why the renaissance began in Italy.?

Question

economic

Answer 1

(I somehow missed Elise's answer, or I would not have posted this, since her points are on the mark. But perhaps something here, or in the links I list, will help fill out the argument. Note esp. that the important EARLIER scholarly advances, etc. she mentions is not just her personal conclusion, but something widely regognized by scholars.)
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You are referring, of course, to the ITALIAN Renaissance of the 15th century. For this we can site a handful of specific factors, esp. involving economic prosperity in the cities of Italy at that time, many of these related to trade... more below.

But the difficulty with answering your question is that the very terminology nowadays carries a number of questionable assumptions. For starters, this so-called "Renaissance" was not quite as glorious as its participants portrayed it. More importantly, it was NOT so unique.

In fact, recent scholars have taken to speaking of MULTIPLE renaissances, of which "THE Renaissance" (the one beginning in Italy in the 15th century) was but one. Indeed, there is a fair case to be made that the "Renaissance of the 12th century" (of the "High Middle Ages") played a more pivotal role in advancing society, esp. in areas of STUDY (academics, founding of science). Note that this earlier renaissance was at the time of the creation of the UNIVERSITY system, from which many of the scholarly advances began to flow as scholars from across Europe began to work together. These earlier advances (including also advances in government, technology, etc.) over several CENTURIES were the ground in which Italy's Renaissance grew.

"The Italian “Renaissance” was not a “rediscovery” of classical learning. Rather, it was a period of cultural emulation during which people of fashion copied the classical style in manners, art, literature, and philosophy. Out of passion for their own ancient days of glory, explains French historian Régine Pernaud, Italians began to claim that Western history consisted of “two periods of light: antiquity and the Renaissance...and between the two...crude centuries and obscure times.” Thus, from fashionable enthusiasm and ethnic pride was born the notion of a dark age followed by a dawning of a new enlightenment. But, it wasn’t so. Scholastic scholars knew and understood the works of Plato, Aristotle, and all the rest."
http://www.taemag.com/issues/articleid.17713/article_detail.asp

Now the Italian (cultural) Renaissance (and its successors in other countries), was made possible in large part because of growing economic prosperity of And this was due to a number of advances, and esp to growing TRADE. How did this happen? The interactions with the Islamic world, including the Crusades played a large part. See the following articles for details:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Renaissance#Origins

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_of_the_12th_century

Answer 2

There are a lot of misconceptions about what the so-call "renaissance" was. However, I've come to the conclusion that the achievements of that time period were the culmination of centuries of medieval progress, not something completely new. Think of it like a rose: it takes a long period of normal, unexciting growth before the plant is ready to put forth a bloom. But when it does bloom, what a bloom it is! That is how it was in Europe.

The trapping of the renaissance in Italy were not a "rediscovery" of classical learning, despite what Enlightenment-era philosphers wanted to believe, and hence deluded themselves (and us) into believing. Really, all the classically-inspired painting and sculpture was little more than a fashion statement on the part of rich northern Italian patricians who could afford to commission them.

The true roots of what we call the renaissance lie in the Scholastic movement and the universities that were established across Europe starting in the 12th century. The classic were not "lost" in Europe - the scholastics had been studying and debating them for centuries. This is a fact that is conviently "forgotten" in most discussions of the renaissance. What was different in the renaissance is that these writings and ideas had become "interesting" (maybe we could say "sexy" to put a 20th century spin on it) to the layman: the noble, the merchant, etc. who was NOT a university student or lecturer.

Answer 3

The renaissance began in Italy for multiple reasons. One, because scholars from the Byzantine Empire fled to Italy and took scholarly material with them. The people of Italy began to read this material and suddenly had an epiphany on life. They felt that there was more to life than what the middle ages offered. Therefore, the humanism movement began and people began to squander for intelligence and knowledge. Now, the arts began to flourish because of this search for meaning, but the fact that Italy was a commercial power helped pay for commissioned art which allowed for Artist to paint more and express more. You see, Italy was the trading power of the western world and their place on the map allowed for them to control a large portion of the trade between the east and the west. Already rich families tapped into this business and began to gain power and wealth and a desire for knowledge and art. They commisioned, along with the church, for thousands of pieces of art. Over all, the Renaissance occurred in Italy for many reasons, but mostly because of a radical change in thinking and economic strength which provided protection for knowledge and art to flourish.

Answer 4

My guess would be that the people were tired of having the Church running their lives during the Medieval period; also, the Black Death that swept Europe had left a darkness for a long time, but finally things began looking up. People wanted to explore the world around them and not be fettered all the time by the Church.

Also around this time, Classic works from Greece and Rome had been rediscovered--the Muslims had salvaged the Classics for a long time and, after the Crusades, the works returned to the West.

Answer 5

The renaissance (rebirth) began when scholars moved back to Italy from Constantinople as it fell to the Moors, and the Byzantine Empire collapsed.