Download 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?
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…
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revival of antiquity
“perfecting the individual”
secularism (“the worldliness of the Italians”)
Represents a sudden & dramatic cultural break w/
the Middle Ages
The Italian City-States:
Most were economic powerhouses (shipbuilding, foreign
trade, banking & manufacturing)
Organized as communes…
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Efficiently managed cities
Associations of free men who won independence from local
nobles
Powerful local oligarchies wrote constitutions & declared them
republics (the popolo were disenfranchised)
Some oligarchies brought in military leaders (condottieri) or
handed the gov’t over to one man (signori)
Competed constantly with each other
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Invented modern diplomacy
Created concept of the balance of power
The 5 Major
City-States
of
Renaissance
Italy
The City-State of Florence
Type of Government…
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Republic controlled by
small merchant oligarchy
Most powerful family…
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Medici family
Most famous ruler(s)…
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Cosimo de’ Medici
Lorenzo de’ Medici
Economy based on…
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Banking
Textiles (cloth & wool)
Artistic & cultural center
of Early Renaissance
Architectural
Landmark:
The “Duomo”
Built between 1420-1436
Architect
Filippo Brunelleschi
The City-State of Milan
Type of Government…
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Duchy (rule by dukes)
Most powerful family…
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Visconti
Sforza (after 1447)
Most famous ruler(s)…
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Francesco Sforza
Economy based on…
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Efficient tax system
Thriving cloth industry
Controlled trade route
through Alps
Milan’s Architectural Landmarks
Castello Sforzesco
(Sforza Castle)
Church of Santa
Maria della
Grazie
The City-State of Venice
Type of Government…
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Maritime Republic
controlled by a small
oligarchy of merchant
aristocrats
Most powerful group…
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Great Council, Senate &
Council of Ten
Most famous ruler(s)…
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Doge = elected leader
Economy based on…
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Commercial trade
empire
Shipping industry
Architectural Landmarks : St. Mark’s Square
St. Mark’s Cathedral
Doge’s Palace
Venice: A City with NO ST REETS!!!
Rome (a.k.a. Papal States)
Type of Government…
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Ruled by the pope
Most powerful group…
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High ranking officials of
Catholic Church
Most famous ruler(s)…
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Pope Alexander VI
Pope Julius II
Pope Leo X
Economy based on…
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Religious pilgrimages
Church funds & taxes
Artistic center of High
Renaissance
Architectural
Landmark:
T he Vatican
St. Peter’s Basilica
(1506-1567)
Kingdom of Naples
Type of Government…
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Backward Monarchy
Most powerful family…
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House of Aragon
Most famous ruler(s)…
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Alfonso of Aragon (the
Magnanimous)
Economy based on…
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A feudal system
consisting largely of
poverty-stricken
peasants dominated by
unruly nobles
1. Humanism
Originated with Petrarch (14th c. poet)
Derived from the term studia humanitates (“liberal
studies”)
Important Characteristics…
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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
Pico della Mirandola
On the Dignity of
Man
1486
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)
3. Virtù
“The Quality of
Being a Man”
Means living up to
one’s highest
potential & excelling
in all endeavors
L’uomo universale
Vitruvian Man (1492);
Leonardo da Vinci
Self-Portrait –Leonardo da Vinci, 1512
Artist
Sculptor
Architect
Scientist
Engineer
Inventor
1452 - 1519
Baldassare Castiglione by Raphael,
1514-1515
Castiglione
represented the
humanist
“gentleman” as
a man of
refinement and
self-control.
The Courtier
(1528)
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:
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Lorenzo Valla, On Pleasure
Boccaccio, Decameron
Machiavelli, The Prince
5. Historical Consciousness
Humanism provided a new periodization, or
chronology, to history
Classical Age
Dark Ages
Renaissance
Secularized the writing of history
Examples:
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Leonardo Bruni, History of the Florentine People
Francesco Guicciardini, The History of Italy and his
History of Florence