Italian renaissance
economic factors of the Italian Renaissance
Several factors explain have been to Italy the cradle of the Renaissance . First, the Italian cities experienced an extraordinary commercial development from the twelfth century, becoming the main centers of the European economy. It was precisely there that began the pre-capitalism and, with it, the intensification of urban life, which wouldchange the basis of society. Life in the cities narrowed contacts between people, promoting the exchange of ideas, the dissemination of knowledge and a new way of seeing the world.
The Renaissance can be regarded as the cultural manifestation of this new social composition, in which the enrichment of both rulers and particular enabled the practice ofpatronage . Under the direct protection of rich sponsors (patrons), cultural life tended to express the amounts corresponding to the class interests that had emerged with the new system - ie the bourgeoisie . In short, the Renaissance is the expression of a new mentality generated by the pre-capitalism.
Social factors: the bourgeois values
Patronage worked as a social projection factor in perpetuating the glory of patrons. In a period in which the hierarchy of society still obeyed the criterion of birth, the bourgeoisie had to find another way to achieve the prestige that the blood commoner denied her. Thus, the sponsorship of cultural activities would mean a rise in social status.
Political factors: the power of princes and popes
However, it was not just individuals who practiced patronage. Also the Italian princes (hereditary rulers of city-states), and even popes have used him to legitimize or expand their power.
To understand this aspect, we need to consider the peculiarity of Italian political life.
Italy had no political unity. In it, the existence of numerous independent political bodies had created a very conception of government, which contrasted with the increasing centralism of other European countries.
This political fragmentation, which the city-states were the typical expression was determined by constant struggles between the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire. Neither of these two universal powers, that the bump have weakened each other, managed to impose itself effectively in the Italian Peninsula. This resulted in the strengthening of local authorities who, taking advantage of the conflict between popes and emperors, were able to retain their own independence.
It is within this framework that we can understand the bloody disputes between Guelphs and Ghibellines. These two denominations, the principle applied respectively to the Italians who supported the Papacy and the Empire supporters, have then simply designate the factions fighting for power within the cities of Italy.
From the fourteenth century, the struggle between urban parties gave rise to encroachments and the rise of tyrannical rulers, concerned only to remain in power.During the Renaissance, these leaders made use of patronage, surrounding himself with artists and intellectuals, to make cultural production a legitimating instrument of authority.
In this context, the role of intellectuals gained political importance. They took it upon themselves to give to the new type of state thus constituted, its theoretical justification.With Machiavelli was born the idea of the rule of reason, whose theory corresponded to the wishes of local tyrants, since it provided ideological cover for their political actions.
In this context, the role of intellectuals gained political importance. They took it upon themselves to give to the new type of state thus constituted, its theoretical justification.With Machiavelli was born the idea of the rule of reason, whose theory corresponded to the wishes of local tyrants, since it provided ideological cover for their political actions.
Cultural factors: the recovery of classical culture
In addition to the close connection between economic, social and political explaining the Renaissance, it is necessary to highlight the presence of ancient Greco-Roman on Italian soil. The models of the Renaissance needed were there, the scope of the artist and intellectual; and were not only the monuments, buildings and sculptural production, but also literary works of antiquity.
We should also mention the influence of theByzantine civilization exercised at the beginning of the Italian Renaissance. As keepers of the Greco-Roman tradition, the Byzantines had been broadcasting part of this legacy to the Italian, thanks to the intense commercial contacts between the two peoples.The Byzantine contribution to the Italian Renaissance gained greater strength when the Ottoman Turks took Constantinople (1453), which forced city numerous intellectuals to take refuge in Italy.
Renaissance expansion
The Renaissance manifested itself first in Italian cities, from where it spread to all countries of Western Europe. But none of the movement has so much expression as in Italy.Nevertheless, it is important to know the manifestations of Renaissance Germany, France, the Netherlands, England and, less intensely, Spain and Portugal.
Renaissance Italian Steps
In the fourteenth century Dante, Boccaccio and Petrarch wrote works with some Renaissance features, while still steeped in medieval concepts. For this reason, three are classified as pre-Renaissance.
The golden age of the Renaissance in Italy, concentrated between 1450 and 1550. In the other countries of Europe, its peak occurred in the mid-sixteenth century.
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