Get Ready to Read

Section OverviewThis section describes how Italian city-states grew wealthy and used their riches to bring a rebirth of art and ideas to Europe.

The Renaissance Begins

Get Ready to Read (cont.)

Focusing on the Main Ideas• The wealthy urban society of the Italian

city-states brought a rebirth of learning and art to Europe.

• Italy’s location helped its city-states grow wealthy from trade and banking, but many of the cities fell under the control of strong rulers.

• Unlike medieval nobles, the nobles of the Italian city-states lived in cities and were active in trade, banking, and public life.

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Get Ready to Read (cont.)

• Florence (FLAWR·uhns)

• Venice (VEH·nuhs)

Locating Places

• Marco Polo (MAHR·koh POH·loh)

• Medici (MEH·duh·chee)

Meeting People

• Niccolò Machiavelli (NEEK·koh·LOH MA·kee·uh·VEH·lee)

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Get Ready to Read (cont.)

Building Your Vocabulary• Renaissance (REH·nuh·SAHNS) • secular (SEH·kyuh·luhr)

• diplomacy (duh·PLOH·muh·see)

Reading StrategySummarizing Information Complete a chart like the one on page 608 of your textbook showing the reasons Italian city-states grew wealthy.

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The Italian Renaissance• Renaissance means “rebirth.”

• During the Renaissance, Europeans believed that people could change the world and make it better.

(pages 609–610)

• The Renaissance in Europe—a rebirth of interest in art and learning—occurred between 1350 and 1550.

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The Italian Renaissance (cont.)

• Though they were still religious, they celebrated human achievements and became more secular, meaning they were more interested in the world than in religion.

• Italy had been the center of the Roman Empire.

(pages 609–610)

• The Renaissance began in Italy.

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The Italian Renaissance (cont.)

• The country had also become very wealthy so it could afford to pay artists to create art.

• Florence and Venice were important city-states during the Renaissance.

(pages 609–610)

• Because Italy was still divided into small city-states, individuals wanted to create works that would increase the fame of their cities.

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The Italian Renaissance (cont.)

• More people in Italy lived in the city-states than in the country.

(pages 609–610)

• The artists in the city-states had more customers to buy their work.

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How did the rise of city-states help the development of art during the Renaissance?

The city-states competed with each other. They commissioned works of art to make their towns more beautiful than others, which created more work for artists and craftspeople.

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The Rise of Italy’s City-States• No one ruler was able to unite all of Italy.

• This did not occur, in part, because the Catholic Church wanted to prevent a strong ruler from controlling the pope and the Church.

• Another factor was that the small city-states were equally powerful and wealthy.

(pages 611–613)

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The Rise of Italy’s City-States (cont.)

• Italy was in a perfect location for trade.

• The Italians traded with the French, Spanish, Dutch, English, Turks, Arabs, and Byzantines.

• The Mongols helped promote trade in Italy by protecting the Silk Road.

(pages 611–613)

• Marco Polo, a merchant from Venice, had published a book about his travels to the East.

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The Rise of Italy’s City-States (cont.)

• Florence was the first city-state to grow wealthy and is the most famous city of the Renaissance.

• Florentine bankers became experts at valuing coins.

• They began lending money and charging interest.

(pages 611–613)

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The Rise of Italy’s City-States (cont.)

• Venice was the wealthiest city-state.

• Venice is built on a set of swampy islands.

• Venetians navigated their city-state by boat and became great sailors and shipbuilders.

(pages 611–613)

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• Florence’s richest family, the Medici, were bankers.

The Rise of Italy’s City-States (cont.)

(pages 611–613)Pier and the Ducal Palace in Venice during the Renaissance.

The Ducal Palace today.

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Why did the Venetians become expert sailors and shipbuilders?

Because Venice was built on islands, Venetians used boats to navigate their city. Over time, they became experts at building and sailing ships.

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The Urban Noble• Noble families moved into cities and

mixed with wealthy merchants there.

• Wealthy merchants copied the nobles’ manners, and soon the children of the merchants and nobles were marrying each other.

• These families became the urban upper class.

• At first, the city-states were republics.(pages 614–615)

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The Urban Noble (cont.)

• Gradually the city-states gave power to one man to run the government.

• In Venice, the doge had power.

• Later, the doge lost power to a small group of nobles.

• In Florence, the Medici family gained power and ruled for many years.

(pages 614–615)

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The Urban Noble (cont.)

• To deal with other city-states, Italian rulers developed diplomacy, which is the art of negotiating or making deals.

• Niccolò Machiavelli, a diplomat in Florence, thought people were too greedy and self-centered.

• He thought rulers should not try to be good, but should do whatever is necessary to keep power and protect a city.

(pages 614–615)

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What were the duties of the rulers of city-states?

Rulers had to keep the poor people from rebelling, prevent other wealthy people from gaining power, negotiate with leaders from other city-states, and make deals with merchants, landlords, church leaders, and mercenaries.

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Why is the era from 1350 to 1550 in Europe called the Renaissance?

because of a rebirth in art and learning

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Italy had been the center of the Roman Empire, the city-states were wealthy, and competed with one another, and urban society promoted new ideas and art.

Why did the Renaissance begin in Italy?

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Economics Link How did Renaissance cities gain their wealth? Give several examples.

Florence: trade in wool and cloth and banking; Venice: trade and ship building

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Summarize Describe the governments of Italian city-states during the Renaissance.

Answers should be based on the text.

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Analyze Who were the Medicis and why were they important?

The Medicis were the richest family in Florence. They ran the city for decades and supported many artists.

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Persuasive Writing Write a letter to the editor of a Renaissance newspaper telling whether you agree or disagree with Machiavelli’s beliefs about rulers and power during the Renaissance.

Letters will vary.

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Make a list of nouns associated with the cities of Venice and Florence.

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