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Changes brought by Renaissance
Changes brought by Renaissance
The impacts of the Renaissance
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Florence, Italy was a city just like any other during the Renaissance. It was city of 50,000 people, less than there were in Paris and Venice but more than most other European cities. The busiest parts of the city were the Ponte Vecchio, a place lined with markets and houses, the neighborhood of the Orsanmichele and Mercato Vecchio, or the Old Market. Florence was a place of beauty and leisure. A Venetian visitor once said, “There is in my opinion no region more sweeter than that wherein Florence is a placed for Florence is situated in a plain surrounded on all sides by hills and mountains…And the hills are fertile cultivated, pleasant…” (Unger, pg. 1). Florence was a very prosperous city; it made fortunes off of wool and banking trades. A certain Florentine family contributed to the vast wealth as well. The Medici family was no doubt the foundation of prosperity for Florence.
The Medici Family was one of the most powerful families of Renaissance Florence. They were a banking family. The first Medici bank, started by Giovanni di Becci de’ Medici, was a small scale business run in the bathroom. The bank grew through Giovanni’s extraordinary salesmanship and financial caution (PBS: Godfathers of the Renaissance). He gave out loans to those who they believed would help the bank persevere and thrive. Known as patrons of the arts, the Medici family funded and encouraged art by Botticelli, Brunelleschi, and Michelangelo. Consequential members of the family such as Giovanni de’ Medici, Cosimo de’ Medici, Lorenzo de’ Medici, and Ferdinando I de’ Medici helped to increase the affluence of Florence during the Renaissance.
Giovanni di Becci de’ Medici
It would be a lie to say that Giovanni de’ Medici was the first in his f...
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...use of these patrons of the arts.
Works Cited Page
Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. . 19 November 2009 .
Hibbert, Christopher. The House of Medici. New York: William Morrow & Company, Inc., 1975.
Lorenzo de' Medici.24 November 2009.25 November 2009 .
Parks, Tim. Medici Money. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2005.
pbs.org/Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance. Thirteen. 21 September 2009.
The Medici Family.16 October 2009 .
Unger, Miles. Magnifico: The Brilliant Life and Violent Times of Lorenzo de' Medici. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2008.
Under the Medici rule, especially the leadership of Lorenzo de’Medici, art thrived and new revolutionary ideas emerged, furthering the Renaissance in Florence while challenging the stronghold of the church. Florence became an edifice for art and the greatest painters of the time flocked to the city including Fra Filippo Lippi, Verrocchio, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo (Greenblatt 13)...
Gregorio Dati, Diary, in Gene Brucker (ed), Two Memoirs of Renaissance Florence (Waveland Press, 1991) p. 107
U Mcllvenna, Scandal and Reputation at the Court of Catherine de Medici, University of Sydney
Italian city-states were where the Renaissance began. The main 3 city-states were Milan, Venice and Florence. Milan was the center of the main trade route ruled by the Visconti family. It had a centralized state with an efficient tax system that gave money to the government. Venice was a link between Asia and Western Europe, run by an elected leader called a Doge. Merchants ran the city for a profit. Their international power was the black slave trade. Like Venice, Florence was run by merchants, but in 1434 the Medici family overthrew them. Venice then became the cultural center of the Renaissance.
Lorenzo De Medici can be considered as one of the most influential men of the 13th century. His work in political affairs and administration were renowned in all Italy and his family could count on him in every aspect. Lorenzo was also a promoter of a new period called Renaissance. He was one of the first “mecenate” to explore this new way of art. In this project, I will concentrate how he developed art in Florence, giving a clear example through an Artist of that period that was working for him: Sandro Botticelli. His work “The Spring” is a well-defined example of what we can call “art in the Renaissance”, in particular for the Italian Renaissance.
