The Italian Renaissance followed on the heels of the Middle
Ages, and was spawned by the birth of the philosophy of
humanism, which emphasized the importance of individual achievement in a
wide range of fields. The early humanists, such as writer Francesco
Petrarch, studied the works of the ancient Greeks and Romans for inspiration
and ideology, mixing the philosophies of Plato and other ancient thinkers with
the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Under the influence of the
humanists, literature and the arts climbed to new levels of importance.
Though it eventually spread through Europe, the Renaissance began in the great
city-states of Italy. Italian merchants and political officials supported and
commissioned the great artists of the day, thus the products of the Renaissance
grew up inside their walls. The most powerful city-states were Florence, The
Papal States (centered in Rome), Venice, and Milan. Each of these states grew
up with its own distinctive character, very much due to the different forms of
government that presided over each. Florence, considered the birthplace of the
Renaissance, grew powerful as a wool-trading post, and remained powerful
throughout the Renaissance due to the leadership of the Medici family, who
maintained the city's financial strength and were intelligent and generous
patrons of the arts. The Pope, who had the responsibility of running the
Catholic Church as well, ruled Rome. As the power of the northern city-states
grew, the Papacy increasingly became the seat of an international politician
rather than a spiritual leader, and many pontiffs fell prey to the vices of
corruption and nepotism that often accompanied a position of such power.
Nevertheless, Rome, the victim of a decline that had destroyed the ancient city
during the Middle Ages, flourished once again under papal leadership during the
Renaissance. Venice and Milan also grew wealthy and powerful, playing large
roles in Italian politics and attracting many artists and writers to their
gilded streets. Venice was ruled by oligarchy in the hands of its Great Council
of noble families, and Milan by a strong monarchy that produced a line of
powerful dukes.
Perhaps the most prominent feature of the Renaissance was the furthering of the
arts, and the advancement of new techniques and styles. During the early
Renaissance, painters such as Giotto, and sculptors such as Ghiberti
experimented with techniques to better portray perspective. Their methods were
rapidly perfected and built upon by other artists of the early Renaissance such
as Botticelli and Donatello. However, the apex of artistic talent and
production came later, during what is known as the High Renaissance, in the form
of Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Michaelangelo, who remain the
best known artists of the Renaissance. The Renaissance also saw the invention
of printing in Europe and the rise of literature as an important aspect in
everyday life. The Italian writers Boccaccio, Pico, and Niccolo
Machiavelli were able to distribute their works much more easily and cheaply
because of the rise of the printed book.
Alas, the Italian Renaissance could not last forever, and beginning in 1494 with
the French invasion of Italian land Italy was plagued by the presence of foreign
powers vying for pieces of the Italian peninsula. Finally, in 1527, foreign
occupation climaxed with the sack of Rome and the Renaissance collapsed
under the domination of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. The economic
restrictions placed on the Italian states by Charles V, combined with the
censorship the Catholic Church undertook in response to the rising
Reformation movement ensured that the spirit of the
Renaissance was crushed, and Italy ceased to be the cradle of artistic,
intellectual, and economic prosperity.
