and architecture from all over Italy, but a few of these accomplishments derived from the cities of Florence, Venice and Genoa. In the French language, “renaissance” translates to “rebirth”, which gave the start of the 14th century a sense of reawakening for those who resided in Europe, or more specifically, Italy. The renaissance contributed to many different cultures that sprung from this era, resulting in the spread of a considerable amount of innovations that the world still refers to in the 21st century. Venice, Genoa and Florence can be comparable yet they differ in many categories. While Venice and Genoa had a primary focus on trade and control, Florence began to flourish and expand its horizons with the arts they were introduced to. Although

A post Middle Age Italy was afflicted by medieval wars and the bubonic plague. A change was needed to restore the vision of what Italy could become. This change was found within one family: the Medici’s, who helped to return the glory and influence to Florence. The Medici’s 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 Medici’s enjoyed also extended to the political arena, which happened to be heavily influenced by the Catholic Church at the time. The Medici’s were able to capitalize on the power of the Church and through this influence and the use of

The Renaissance in the 15th century brought forth new forms of knowledge, reform, and enlightenment over Europe, particularly Florence, Italy. Despite its period of turmoil in the 12th century, the city of Florence went into a period of artistic creativity and dramatic cultural advancement. The 15th century excelled in the fields of art, music, literature, poetry, philosophy, science and theology. The Italian Renaissance is known to be an effective cultural development period which transpired innovational thinking and creative enrichment ("Unique Facts About Europe: The Renaissance." Unique Facts About Europe: The Renaissance. Web).”

In the thirteenth and fourteenth century, the trade between cities in Europe grew to new heights, which created enormous wealth. The Renaissance occurred through the fourteenth century until the seventeenth century and said to be “a burst of individualism”(3). The most distinct symbols of the Renaissance occurred in Florence where trade and banking are directly linked to the success of the arts during the time period. Many families grew extremely rich and powerful through the trade and banking. The most well know family was the Medici’s, who developed to be the most powerful and most crucial influences of the Renaissance.

1. There were many factors that helped shape the setting of the renaissance economic and political events played a role.Cities like Venice helped trading expand. Florence a city state was wealthy it was also one of the many places were the renaissance began. Merchant families dominated in banking because they would loan and invest in people. From doing this Florence was controlled merchants and their families they had political power as well. In northern Italian cities there was political unrest between the common people and the elite. The popolo used armed force and violence to take over republican governments but it didn't last long. When everything settled most cities became signori or oligarchic. Signori and other powerful leaders turned their households into courts. They displayed wealth this way. Palaces were built architects were hired to design and build while painters were brought in to make magnificent sculptures and paintings. Displaying all the wealth a signori had made other people want to do the same. It made italy explode in culture and