Italian Renaissance

The word "Renaissance" itself means "rebirth" in French (rinascimento in Italian). This era is famous for its revival of the culture of classical antiquity, a stark contrast to what the Renaissance humanists called the Dark Ages. Interestingly, the term "Renaissance" wasn’t actually used until the 19th century, thanks to historians like Jacob Burckhardt.

The Italian Renaissance kicked off in Tuscany, particularly in Florence and Siena. It then spread to cities like Venice, where scholars discovered new texts from ancient Greece. The height of the Renaissance in Italy was in the late 15th century, but foreign invasions eventually caused turmoil. However, the ideas and ideals of the Renaissance spread across Europe, influencing the Northern Renaissance and the English Renaissance.

The Italian Renaissance is celebrated for its cultural achievements. We’re talking about literary giants like Petrarch, Castiglione, and Machiavelli; legendary artists such as Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci; and architectural masterpieces like Florence’s Duomo and St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

By the late Middle Ages, central and southern Italy, once the heart of the Roman Empire, were much poorer than the north. Rome was in ruins, and the Papal States were barely governed, leading the papacy to move to Avignon in France. In contrast, northern Italy was thriving. The Crusades had created lasting trade routes to the Levant, and the Fourth Crusade weakened the Byzantine Empire as a commercial rival to cities like Venice and Genoa. Northern Italy’s development, spurred by trade, made it one of the wealthiest regions in Europe, with Florence as a prime example of prosperity.

Italian trade routes across the Mediterranean were not just for goods but also for ideas and knowledge. During medieval times, classical Greek learning trickled into Western Europe through Arab translations. The Crusades and the Reconquista of Moorish Spain brought even more classical knowledge to northern Italy.

The 13th century was an economic boom time for Europe, and Italian city-states grew in power, becoming almost entirely independent from the Holy Roman Empire. This period saw the development of modern commercial infrastructure, including joint stock companies, international banking, foreign exchange markets, insurance, and government debt. Florence became the financial hub, and its gold florin was the main currency for international trade.

The political landscape of Northern Italy was fragmented into numerous warring city-states, the most powerful being Milan, Florence, Pisa, Siena, Genoa, Ferrara, and Venice. From the 13th century onward, armies were primarily composed of mercenaries, allowing prosperous city-states to field considerable forces despite their low populations. By the 15th century, the most powerful city-states began annexing their smaller neighbors.

Florence, under the Medici, was a key player in this period. In the late 14th century, the Medici family rose to prominence. They controlled the largest bank in Europe and had various enterprises in Florence and beyond. Cosimo de' Medici, a significant figure, brought stability and prosperity to Florence and was a major patron of the arts. His grandson, Lorenzo "the Magnificent," continued this legacy, becoming one of the Renaissance’s most important patrons of the arts.

Initially, Renaissance ideas traveled from Florence to neighboring Tuscan states like Siena and Lucca. Tuscan culture quickly became the model for all Northern Italian states, and the Tuscan dialect of Italian dominated literature in the region. Venice, one of the wealthiest cities due to its control of the Mediterranean, also emerged as a hub of Renaissance culture, particularly in architecture.

Smaller courts in cities like Ferrara, Mantua under the Gonzaga, and Urbino under Federico da Montefeltro fostered Renaissance patronage and developed their unique artistic styles. In Naples, the Renaissance flourished under Alfonso I, who conquered the city in 1443 and supported artists and writers.

The papacy returned to Rome in 1378, but the city remained poor and in ruins during the early Renaissance. The transformation began under Pope Nicholas V, who initiated a major rebuilding effort. This renewal continued under subsequent popes, who became major patrons of Renaissance art and philosophy.

Just like its beginning, pinpointing the exact end of the Renaissance is tricky. For some, it ended with the rise of the austere monk Girolamo Savonarola in 1497. Savonarola capitalized on the backlash against the secularism and extravagance of the Renaissance, leading to the destruction of many artworks in the infamous "Bonfire of the Vanities."

The Medici's return to power marked a new phase in the arts known as Mannerism. However, the series of foreign invasions known as the Italian Wars, starting in 1494, led to widespread destruction and the end of many city-states' independence. The most devastating blow was the sack of Rome in 1527 by Spanish and German troops, which nearly ended the Papacy's role as a major patron of Renaissance art and architecture for two decades.

As the Italian Renaissance declined, its ideals and styles found new life in the Northern Renaissance. Many of Italy’s greatest artists emigrated, and the Renaissance ideas spread throughout Northern Europe, marking a broader shift as the Mediterranean ceased to be Europe’s primary trade route, replaced by the Atlantic ports.