The Renaissance - Florence During the Renaissance
Florence, in northern Italy, was the center of the Renaissance. Florence was a city-state. Even though it was a city, its government was like the government of a small country. Italy was divided into five of these city-states. Each city-state ruled the land around it. Each was independent from the others. Even so, they competed with each other for power, prestige, and glory.
One way city-states tried to outdo each other was through the arts. They competed for glory through literature, painting, and architecture. During the Renaissance, people thought it was very important to bring art, beauty, and learning into daily life. One very rich and powerful family in Florence, the Medici, supported this rebirth of beauty in Italy.
Cosimo de Medici, the leader of the family, appreciated the value of beautiful things. Cosimo set up schools for artists. He built the Platonic Academy in Florence to bring back Greek and Roman ideas about art. The Academy was even named after a Greek philosopher – Plato. Cosimo supported many artists. Some artists he and his son sponsored were Michelangelo and Botticelli. One of Botticelli’s most famous paintings is entitled The Birth of Venus. Venus was the Roman goddess of love.
Cosimo also loved books. He had a huge library. Many of his books came from Constantinople after the fall of the Byzantine Empire. People brought the books to Italy so they would not be destroyed. Soon, Cosimo’s library had more books than any other library in Europe. |
For years, the Medici family ruled Florence. They were not like kings who inherited their wealth and power. Most of Cosimo de Medici’s money and power came from banking. Banks were not popular until the Renaissance. People, especially merchants and traders, needed a place to keep their money. Florence was the banking center of Italy and Europe. The Medici family was Florence’s most powerful force in banking and art.
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