World History A

Intro

The word renaissance means “rebirth.” What was reborn during this period? One of the most enduring innovations of Renaissance culture was a new view of human beings. This outlook, embodied in the intellectual movement known as humanism, celebrated the extraordinary individual. The Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci, who was also an architect, inventor, and mathematician, was seen by those around him as a model of this humanist ideal.

The Renaissance began in northern Italy in the late fourteenth century and then spread throughout Europe. Renaissance culture developed in the unique political, social, and economic environment of Italy’s small, independent states. Located on major trade routes, cities such as Milan and Florence were ideal places to receive and spread ideas. Florence, controlled by the Medici family, was perhaps the most influential city. Its scholars, writers, artists, and architects defined the culture of the Renaissance.