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THE RENAISSSANCE was a time of significant accomplishments in architecture, art, music , science and exploration.  It began in the Italian city-states, with Florence generally described as the cradle of the Renaissance.  Venice was a trading superpower with a large empire.  The Catholic Church and Trade Unions were influential on society.  Marriages strengthened business and family ties.  A system of social welfare was created to help the poor, especially women.  There was often conflict within the Italian city-states, with wealthy families such as the de'Medici controlling politics.

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The Humanists, such a Petrarch, revived interest in the antiquity of Greece and Rome, by finding and translating many previously lost classical works.  Niccolo Machiavelli, Lucrezia Borgia and Galileo contributed to society, politics and scientific understanding.  Painting, sculptureand architecture is represented in the works of Leonardo da Vinci,  Michelangelo, Bramante and Brunelleschi.  During the fifteenth century, Renaissance culture and ideas spread throughout the rest of Europe.  King Francois l of France attracted Italian scholars and artists,  such as da Vinci, to his palace at Fontainebleau, recreating the beauty and splendour of Italy.

 

KEY LEARNING AREAS

City-States -  Venice and Florence

Society - Catholic Church, Family, Social Welfare

Politics & Conflict - Cosimo de'Medici, Italian Wars

Cultural  Achievements -   The  Humanists - Petrarch

Significant Individuals - Machiavelli, Lucrezia Borgia, Galileo

Art & Architecture - da Vinci, Michelangelo, Bramante, Brunelleschi

Spread of Renaissance Culture - Francois l, Fontainebleau, Gutenberg Printing Press

 

STUDY AREAS

Australian History Syllabus Year 8  NSW Stage 4

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