Why did the Renaissance begin in Northern Italy?

Answer 1

Competition between noblemen. In 13th century Northern Italy, a skilled artist or craftsman didn't have to walk far to find a patron. And if one patron didn't work out, there always was another one close by.

France, in comparison, spent most of the 13th century under the rule of king Louis IX, a zealous Catholic, a crusader, a friend of Inquisition, and a Jew hater.

In other words, Northern Italy was a diverse environment, while France in comparison was almost a monoculture...

Answer 2

2 Reasons 1. Italy is home for all classical learning gathered, and developed by ancient Rome. Scholars, and artists were surrounded by the works of all classical learning. 2. Most of Italy has ports for shipping. It was the Northern Italians that made the money though. Northern provinces made money through the leasing of their ships for the Crusades. This was the start of their wealth. They used the knowledge and contacts in the Middle East for trade after the Crusades. With the wealth money then flowed into the arts creating the Renaissance.

Answer 3

Northern Italy was full of big cities, where ideas could spread like wildfire. Also, powerful merchants and upper class citizens such as the Medici helped support the arts. Another factor was its rich classical (Greek and Roman) heritage. The ancient Roman ruins helped to inspire many artists.

Answer 4

Northern Italy at the time of the Renaissance was made up of independent city states, each engaged in trade or manufacture or both. In cities such as Florence, political stability and a buoyant economy combined to provide an ideal environment for the exploration of ideas. Rigid social structures where status was linked to wealth also helped.

Florence saw an explosion in wealth, particularly from the banking sector, which led to prolific patronage of scholars, artists and architects from the state, the Church and individuals. This permitted the rise of an environment where artists and scholars could afford to meet and learn from each other.

The philosophy of Humanism which developed in Florence also contributed to the Renaissance, as it looked back to ancient Rome and Greece for inspiration. Humanism placed humanity at the centre of the universe, a radical notion for the Church-dominated times, and this was reflected in scholarship, art and architecture.

The location of Venice as the major entry point into Europe from the east also assisted. With the exchange of goods came the exchange of ideas. One needs only spend an afternoon in Venice even today to note the Byzantine, Middle Eastern and Asian influences in art and archictecture. Also, with the fall of Constantinople to the Turks, most scholars fled to Venice, and from there into the rest of Northern Italy.

The fact that trade lay at the heart of both Venice and Florence was another reason, as both cities had a reputation for cosmopolitanism and tolerance that encouraged the exploration of artistic ideals.

Answer 5

Money.

Housing and copying manuscripts for years isn't cheap. Without all those rich, unplundered monasteries you wouldn't have all those old Greeks and Romans to be discovered during the Renaissance. You'd also never have the money to spend on the artwork, no artwork would mean no giddy Art Historians to erroneously declare a sudden, dramatic Renaissance.

Answer 6

Northern Italy had rich merchants who'd bring in gold from Egypt. Egypt got TONS of gold from Mansa Musa's visit which caused inflation. The Venetians and others were glad to sell their wares at the new high prices. Those prices helped those merchants enjoy life and commission art which started the renaissance

Answer 7

The Northern Italian states were in a unique geographical and economic situation. They sat on the main crossroads coming in from the Middle East to Europe and on the Mediterranean sea. They also were primarily mercantile states, allowing for rich merchants to sponsor artists and great building projects. Also, the rediscovered Greek classics were first brought back to Naples, arousing new interest in the documents. That's it in a nutshell.