The Renaissance

The Renaissance

• Renaissance means “rebirth”

• Lasted from around 1350-1600

• During the Renaissance, people in Europe started living less by religion and began to embrace new ideas and technology

• Started in Italy and then spread across Europe• http://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/view/assetGuid/754DFC00-C48F-42

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Government• Instead of fiefs, Italy formed city-states– Many city-states became wealthy because of trade– http://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/view/assetGuid/377C5912-E224-48B4-9E02-07F565453C

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Government

Two main types of government emerged in Italy:

• Signoria- Controlled by a ruling family– These developed in smaller cities with only one powerful family

• Republicanism- Groups of wealthy families ruled together– In large cities, there were many wealthy families and they had

to share power– Examples: Florence and Venice

Humanism• Humanism- Using religious ideas to look for

solutions to the issues and problems of everyday life– Used teachings from philosophers from Ancient

Greece and Rome

– Led to advances in science, literature, architecture, and art

– http://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/view/assetGuid/DCDD5FD5-6D25-4DE9-9070-94FF20419CD1

Humanism

• Petrarch and Giovanni Boccaccio are considered to be the first Renaissance humanists– They were both poets and writers

• They came up with the concept of less focus on religion and more focus on technology and the spread of new ideas

Petrarch

Boccaccio

Technology from Middle East• During the Middle Ages, Muslims in the

Middle East and Northern Africa made many scientific advances (math and astronomy)– Brought to Italy across the Mediterranean Sea– http://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/view/assetGuid/e91e054d-58db-4897-a915-2d32a43ce5

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Technology from China

• Venetian trade routes connected through the Silk Road reached as far as China– This brought the idea of block printing and paper-

making to Italy

Printing Press

• In the 1440s, Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press

• This greatly increased the number of books, which further led to the spread of ideas and the Humanist movement

Leaning Tower of Pisa

• Completed in 1372

• 183 feet tall

• The foundation of the tower started to sink making it lean

• In recent years, weights have been put on the opposite side to stop the leaning

Sistine Chapel

• Completed in 1481

• Most famous for its ceiling, painted by Michelangelo that tells the story of the Old Testament

• Located in Vatican City, this is where the Pope lives

Mona Lisa• Created in 1503 by

Leonardo Da Vinci

• The most famous painting in the world

• Currently, at the Louvre Museum in Paris