Italy the Birthplace of the Renaissance Section 1-1

Renaissance Time period from 1300 to 1600 Was a “rebirth” of art and learning Focused on the individual and the potential for human growth and achievements

3 Factors That Gave Rise to the Renaissance in Italy City states Wealthy merchant class A return to classical Greece and Rome

Italian City-States Italy had many urban centers while the rest of Europe was mainly rural Cities were places where people exchanged new Renaissance ideas Many people in a central area made it easier for ideas to spread

Wealthy Merchant Class The Bubonic Plague killed a large portion of the population This left few workers, which allowed them to demand better wages With little opportunity to expand their businesses, many merchants turned to the arts

A Return to the Classics Renaissance thinkers looked to Ancient Greece and Rome as sources of knowledge Classical societies were viewed as more sophisticated than ones from the Middle Ages Scholars used the Roman ruins around Italy and Latin texts to study the classics

The Power of the Individual As scholars studied the classics, they began to focus on human potential and achievement This is called humanism and it became a center point for Renaissance thinking

Renaissance Philosophy Some people began to think of society in a secular or worldly view rather than a religious one Many patrons or supporters of the arts began efforts to beautify Italian cities.

The Renaissance Man & Woman The Renaissance man strove to excel in all areas of study (athletics, the arts, and intellectual studies) The Renaissance woman was expected to inspire but not create, to be intelligent but not take active roles in society

Leonardo da Vinci He was the ideal Renaissance Man He was a painter, sculptor, scholar and scientist One of his most famous pieces was the Mona Lisa

Changes in Literature Writers began to write in the Vernacular which was writing in native language rather than in Latin (you write in French in France and English in England)

Machiavelli A Renaissance writer and author of the Prince – a political handbook that advised rulers on how to rule their subjects