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Giotto completed his work on the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua.
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Dante wrote his epic poem the Divine Comedy.
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The first great humanist, Petrarch, is named the poet laureate of Rome.
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The Medici family became the head of the city-state of Florence.
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Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press
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The Ottoman Empire captured the city of Constantinople, signaling an end to the Byzantine Empire.
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Boticelli completed the painting The Birth of Venus.
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Explorer Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas.
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Leonardo da Vinci painted the Last Supper.
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Vasco da Gama arrived in India after sailing around the southern tip of Africa from Portugal.
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Michelangelo began his work on the sculpture David.
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Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa.
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Humanist author Erasmus wrote Praise of Folly.
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Sir Thomas More published his work Utopia on political philosophy.
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Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on the door of the Church of Wittenberg. This signals the start of the Reformation.
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Rome was sacked by the troops of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.
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Henry VIII separated the Church of England from the Catholic Church of Rome
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William Shakespeare built the Globe theatre. Then, he will write many of his great plays over the next few years including Hamlet and Macbeth.
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Galileo discovered the moons of Jupiter.
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The Thirty Years War began.
