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ITALY: BIRTHPLACE OF THE
RENAISSANCE http:// 4.bp.blogspot.com/ RENAISSANCE …MEANS “REBIRTH” …A NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO LIVED IN ITALY BETWEEN C.1350 AND CIRCA 1550 BELIEVED THAT THEY HAD WITNESSED A REBIRTH OF ANTIQUITY OR GRECO- ROMAN CIVILIZATION,WHICH MARKED A NEW AGE. • TO THEM, THE APPROXIMATELY THOUSAND YEARS BETWEEN THE END OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE AND THEIR OWN ERA WAS A MIDDLE PERIOD (HENCE THE “MIDDLE AGES”), CHARACTERIZED BY DARKNESS BECAUSE OF ITS LACK OF CLASSICAL CULTURE. • HISTORIANS OF THE 19TH CENTURY LATER USED SIMILAR TERMINOLOGY TO DESCRIBE THIS PERIOD IN ITALY. THE SWISS HISTORIAN AND ART CRITIC JACOB BURCKHARDT CREATED THE MODERN CONCEPT OF THE RENAISSANCE IN HIS CELEBRATED WORK THE CIVILIZATION OF THE RENAISSANCE IN ITALY, PUBLISHED IN 1860.HE PORTRAYED ITALY IN THE 14TH AND 15TH CENTURIES AS THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE MODERN WORLD AND SAW THE REVIVAL OF ANTIQUITY, THE “ PERFECTING OF THE INDIVIDUAL,” AND SECULARISM (“WORLDLINESS OF THE ITALIANS”)AS ITS DISTINGUISHING FEATURES. https://www.google.com/search? q=jacob+burckhardt&source • NODOUBT, BURCKHARDT EXAGGERATED THE INDIVIDUALITY AND SECULARISM OF THE RENAISSANCE AND FAILED TO RECOGNIZE THE DEPTHS OF ITS RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS. NEVERTHELESS, HE ESTABLISHED THE FRAMEWORK FOR ALL MODERN INTERPRETATIONS OF THE RENAISSANCE. • ALTHOUGH CONTEMPORARY SCHOLARS DO NOT BELIEVE THAT THE RENAISSANCE REPRESENTS A SUDDEN OR DRAMATIC CULTURAL BREAK WITH THE MIDDLE AGES (AS BURCKHARDT ARGUED)- THERE WAS AFTER ALL MUCH CONTINUITY BETWEEN THE TWO PERIODS IN ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, AND SOCIAL LIFE- THE RENAISSANCE CAN STILL BE VIEWED AS A DISTINCT PERIOD OF EUROPEAN HISTORY, WHICH MANIFESTED ITSELF IN ITALY AND THEN SPREAD TO THE REST OF EUROPE. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE • 1. RENAISSANCE ITALY WAS LARGELY THE PRODUCT OF AN URBAN SOCIETY THE CITY-STATES BECAME THE CENTERS OF ITALIAN POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL LIFE. WITHIN THIS NEW URBAN SOCIETY, A SECULAR SPIRIT EMERGED AS INCREASING WEALTH CREATED NEW POSSIBILITIES FOR THE ENJOYMENT OF WORLDLY THINGS. • 2. THE RENAISSANCE WAS AN AGE OF RECOVERY FROM THE “CALAMITOUS FOURTEENTH CENTURY.” ITALY AND EUROPE BEGAN A SLOW PROCESS OF RECUPERATION FROM THE EFFECTS OF THE BLACK DEATH, POLITICAL DISORDER, AND ECONOMIC RECESSION. RECOVERY WAS ACCOMPANIED BY REBIRTH, SPECIFICALLY, A REBIRTH OF CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY. INCREASINGLY AWARE OF THEIR OWN HISTORICAL PAST, ITALIAN INTELLECTUALS BECAME INTENSELY INTERESTED IN THE GRECO-ROMAN CULTURE THAT HAD INFORMED THE ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN WORLD. THIS REVIVAL OF CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY AFFECTED ACTIVITIES AS DIVERSE AS POLITICS AND ART AND LED TO NEW ATTEMPTS TO SEE HUMAN BEINGS IN A NEW LIGHT. • 3. THOUGH NOT ENTIRELY NEW, A REVIVED EMPHASIS ON INDIVIDUAL ABILITY BECAME CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE. AS THE 15TH CENTURY FLORENTINE ARCHITECT LEON BATTISTA ALBERTI EXPRESSED IT, “MEN CAN DO ALL THINGS IF THEY WILL.” A HIGH REGARD FOR HUMAN DIGNITY AND WORTH AND A REALIZATION OF INDIVIDUAL POTENTIALITY CREATED A NEW SOCIAL IDEAL OF THE WELL-ROUNDED PERSONALITY OR UNIVERSAL PERSON ( L’UOMO UNIVERSALE) WHO WAS CAPABLE OF ACHIEVEMENTS IN MANY AREAS OF LIFE. • THESE GENERAL FEATURES OF THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE WERE NOT CHARACTERISTICS OF ALL ITALIANS, BUT WERE PRIMARILY THE PRESERVE OF THE WEALTHY UPPER CLASSES WHO CONSTITUTED A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF THE TOTAL POPULATION. • THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE WAS AN ELITIST, NOT A MASS MOVEMENT, ALTHOUGH INDIRECTLY IT DID HAVE SOME IMPACT ON ORDINARY PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY IN THE CITIES, WHERE SO MANY OF THE INTELLECTUAL AND ARTISTIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE PERIOD WERE MOST APPARENT. • REFERENCE:
DUIKER, W. AND SPIELVOGEL, J. (2001). WORLD HISTORY. THOMSON LEARNING INC.
