The Renaissance represented one of the most important times in world history. It was followed by the Middle Ages which was characterized by hard times and hard work to a period where major advances took place to make life more comfortable. Renaissance is the French word for “rebirth” as the new ideas changed the lives of the people of the fourteenth to seventeenth century. The Renaissance first started in the Italian city-states, mainly Florence with the beginning of new accomplishments in the fields of art, architecture, religion, trade, science, medicine and literature. There are many reasons why the Renaissance started in Italy. Firstly, the Italian city-states were very wealthy and had many powerful and successful businessmen and governments. This included the Medici family who were a banking family and the most powerful rulers in Florence in the mid 14th century. They wanted their city to be impressive and famous and as a result, this led to a lot of competition between the city-states. Furthermore, they were prepared to pay huge sums of money to entice skilful artists into the city-states. This support given to the arts attracted artists like Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Boticelli and many more who …show more content…
The churches were very grand and artistic as the ideas in arts and architecture began to grow. People paid large contributions to the church and through this they gained large amounts of wealth. This was used to build more churches with impressive architecture and they were able to decorate them with elaborate paintings. Prominent families were often leaders of the Catholic church and they were actively involved in running the business. They encouraged the artists to build beautiful sculptures, art and fountains. As more and more money came into the church it became very powerful as people from all over the world became interested in their