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My Notes/ Teacher Notes
Chapter 20, Lesson 1
THE STATES OF ITALY
Italy is a collection of independent city-states. Why?
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Did not want to be ruled
Catholic Church did not want a united Italy; no powerful
ruler to control the Pope
City-states were equal, but few were most important to the Renaissance
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Florence
Venice
Genoa
Milan
Rome
Renaissance began in Italy; more money and power; built large fleets of
ships and hired mercenaries; the city-states had so much wealth they
would loan money to the kings of Europe. In return, they would leave
them alone so they could continue to borrow money from them.
Italy gained wealth through: 1) it’s geographic location 2) the Crusades
3) the Mongol conquests
Marco Polo- Italian merchant: traveled to China to meet Kublai Khan:
Marco dazzled Kublai Khan of his travel stories, so he hired him to go on
fact-finding trips all over China- He then returned to Italy and wrote a
book about China which encouraged trade with the Chinese
Florence: A Renaissance City
First major city of the Renaissance; wealth and location attracted
many artists, sculptors, writers, and architects
Florence Cathedral has a great dome: greatest architectural
achievement of the time: built by Filippo Brunelleschi
Gained wealth from banking: would loan money and charge
interest: The Medici Family owned the largest bank in Florence during
the 1400s
Venice: A city of canals
Another leading Renaissance city: built on many small islands; built
canals instead of roads and used boats for transportation
A NEW RULING CLASS
Wealthy merchants and bankers formed a new kind of leadership; past:
earned wealth from land: present; wealth from trade
Old noble families moved to the cities and became urban nobles ;
wealthy merchants adopted customs of the nobles; soon their children were
marrying; these new families became the upper class of the city-states
Who ruled Italian City-States
Many city-states began as republics, but only artisans and merchants
were citizens: Most city-states did have one main person in charge
Venice: the duke or doge was the ruler: he officially ran the city but a
council of wealthy merchants held the power: This council passed laws and
elected the doge
Florence: The Medici Family controlled the government for many years:
Lorenzo de’ Medici controlled from 1469-1492: he used his wealth to support
many artists, architects, and writers: Because of his support for the arts, he
became known as Lorenzo the Magnificent
Keeping the Peace
Political affairs were complex: had to put down revolts from the poor;
had to prevent other wealthy families from taking power; and keep good
relations with neighboring city-states
Diplomacy was developed at this time: art of making agreements with
other countries.
Niccolo Machiavelli tried to answer the question of how to keep peace
in his book The Prince
The Prince stated that rulers should:
 Do whatever necessary to keep power and
protect its people
 Kill and lie if that’s what it takes