He was the first of the Medici political dynasty during the majority of the Renaissance. Giovanni was the founder of the Medici Bank which lead to the Medici supremacy. Unlike the rest of the medici family, Giovanni had to work extremely hard for money. He was born into a home with five siblings putting him in a position with no financial support. Vieri di Cambio de’ Medici taught Giovanni everything he needed to know about banking. Vieri owned his own bank chain from 1348 to 1392 in Europe. Once Vieri retired Giovanni created the Medici bank in 1397 in Florence and a branch in Rome. Due to the booming success of the first Medici bank, three more branches opened in Rome, Venice, and Florence. In 1402 Giovanni opened a wool factory. Six years later a new factory was opened for trading spices, olive oil, jewelry, and other goods. Soon after that there was a fourth Medici Bank branch open in Naples and Gaeta. Giovanni setup success for his family after marrying and having kids with business skyrocketing. Giovanni died at age 69. He had given the majority of control of the bank to his two sons, Cosimo and Lorenzo to carry on the family
Since Lorenzo de Medici has come to power in Machiavelli’s homeland, Machiavelli uses his address to the prince to advise Lorenzo how to most effectively retain his regime: This is especially prominent in chapters four and five where Machiavelli largely discusses the difference between the ruling structure of the Turkish and French governments which were in recent memory during Machiavelli’s time. “Whoever attacks the Turks must necessarily assume that he will find here entirely united, and he had better put his hope in his own forces than in the disorders of another (Machiavelli 18).” On the contrary the government of France has ranked officials, where ancient bloodlines account for the barons who have their own states and subjects (Machiavelli
Shaun Bhikhi Professor Wunder History 241 February 20, 2016 The View of Golden Florence During the 15th century, the city of Florence was in an elegant and rich state. Giovanni Rucellai, a patron and successful merchant, studied the city of Florence and recorded his journey as a diary entry and a descriptive narrative (Rucellai, p.72). Rucellai wrote this diary entry in Florence during the year of 1457. In this diary entry he described the stunning city and emphasized its elegant environment to others. Rucellai was trying to reveal interesting facts and specific information about the city to an audience who were studying or wondering about it.
Florence was the trend-setter of the Renaissance, whatever they did everyone else wanted to do because Florence was very successful. “No great city has ever been built far from the water… [Florence] was now more vulnerable, but it had easy access to an important trade route. It had good communications by river to the west, and practicable passes through the mountains ...
The Medici’s were a prominent family in the Renaissance, who ruled Florence from 1434 to 1737. They are regarded as being one of the most powerful and richest families in the whole of Europe. The Medics used this great status and wealth to develop an improved Florence, one that was significantly influenced by the Renaissance. The Medici family can most certainly be regarded as the significant heroes of the Renaissance. This is due to their significant promotion and patronage in the arts, in turn bringing focus back to the antiquities, a major importance during the Renaissance period. Furthermore, the Medicis can be considered the great heroes of the Renaissance, due to their significant influence of Renaissance Humanist thinking. On top of this, although the Medici family were allegedly corrupt and supposedly paid many bribes in order to become so powerful, they still focused on benefiting the heart of the Renaissance- the city-state of Florence- and should thus not be considered the great villains of the Renaissance, but instead the heroes.
... it dispels all doubts about its greatness and converts former disbelievers to the truth” (27a). There are obviously many reasons why Florence is a wonderful city, but according to Pitti and Dati there is nothing about the city as amazing as Bruni makes it out to be. Bruni never truly speaks of the “combination of misfortunes--wars, internal upheavals, pestilence, famine--which seriously damaged the economy” (Brucker 13). Pitti and Dati were not writing for the sole reason of praising Florence, but they also do not go out of their way to mention its many qualities. Unfortunately, Bruni never writes directly about money or business, whereas most of what Pitti and Dati write about are only those subjects. Overall, Bruni offers a much different perspective of Florence in his Panegyric to the City of Florence, than the views Pitti and Dati offer in their diaries.
Fueled by the ideal of magnificenza, the wealthiest families of Fifteenth century Florence radically changed the city’s structural appearance with the construction of palazzos. A truly versatile structure, the palazzo or palace refers to a large building in the city that could function as a governmental or institutional facility, as well as a private residence. Seen in this period as a way to offer jobs back to the people of Florence, the societal mentality of using wealth for private means has shifted from a sin to be atoned for in the afterlife, to a virtue because it made it possible to reconcile celebrating the patrons success and personal worth with the ideals of embellishing the city. The growing democratization of Florentine society
Florence Florence – Florentine Dream Florence is a tiny little gem, a dream, a mirage maybe, that lures travelers time and again to its mesmeric, romantic and busy shores. Nestled along the Arno River, the bricks of Florence glow under the warmth of a thousand Tuscan summers. This city, though small in size, features on many bucket lists as the birth place of the Renaissance, as a repository of world-class art, and as capital of fashion with greats such as Gucci and Cavalli having been born here. Lose yourself in its narrow winding streets that seem like they lead backwards in time. Or stand ashore the River Arno to watch its moods change with the changing of the sun in its azure skies.
...y brought in many Greek sources. The Medici's also started the Platonic Academy which supported Renaissance artists by feeding, educating, and providing them with necessities to live. Some of these were well known artists such as Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael. Because of the Medici family Florence became known as the cultural center of Europe and cradle of New Humanism. For a century they maintained total authority in Florence behind the popular forms of a republic.
"Famiglia De Medici: The Extraordinary Story Of The Family That Financed The Renaissance." Business Insider. 6 Dec. 2013. .