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Its starting point was an era marked by the weakening of ecclesiastical power due to the Protestant Reformation and the fall of the Holy Roman Empire. -
During the Renaissance, the European economy grew dramatically, particularly in the area of trade. Developments such as population growth, improvements in banking, expanding trade routes, and new manufacturing systems led to an overall increase in commercial activity.
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The Renaissance started in Italy. Members of the powerful Medici family, which ruled Florence for more than 60 years, were famous backers of the movement. Great Italian writers, artists, politicians and others declared that they were participating in an intellectual and artistic revolution that would be much different from what they experienced during the Dark Ages. During the 15th century, Renaissance spread throughout western and northern Europe. There the impacts were revolutionary.
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The invention of printing press by Johannes Gutenberg around 1440 -
By about 1450, military technology had changed significantly. Gunpowder was first developed in China, but first used militarily in the Middle East. By the fifteenth century it was increasingly widespread in war. Early gunpowder weapons were ridiculously inaccurate and dangerous. But they were also, however, both lethal and relatively easy to use. Those weapons could easily kill a knight who had spent his entire life training to fight. -
Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519): Italian painter, architect, inventor and “Renaissance man” responsible for painting “The Mona Lisa” and “The Last Supper.
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A new regional power arose in the Middle East and spread to Europe. The ancient Roman city of Constantinople fell to the Turks. The rise in Turkish power in the east spelled trouble for the east-to-west trade routes the Italian cities had benefited from so much since the era of the crusades, and despite deals worked out between Venice and the Ottomans, the profits to be had from the spice and luxury trade diminished over time. -
Titian (1488–1576): Italian painter celebrated for his portraits of Pope Paul III and Charles I and his later religious and mythical paintings like “Venus and Adonis” and "Metamorphoses."
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El descubrimiento del Nuevo Mundo en 1492 marca el comienzo de la era de la exploración -
The Medici were exiled from Florence the same year for offering territory to the French in an attempt to get them to leave Florence alone. The result was the Italian Wars that ended the Renaissance.