Name: Date: Period: a

RENAISSANCE CITY-STATES GUIDED READING P. 609-615a

Italian Renaissance (p.609)

  • Renaissance means in French and is called this because of an interest in and .
  • The and had also had an interest in these two subjects, that’s why it’s called a .
  • Due to the Black Death, Europeans wanted to make their own society .
  • Europeans also believed that people could make a difference and change the world for the better by stressing the importance of the .
  • Focusing on the world instead of just on religion showed people were becoming more .

Italian Renaissance (p.610)

  • The Renaissance began in for three reasons.
  1. Italy had been the center of the , and was still surrounded by its art and architecture.
  1. Italy’s had become very and could afford to pay artists.
  1. Italy was divided into small regions called -.
  • Competition was good for the Renaissance because:
  • The population of Italy was mostly , or living in cities, which helped artists find patrons, or people to pay for their works.

Rise of Italy’s City-States (p.611)

  • No was able to reunite Italy into a single kingdom. This had 3 reasons.
  1. The used its power to prevent a powerful kingdom from rising in Italy.
  1. - were equal in strength and kept the others from growing too powerful.
  1. The - were very wealthy and could afford to fight their battles for them and buy kings’ favor.

Italy’s City-States Grow Wealthy (p.611-612)

  • Italian city-states became wealthy through .
  • Italy’s location gave it an advantage of trade because:
  • The and the rise of the united Europe and Asia into a vast trade network.
  • Protecting the made goods more available and as supply increased, price .

Who Was Marco Polo? (p. 612)

  • Marco Polo wrote a about his travels to .
  • The emperor was with Polo and sent him on many trips.
  • Marco Polo’s stories helped increase interest in and made people want to buy goods.

The Wealth of Florence(p.612-613)

  • Florence was the city to grow wealthy in the Renaissance.
  • Florence was known for its and love of .
  • Florentines made their wealth from made from sheep and .
  • Florence’s wealthiest and most powerful family was the who owned many banks.

The Rise of Venice(p. 613-614)

  • Venice was the city in Italy, and the Venetians made their money by .
  • Many of the streets are actually and traveled by .
  • The wealthy men in Venice were nobles who got their money from not land.
  • Eventually, the land nobles and wealthy families blended together to form the upper-class.

How Were Italian City-States Run? (p. 614-615)

  • Originally, the city-states were , which means they elected .
  • However, city-states switched to a by placing their power in the hands of a single individual.
  • Florence was run by a family (a small group of people) making its government a .
  • Rulers had to prevent the from rebelling and the other from seizing power, which involved many deals with other leaders.
  • Dealing with other city-states involved , where one negotiates and makes deals.