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Birth +City of the Renaissance
+Joseph +J. Green
+Northern +Arizona University
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+ Florence was the birthplace of +the Renaissance and was important to the genesis of the Renaissance +for many reasons. Florence was in a unique position due to its strong +economy, its focus on art, and its support of the individual. Due to +the many unique features of Florence, it is no surprise that it would +be the city to give birth to the Renaissance.
+Florence +managed to create some of the most wealthy families in Europe. +Florence had an exceptionally wealthy upper and middle class of +merchants and bankers. Much of this wealth can be attributed to the +relative peace that the Italian peninsula enjoyed at the time, and +its relatively early trade with the East. In fact, Florence was so +economically strong, their currency, the gold florin, was +internationally recognized. With wealth, typically, comes desires to +use it to expand upon the pleasures of life (Harris and Zucker, +n.d.). At the time of the Renaissance, those pleasures often included +literature and art which are two subjects generally associated with +the Renaissance, such expenditures must have contributed to the birth +of the Renaissance. It was also around this time that the banking +Medici family, who, for a time, had the most profitable family +business in all of Europe, came to power (Lenihan, 2008).
+Florence +also had an exceptionally high influence on the development of art. +It was during this time that Giotto di Bondone entered the art scene, +and revolutionized art by making art in a completely new way. He +created art that focused on being more naturalistic to the human +form. He and his contemporaries formed a “thriving artistic +community that responded to the great demand for art and literature +in the growing city” (Getty.edu, 2013). The Medici family had a +great interest in arts and literature, so it should come to no +surprise that they contributed greatly to the development of the +Renaissance. When they first came to true political power under the +leadership of Cosimo il Vecchio, Cosimo spent much of his wealth +improving the culture of Florence. One of his major accomplishments +was creating the largest library in Europe. His library included many +works from across the world including that of Greek sources, such as +the works of Plato. He also created the Platonic Academy, and +patronized Marsilio Ficino who would go on to create the first Latin +edition of the collected works of Plato. Aside from his major +contributions to literature and intellect, he also focused heavily on +art. He supported artists such as Ghiberti, who created The Gates of +Paradise, Brunelleschi, who, among many other wonders of his ability +as an architect, successfully designed a dome to top the Florence +Cathedral, Donatello, who sculpted a bronze David, Alberti, another +architect, who contributed to various measurement systems, Fra +Angelico, who’s fresco paintings are rated among the best of +Italian art, and Ucello, who was an imaginative painter and a +designer for stained glass (Galileo.rice.edu, n.d.;Artic.edu, +2007;Oneonta.edu, n.d.;Browarny, n.d.;Hood, n.d.;The J. Paul Getty in +Los Angeles, n.d.). While the culture was certainly flourishing +anyway, the Medici family clearly had an eye for talent, and became a +huge contributor to the development of art in the Renaissance. With +talent such as this, it is no wonder how Florence became the cultural +and humanist center of Europe.
+Another +unique aspect of Florence was its focus on individuality and respect +for the individual. Florence was a republic, a place where individual +freedom was guaranteed, and many citizens had a right to participate +in the government. Florence also had a high literacy rate compared to +other European countries of the time (Lenihan, 2008). The people of +Florence took great pride in their government and feared losing it to +threats from Milan, who was ruled by dukes with absolute power, and +the Kingdom of Naples (Harris and Zucker, n.d.). Such freedom and +focus on individuality must have been the proper recipe to allow +Florence to flourish as the center of rebirth for Europe. Under a +harsh reign, as was common during the fall of feudalism, it is hard +to believe that the people would have been able to accumulate the +wealth and power necessary to focus their attention on cultural +development. If the people suffered harsh restrictions on trade, or +if the people were repressed from expressing their creativity, how +could they possibly become the center of cultural revolution?
