Weather In Italy During The Renaissance

Italy was considered the birthplace of both the Renaissance, specifically the Artistic Renaissance. The Renaissance was a period of rebirth (14th to the 17th century) of learning classical knowledge, which then went more specifically into the formation of ideals and thoughts such as the focus on man and their achievements, man being fundamentally “good”, the use of measurements and science in art and the overall shift into what is more appearance oriented as well as somewhat of a realistic art style. These ideals of the Renaissance were presented through the work that artists of this period were producing.

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.

The Italian Renaissance had two distinct periods during its lifetime. The first being the “Early Renaissance”, which took place between the late 13th and the early 14th centuries. The second period was known as the “High Renaissance”, which took place during the 15th and 16th centuries. These two periods had very distinct foundations and styles behind the art and architecture of their respective periods. The Early Renaissance revived many old themes which later became the foundations for the High Renaissance. While the High Renaissance strayed from previous traditions and had its own form of art and essentially perfected early themes and styles of art and included more scientific/mathematic components.

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.

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

Rome began in 31 BCE when Augustus Caesar became the first emperor of Rome, and the Roman empire was a significant and powerful western civilization with a complex political, religious, and social system by 117 CE (Mark, Roman Empire). From the parallel streets in cities of the Roman empire to the layout of the Roman forum to the living structures of the different classes, the Roman empire at this time was highly organized and methodical. And these are but a few examples of the power and authority of the Roman empire, which clearly put the citizens in their place. Looking at Rome and Pompeii, ancient art, building structures, and city layouts clearly stratified citizens based on economic and social status.

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.

Boundless World History. "Italy during the Renaissance". Lumen. Boundless World History. 27 May 2018. (-- removed HTML --)

In the crucible of the fourteenth-century, the turbulent politics contributed to the growth of a different way of doing art, finances, literature, religion, and technology. It led the growth of new ideas. Continuous warfare among the states brought skilled leaders. In fourteenth-century Italy constituted the Renaissance. This period was characterized by a return to the sources of knowledge and standards of beauty that had created the great civilizations of classical Greece and Rome. It was an age that spread new ideas more fast than ever before. Painters, writers, and politicians focused on ambitious individualism, realism, and activism. They insisted on optimistic faith in the human potential. Florence was a birthplace of the Renaissance.

Throughout this time period, the differences between the Italian and Northern Renaissance were different in so many ways. To start with, the rebirth of Italy came at the beginning of the 1300s whereas France’s began about a 100 years later, and England came around

In many ways, Italy had benefits over northern Europe in detaching from the feudal system and accumulating enormous amounts of wealth. I think that above all else, geography was Italy’s anchor in this respect. Being a projecting land mass sticking out into the Mediterranean Sea, and beneficially located between the main part of Europe and the Byzantine Empire, cities within Italy had little choice but to weave endeavors of commerce into every day life while engaging in the market and foreign trade. Therefore, Italy became prone to the extensive continuity of goods and novelties earlier than other European areas. Accordingly,

A key factor as to why the Renaissance was later in arriving in northern Europe is due to its location. Northern Europe was further removed from the centres of trade in the Mediterranean. As a result trade and progressive ideas that come with wealth developed more slowly in the north of Europe. The cities of Milan, Florence, and Venice had become very successful during the end of the Middle Ages. Northern Italy was able to lead the Italian Renaissance due to the Mediterranean, the central location for trade. They controlled trade with Asia mostly through the silk road and also through importing spices

Economic prosperity because of banking and social dynamism of the city-states made the Reninessance possible. Moreover, Roman infostructure among other things they left behind also made it conceivable. Although in the 14th and 15th centuries the Black Death and other epidemics had ravaged through the Italian peninsula it did not affect the northern part of the peninsula as bad, moreover, it still prospered.

At the beginning of the Italian Renaissance, Italy was split into city-states, however knowledge was always on the brim of expanding and in a few years, Italian intellect would be exponentially larger. The start of this growth actually begins in Germany, 1439, Johannes Gutenburg, produces the first printing press, forever changing the literary industry by making it easier to print more copies and allowing manuscripts to be available to the public.

Location was a key factor in where the rebirth would take place. The Italian Renaissance took place in Florence, Italy. Florence had been the center of the Roman Empire, which encouraged the rebirth to happen in a rapid pace. Another reason why the Italian Renaissance took place in Florence was because of it’s location along the Mediterranean Sea, which aided trade and cultural diffusion. The Northern Renaissance took place in Flanders. Flanders had sufficient amount of trade, but also an immense economic growth that caused the North to start a renaissance of their own.