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Question: Why did the renaissance begin in italy!?
i need three reasons why the renaissance began in italyWww@QuestionHome@Com


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When one age ends and another begins, there are cross currents!. The declining or Late Middle Ages are usually dated from 1300 to 1500!. It should be noted that this time overlaps with the Renaissance!. The glass is either half empty or half full!. It depends on one’s perspective!.

The Renaissance started in Italy because these crises within Christendom benefitted Italy!. It gave Italy an independence and freedom which it had not previously enjoyed!. It must also be noted that the ruins of Roman civilization where more visible in Italy than elsewhere!. The Italians had never quite forgotten that heritage even during the Dark Ages!. Urban life had never disappeared entirely in Italy, the way it had in the rest of Europe!.

The Renaissance began in the Italian city-states because they had the wealth from the commerce and trade of the Middle Ages!. For some time, Venice had outfitted the crusaders and was the conduit for the silk and spice trade from India and China!. Furthermore, the Byzantines and the Moslems cross-fertilized these urban city-states with their cultural ideas!. Merchant banking families, such as the Medici in Florence, were able to profit from these commercial endeavors and became the ruling elite!. These wealthy bankers were able to finance and patronize the arts, providing employment for the famous painters, sculptors, and architects of the time!.

In addition, Italy had many reminders of the Roman past: the road network, the aqueducts, the public buildings, the monuments!. Wealth, a standing heritage from the past, the freedom of the urban elite society—all of these factors contributed to a shift in attitude, which would soon include respect and admiration for the classical age!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

There was a new way of thinking!. People became to be more involved in the world here on earth and less on the afterlife and Heaven!. This was coming out of two things, one the Black Death which showed the people of Europe that the divine authority of the Catholic Church didn't always have all the answers, and the idea of Humanism - less focus on religion and being a devout church-going person and more on enjoying life here on earth (massive church corruption didn't help)!. Furthermore, since there was a greater emphasis on enjoying the world in this life, people began to 'live it up!.' They did this by enjoying spices and other lavish luxuries from all over the world - silk and spices from the 'far east'!. This then lead to a huge explosion in trade (and exploration too, leading to Columbus trying to land in India)!. Italy with its unique location in the center (south of Europe, north of Africa) of it all received a great deal of this trade traffic!. Thus, tons of money flowing through Italy, growth of banking, patronizing families a-la Medici, new looks at old artwork styles and bringing them back, and boom, you got the Renaissance!.Www@QuestionHome@Com