+Would +the Renaissance have happened were it not for the unique advantages +found in Florence? Possibly, but there is no question that Florence +managed to accelerate that movement. The wealth and relative peace of +the people contributed no small amount to the ability of the people +to focus their attention on things beyond the struggle to stay alive. +Wealth that was then used to contribute vastly to the arts and +literacy which allowed people of renowned talent to come to fruition. +People who continue to challenge the best of what we have to offer, +in their respective disciplines, today. The freedom that the people +of Florence enjoyed must have contributed greatly to the people’s +ability to obtain wealth and spend it on the arts, as well as being a +necessary catalyst to the development of humanism. With boons such +as these, there is little wonder how Florence could be considered the +genesis of the Renaissance.
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RESOURCES
++Browarny, L. Leone +Battista Alberti: Defining Humanist Architecture. Academia.edu. +Retrieved 27 April 2018, from +https://www.academia.edu/321161/Leone_Battista_Alberti_Defining_Humanist_Architecture
++Donatello's +David. Oneonta.edu. Retrieved 27 April 2018, from +https://www.oneonta.edu/faculty/farberas/arth/arth213/donatello_david.html
++Fillipo +Brunelleschi. Galileo.rice.edu. Retrieved 27 April +2018, from +http://galileo.rice.edu/lib/student_work/florence96/jyoti/brun.html
++Florence at the +Dawn of the Renaissance (Getty Center Exhibitions). +(2013). Getty.edu. Retrieved 27 April 2018, from +https://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/florence/
++Harris, B., & +Zucker, S. Florence in the Early Renaissance. Khan +Academy. Retrieved 27 April 2018, from +https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/renaissance-reformation/early-renaissance1/beginners-renaissance-florence/a/florence-in-the-early-renaissance
++Hood, W. Fra +Angelico at San Marco | Yale University Press. Yalebooks.yale.edu. +Retrieved 27 April 2018, from +https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300057348/fra-angelico-san-marco
++Lenihan, T. +(2008). Medici Patronage & Italian Renaissance +Art. Academia.edu. Retrieved 27 April 2018, from +https://www.academia.edu/7384443/Medici_Patronage_and_Italian_Renaissance_Art
++Paolo Uccello +(Italian, about 1397 - 1475) (Getty Museum). The J. Paul +Getty in Los Angeles. Retrieved 27 April 2018, from +https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/artists/13825/paolo-uccello-italian-about-1397-1475/
++The Galileo +Project | Galileo | Patrons | Medici Family. Galileo.rice.edu. +Retrieved 27 April 2018, from http://galileo.rice.edu/gal/medici.html
++The Gates of +Paradise: Lorenzo Ghiberti's Renaissance Masterpiece. +(2007). Artic.edu. Retrieved 27 April 2018, from +http://www.artic.edu/aic/exhibitions/ghiberti/themes.html
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Title +of Paper
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+Joseph +J. Green
+Northern +Arizona University
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Respond +to the items below. Be sure to give reasons and examples to back up +any claims you make. +
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----What +city was the birthplace of the Renaissance?
+----Why +was this city important in the genesis of the Renaissance? +
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Florence +was the birthplace of the Renaissance
+Strong +Economy
+Wealthy +upper and middle class (KHAN)
+Bankers +(KHAN)
+Eastern +trade (academia)
+Internationally +recgonized currency (academia)
+Strong +art
+Giotto +di Bondone – naturalistic approach (getty)
+Medici +family was ruling at the time, they had art interest (RICE)
+When +they first took over, they amassed the largest liberary in europe and +invested in art (RICE)
+The +artists supported by Cosimo included Ghiberti, Brunelleschi, +Donatello, Alberti, Fra Angelico, and Ucello. (RICE)
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The +individual
+Respect +of the individual (KAHN)
+Encuraged +humanism (KAHN)
+Literacy +rate high, center of humanist learning (ACADAMEY)
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RESOURCES
+https://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/florence/
+https://www.academia.edu/7384443/Medici_Patronage_and_Italian_Renaissance_Art
+http://galileo.rice.edu/gal/medici.html
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