1. Renaissance

2. The Renaissance “Rebirth” 14 th – 17 th century (1300s – 1600s) Began in Italy in the mid-1300s; spread throughout Europe Reached its height in the 1500s

3. Why Italy? Reawakened interest in the culture of Ancient Rome Italian city-states survived the Black Death (Florence, Milan, Venice, Genoa, Rome, and Naples) Wealthy, powerful bankers and merchants Florence  gifted poets, artists, scholars, and scientists The Medici Family – became the richest bankers and merchants in Europe – gained control of Florentine government in 1434 – money translated into cultural and political power

4. Lorenzo de Medici clever politician held Florence together during difficult times generous patron (financial supporter) of the arts Poets, artists and philosophers frequently visited the Medici palace

5. Leonardo da Vinci

6. Michelangelo

7. Galileo Galilei

8. Johannes Gutenberg

9. Raphael

10. Donatello

11. Jan Van Eyck

12. Albrecht Durer

13. Andreas Vesalius

14. Nicolaus Copernicus

15. Johannes Kepler

16. Tycho Brahe

17. Martin Luther

18. Pope Paul III

19. Thomas More

20. John Calvin

21. William Shakespeare

22. Dante Alighieri

23. Petrarch

24. Niccolo Machiavelli

25. Henry VIII (England)

26. Elizabeth I (England)

27. Louis XIV (France)

28. Peter the Great (Russia)

29. Hernan Cortes

30. Francisco Pizarro

31. Amerigo Vespucci

32. Francis Drake