1. THE RENAISSANCE

3. The Renaissance RE = once more again NAISSANCE = birth
The Renaissance was a rebirth or revival of an interest in learning based on classical models from ancient Greece and Rome, which Europeans became aware of through ruins and Greco-Roman texts preserved by Islamic scholars in the Ottoman Empire.

4. The Renaissance
The Renaissance is the name given to a new way of life that appeared in Europe.
It marked the end of the Middle Ages.
The Renaissance lasted from the 14th -16th centuries ( ).

5. The Renaissance The Renaissance began in Florence, Italy.
Florence was a city-state.

6. The Humanists
Humanists valued learning not as a preparation for religious life, but as a means of self- improvement.
Stressed the value of the individual
Studied the classics – the works of the ancient Greeks and Romans.

7. Why did the Renaissance begin in Italy?
There are many reason why the Renaissance is considered to start in Italy. With your group you will summarize each reason and then rank them from what you believe to be the most significant reason to the least significant reason.

8. Giovanni de Nowheresville and Mario de Wealthton were aspiring artists in Italy during the Renaissance. The two went to the same university to study sculpture, they had all of the same professors, and were both very accomplished students. After their studies finished, both of them went to their hometowns to see if they could make careers out of being sculptors.

9. Mario’s Story
Mario lived in Wealthton, a trading city on the coast of Italy. Since there were a lot of merchants in Wealthton, there were also a lot of rich people. Some of the rich people liked to adorn their homes and the city with sculptures so they used their money to hire artists to create them. Mario became an apprentice of one of the artists who was often hired by the wealthy merchants and bankers, then some of them asked him to create sculptures of his own.

10. Giovanni’s Story
Giovanni lived in Nowheresville, a small farming town far from the coast of Italy. Most people in Nowheresville were farmers, so when Giovanni returned he got a job as a farmer and sculpted in the evenings when he was done working. It took him years to finish a sculpture and when he was finished he tried to sell it, but no one in his town had extra money to spend on it.

11. Why did Mario become a successful artist and Giovanni did not?

12. Why did the Renaissance begin in Italy?
There are many reason why the Renaissance is considered to start in Italy. With your group you will summarize each reason and then rank them from what you believe to be the most significant reason to the least significant reason.

13. Geography

14. Crusades

15. The Black Death

16. The Medici Family Funds Art in Florence
Wealthy merchants, like the Medici family, became focused on beautifying cities like Florence. They were considered to be ‘patrons of the arts.’ Patron comes from the Latin word for father. They hired artists to fill their homes with beautiful paintings and sculptures. Patrons bought rare books and paid scholars to teach their children. They funded artists, architects, and scientists to study Greek and Roman buildings and texts, then to build new Italian achievements. Without money from trade the achievements of the Renaissance would not have been created.  

18. Sanctuary of Scholars
Italy was the core of the former Roman Empire, and, at the collapse of the Byzantine Empire in 1453, became the refuge (safe place) for the intellectuals of Constantinople who brought with them many of the great works of the ancient Greeks and Romans. These works had been lost to the West during the Middle Ages. Prior to this, scholars in Italy had been examining the works of ancient scholars, but they were of poor quality and often incomplete.

20. Characteristics of the Renaissance Examples Activity
In groups of 4 or 5
Read through the text and examine the images on each document
Check off which characteristics of the Renaissance are found in the example in the table below
Write down evidence from the examples that support your decision to check off that characteristic.