Florence During The Italian Renaissance

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

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.

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.

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.

Florence was a very important city during the Renaissance. The renaissance was a time of humanism, which was the belief that humans are greater than deity and supernatural. With this change came increase in the arts such as writers, painters, sculptures, architects, and more. A place that exhibits the change due to the renaissance is Brunelleschi’s Dome in Florence.

Although the origins of the Italian Renaissance can be traced to many different locations, it is important to note that different aspects of Italian culture and society remained largely medieval during the time of the Renaissance; the Renaissance did not come into full swing until the end of the century. The word Renaissance means “rebirth”, and the era is best known for the renewed interest in the culture of classical antiquity (Greece and Rome) after the period that Renaissance humanists labeled the Dark Ages. These changes, while significant, were concentrated in the elite, and for the vast majority of the population life was little changed from the Middle Ages.

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

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.

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.

While both authors recognize the political and social changes that occurred during the Renaissance, their views on the outcome of these changes differ. Burckhardt thinks that the changes caused Florence to become, “the first modern State in the world,” unlike Kelly-Gadol (Burckhardt, 1). Joan Kelly-Gadol believes that these changes were not for the better because as a result women, “were increasingly removed from public concerns” (Kelly-Gadol, 197). Burckhardt believes that, “the most varied forms of human development,” were a result of the Renaissance (Burckhardt, 1). Joan Kelly-Gadol’s disagrees with Burckhardt because she believes that, “there was no renaissance for women,” and therefore humanity did not completely develop (Kelly-Gadol, 176).

The definition of the term renaissance is defined as a rebirth or revival (The Free Dictionary 2015). According to (The Free dictionary 2015) the Renaissance art movement is described as “A humanistic revival of classic art, architecture, literature and learning that originated in Italy in the 14th century and later it spread throughout Europe”. This Renaissance art movement consists of different periods such as the early and later Renaissance. Florence and the Medici were the highlights of the early renaissance period (Visual Arts Cork 2016). Why was Florence the centre of the early Italian renaissance? In the 14th century an awful plague took place in Florence named the Black Death (The Free Dictionary 2015). This horrible outbreak lead

Before its unification in 1870, the country now known as Italy was comprised of cities. These cities were controlled and protected by the Holy Roman Empire until they won the right to govern themselves in the 12th century. The foreign emperor’s lack of attention allowed the cities to slowly transform into city-states and begin to build their own culture. The 1200’s became a time of many changes for Italy. The promotion of the arts and education flourished throughout the city-states.

The renaissance is defined as the “rebirth” of civilization in Europe from the 14th to 17th centuries (General Characteristics of the Renaissance). A renewed interest of classical world spread from its beginning in Italy, north to Germany and

What was the Renaissance and why did it happen? Italian life in the 14th and 15th centuries was lived among the vast ruins of the ancient Roman Empire. The cruelty and barbarism of Rome

There are many factors that come into play that make Italy the birth place for The Renaissance. Italy at