Why did the Renaissance begin in Northern Italy?

Answer 1

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 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

In a word - money. The northern Italian city states were wealthy
and artists like Leonardo and Michaelangelo needed patrons.
To work at art as a career, there has to be someone buying the art work. That's true today unless you are independently wealthy. Centers such as Florence, Milan, Venice and others had commercial and financial success. Of course these city states were also engaged in warfare, so renaissance men like Leonardo also worked at designing fortifications and weapons.

Answer 4

Try wikipedia