Let’s Travel around Europe!

A Short Itinerary/ History Lesson

Here’s a map to get us started on our journey through 4 historically major cities...

Florence, Italy and the RenaissanceFlorence was one of the 5 Italian city states that flourished during the Renaissance. It was known for being a center of banking and the trade of woolen cloth. Florence also had a free democracy, which may have meant that the restrictions on businesses and arts were not as strong as they were in other cities. Such political policies would have allowed the flourishing of the arts in Florence. Another thing that allowed the arts to thrive in Florence was that it had at a time been ruled over by the strong de Medici Family, who supported the arts.

Florence, Italy and the Renaissance - Part 2 This is the Palazzo Medici, the mansion of the de Medici family. Cosimo de Medici, a wealthy man, had a great wealthy man with a passion for learning and the arts. Together with his grandson Lorenzo, Cosimo de Medici set new standards standards for those who

sponsored artists. The de Medici respected their artists for their talents and individuality. The de Medici family also commissioned many wonderful works of art to decorate the interior of the Palazzo Medici.

Lisbon, Portugal and European ExplorationPortugal was the first European countries to participate in the explorations that took place during the Age of Discovery. Because Lisbon was located right on the estuary of the Tagus River,most explorations would take off from this city. Lisbon Portugal was Portugal’s primary location of trade, commerce, and travel. Lisbon was also the birthplace of Joao da Nova, who was one of the navigators and explorers to leave Portugal through Lisbon. Joao de Nova was the discoverer of the islands of Ascension and St. Helena.

Monument to the DiscoveriesThe Monument to the Discoveries is one of the most notable places to visit in Lisbon. The monument depicts a three sailed ship, or carrack, that is about to depart from the Tagus River. Aboard the ship are Prince Henry the Navigator, followed by other heroes of Portugal. Prince Henry was actually not an explorer, though he did fund many explorations and the creation of navigational tools. The men standing behind him,

such as Vasco de Gama, Pedro Alvares Cablar (the discoverer of Brazil), and Fernidad Magellan (the first explorer to make a complete trip around the globe) include actual explorers. Other people on the boat are made up of navigators, missionaries, writers, and other important figures from the Age of Discovery.

Wittenberg, Germany and the ReformationWittenberg, Germany is a college town that is closely linked to Martin Luther, who was a leader of the Protestant Reformation. Wittenberg was the home of Martin Luther and the location of the church that he preached at. In 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on the door of the church, igniting one of the first sparks of the Protestant Reformation. Wittenberg is also the location of the Oak Tree, where Martin Luther burned the Papal Bull. The Papal Bull was a document or official papal issued by the Catholic church.

The Castle ChurchOn October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church. The 95 Theses contained Martin Luther’s complaints about the church and explanations on how it could change. Martin Luther’s Theses were mainly based on the beliefs that the Bible has absolute authority and humans can reach salvation through their faith. These Theses may have caused Martin Luther to become excommunicated from the church, but the church is now a Lutheran church. Another interesting thing to note is that the 95 These are now engraved onto the church’s bronze doors.

Rome, Italy and the Counter ReformationThe Roman Catholic Church was definitely unhappy about the Protestant Reformation, and decided to create official organizations to counter it. The church created a council known as the Council of Trent to reject the ideas of the Reformation. The Reformation was also countered by the Index of Forbidden Books. Roman Authorities banned the reading of certain book, for they feared that the reading of certain books could lead people astray from the values of the Roman Catholic churches. The authorities in Rome thought of the printing press of a source of sin that could cause the faithful to become ruined.

The Church of GesuThe Church of gesu served as a base of operations of the Society of Jesus. The Society of Jesus was one of the steps that the Catholic Church took to spread the Catholic ideals and beliefs, as well as fight off dangerous attacks from outside of the church. The organizer of the Society of Jesus, made up of priests known as Jesuits, was Priest Ignatius of Loyola. Ignatius made sure that the Jesuits were trained intensely and took the oath of obedience to the Pope.Ignatius didn’t live to see the completion of

the Church of Gesu, but it was made his final resting place. For this reason, the Church of Gesu has become an important shrine for Catholic pilgrims.