The Italian Renaissance

Objectives

Today we will be able to identify the factors involved in the development of the Italian Renaissance and the characteristics and people who were a part of this rebirth of classical culture.

The Bubonic Plague

In the middle of the 14th century, the Bubonic Plague reached Europe from Asia through the Silk Road.

Spread by fleas carried by rats, the Plague reached Constantinople by in 1347 and in three years had ravaged Europe.

Between a third to half of Europe’s population would perish.

The Impact of the Black Death

Ironically, the Black Death would usher in an era of greater wealth and a more secular outlook.

Refer to the flow chart, “Black Death and Its Impact.”

The Renaissance

A cultural flowering of art and literature, similar to those of antiquity, that developed in western Europe in the 1300s.

Italian City-States

The city states of the Italian peninsula were the most urbanized area of western Europe By 1300, there were at

least twenty three city states in northern and central parts of the peninsula with populations more that 20,000

It was in these city states that the the Renaissance began.

Thriving Economies

The thriving economies of the Italian city-states made the achievements of the Renaissance possible. The location of Italian peninsula

gave it an advantage in trade between the East and West

The Roman infrastructure in the north also made trade possible

The emergence of banking, particularly in Florence, Genoa and Venice, financed international trade and international commerce.

Refer to the maps of Italian city-states and 15th century European trade routes

Literature of the Italian Renaissance

Humanism – The study of the Humanities (Latin grammar, rhetoric and metaphysics). The study of the Humanities, they

believed, became critical for educating a good citizen.

In the tradition of classical literature vs. Scholasticism of the middle-ages (law, medicine, theology).

Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374) Found Roman classics and copied these

ancient texts. Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527)

Wrote, The Prince, work of political theory

Lost Greek texts were brought to western Europe by Byzantine refugees

The invention of the printing press led to the diffusion of these works throughout Europe.

Renaissance Artisans and Artists

Supported by wealthy patrons like the de’Medici’s, artists created works of sculpture, architecture, painting, etc…

Gentile Bellini (1429 -1507) – Painted scenes of Venetian political life.

Filippo Brunelleschi (1377 - 1446) - Architect and painter who introduced linear perspective in painting and designed the Duomo, Florence’s domed cathedral.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) – Painter of portraits and large frescoes in monasteries and civic buildings as well as scientist, engineer and scholar.

Michelangelo (1457-1564) – Sculpture and painter whose works include the Medici Tomb, David, and the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

The Duomo – The world’s largest, unreinforced brick dome, designed by Brunelleschi

The interior of the Duomo, depicting scenes of heaven and hell.

A panorama of Florence from atop the Duomo.

Wife and I from Atop Duomo

Selfie with Duomo in Distance

David – Michelangelo, carved from a single piece of marble