Download Italian City states

ITALIAN CITY STATES
General Information
 Renaissance was possible because Italy
wasn’t a united country until the nineteenth
century.
 It flourished because of the small city-states.
 A city states is made up of two parts:
 A city
 The area surrounding the city (hinterland)
 The hinterland provides food and necessities
for the city to flourish.
 City-states had their own government and
armed forces
 City-states were democratic (everyone had a
vote)
 Some city-states were occupied by the
Roman Empire, Spain, or the Pope so there
were a lot of wars between them.
 Some city-states hired people to fight for
them (Mercenary Soldiers)
 Some became rules of city states.
 These soldiers had little concern for the
reasons of the wars, they did it just for the
pay.
FLORENCE
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Is located in Tuscany in NW Italy.
Became rich through clothe sales
Controlled the kingdom of Naples.
Famous for Renaissance art in many galleries
today.
 Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci lived
here
 One of Europe's largest cities (100 000 people
in 1330)
 Early Florence was rules by a democracy of
representatives from the cities guilds.
 Later, it was rules by an oligarchy
(government of a few powerful people)
 In 1434 the Medici family ruled.
 In 1378 there was a revolt from the cloth
workers, and from then on the government
worked hard to keep citizens happy.
 Rulers were proud of their city. There were
many public buildings and works of art.
 The Medici's sponsored both Leonardo da
Vinci and Michelangelo.
Turn to page 215 and do the analysis together!
VENICE
 Is a city built on piles sunk into an island.
 The city has canals (which function as roads)
 The city had a population of more than 150
000
 It became successful because of its powerful
navy (controlled trade routes by the
Mediterranean Sea)
 It is referred to as a republic (people have
power to elect government), but people really
had little power.
 The ruler was the Doge (who was elected for
life)
 The city had a senate and great council that
made the laws.
 Citizens were at the mercy of the most
powerful part of the government (the Secret
Council of Ten). This council had the power to
imprison, torture, and execute any person, in
secret.
 There were many famous artists who were
paid by wealthy people to build or paint.
 Titian was the most famous artist of Venice.
 Venice is considered one of the most
beautiful cities of the world.