1. A Tour of Renaissance Italy
How much of a break was the Renaissance from medieval life? Why was Italy the birthplace of this movement?
What are the five key ideas “reborn” during the Renaissance?

2. Jacob Burckhardt: The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy (1860)
Created the modern concept of the Renaissance
14th – 15th c. Italy was the birthplace of the modern world
Distinguishing features of the period…
revival of antiquity
“perfecting the individual”
secularism (“worldliness”)
Represents a sudden & dramatic cultural break w/ the Middle Ages

3. The Italian City-States:
Most were economic powerhouses (shipbuilding, foreign trade, banking & manufacturing)
Organized as communes…
Efficiently managed cities
Associations of free men who won independence from local nobles
Powerful local oligarchies wrote constitutions & declared them republics (the popolo or people were disenfranchised)
Some oligarchies brought in military leaders or handed the gov’t over to one man
Competed constantly with each other
Invented modern diplomacy
Created concept of the balance of power

4. The 5 Major City-States of Renaissance Italy

5. Renaissance Florence

6. The City-State of Florence
Type of Government…
Republic controlled by small merchant oligarchy
Most powerful family…
Medici family
Most famous ruler(s)…
Cosimo de’ Medici
Lorenzo de’ Medici
Economy based on…
Banking
Textiles (cloth & wool)
Artistic & cultural center of Early Renaissance

7. Architectural Landmark:
The “Duomo”
Built between
Architect Filippo Brunelleschi

8. Renaissance Milan

9. The City-State of Milan
Type of Government…
Duchy (rule by dukes)
Most powerful family…
Visconti
Sforza (after 1447)
Most famous ruler(s)…
Francesco Sforza
Economy based on…
Efficient tax system
Thriving cloth industry
Controlled trade route through Alps

10. Milan’s Architectural Landmarks
Castello Sforzesco (Sforza Castle)
Church of Santa Maria della Grazie

11. Venice During the Renaissance

12. The City-State of Venice
Type of Government…
Maritime Republic controlled by a small oligarchy of merchant aristocrats
Most powerful group…
Great Council, Senate & Council of Ten
Most famous ruler(s)…
Doge = elected leader
Economy based on…
Commercial trade empire
Shipping industry

13. Architectural Landmarks : St. Mark’s Square
St. Mark’s Cathedral
Doge’s Palace

14. Venice: A City with NO STREETS!!!

15. Renaissance Rome

16. Rome (a.k.a. Papal States)
Type of Government…
Ruled by the pope
Most powerful group…
High ranking officials of Catholic Church
Most famous ruler(s)…
Pope Alexander VI
Pope Julius II
Pope Leo X
Economy based on…
Religious pilgrimages
Church funds & taxes
Artistic center of High Renaissance

17. Architectural Landmark:
The Vatican
St. Peter’s Basilica
( )

18. Kingdom of Naples

19. Kingdom of Naples Type of Government… Most powerful family…
Monarchy
Most powerful family…
House of Aragon
Most famous ruler(s)…
Alfonso of Aragon (the Magnanimous)
Economy based on…
A feudal system consisting largely of poverty-stricken peasants dominated by unruly nobles

20. The 5 Key Ideas
of the
Renaissance

21. 1. Humanism Originated with Petrarch (14th c. poet)
Derived from the term studia humanitates (“liberal studies”)
Important Characteristics…
Study of Latin & Greek classics
Goal = revive the art of rhetoric & lively dialogues of the Platonic Academy
Use of vernacular language
Emphasized the abilities, achievements & greatness of humans
Humanists were intellectual celebrities admired beyond the borders of their city-states

22. Pico della Mirandola
On the Dignity of Man
1486

23. 2. Individualism “Man is the measure of all things.”
A Sense of power and greatness of the human being replaced religious awe
Individual Ambitions & accomplishments were celebrated
Can easily be seen in Renaissance literature (autobiography) & visual arts (portrait)

24. 3. Virtù “The Quality of Being a Man”
Means living up to one’s highest potential & excelling in all endeavors
Vitruvian Man (1492); Leonardo da Vinci

25. Self-Portrait –Leonardo da Vinci, 1512
Artist
Sculptor
Architect
Scientist
Engineer
Inventor

26. Baldassare Castiglione by Raphael, 1514-1515
Castiglione represented the humanist “gentleman” as a man of refinement and self-control.
The Courtier (1528)

27. 4. Secularism Focus on the earthly world, not the heavenly one
Enthusiastically adopted by new wealthy elites who patronized the arts & sought more pleasurable lives
Examples:
Lorenzo Valla, On Pleasure
Boccaccio, Decameron
Machiavelli, The Prince

28. 5. Historical Consciousness
Humanism provided a new periodization, or chronology, to history
Classical Age Dark Ages Renaissance
Secularized the writing of history
Examples:
Leonardo Bruni, History of the Florentine People
Francesco Guicciardini, The History of Italy and his History of Florence