In Italy, there was a rebirth of the culture of classical antiquity between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries. This period was called the Renaissance. The fall of Constantinople was one of the main causes of the Renaissance, humanists played a major role in this era, and there was a reformation on religious beliefs. When the Ottoman Empire occupied Constantinople in 1453 A.D., the Greek intellectuals fled to Italian cities. Their teachings of history, math, science, and other subjects gave birth to the Renaissance in Italy. The introduction of the printing press by Gutenberg in Europe was another cause of the Renaissance. With this invention, printing books became simple and more people could read and increase their education. With the …show more content…
It was a program of study designed by Italians that emphasized the critical study of Latin and Greek literature with the goal of understanding human nature. Humanism was the main intellectual component of the Renaissance and humanists were independent thinkers who started to challenged many ideas beliefs. They were not as interested in finding the truth about God as they were to human nature. They wrote about humanly feelings and daily life and were also interested in social issues. Humanists wanted reasons in order to believe in a faith and never accepted anything blindly. They searched every question and got to the base of its cause, and then chose to believe it or not. They believed that their knowledge and studies must be put to the service of the people and thought that their recommended course of study in the classics would provide essential skills for future politicians, diplomats, lawyers, military leaders, and businessmen, as well as writers and artists. The spread of humanism was a major cause of the Renaissance. It opened people’s minds to new ideas and educated them to live better. As the father of humanism, Petrarch was the first one to say that the Middle Ages was a period of darkness. Humanism freed people from that darkness and provided them with education and understanding of