Italian Renaissance Politics

1. Italian RenaissancePolitics Kali Hoying and Katherine Zimmerman

2. Background • Begin trading with Europe through the Mediterranean • Develops a merchant class • City-states gain power • Five main city-states • Naples & Sicily • Milan • Venice • Papal States • Florence • Avignon Papacy • Popes move to France

3. City-State Information • Modern diplomatic system and balance-of-power • Ambassadors and alliances • Peace of Lodi • Armies composed mostly of mercenaries • Condottieri = mercenary captains • Tendency towards despotism • One-man rule • Often hereditary

4. City-State Information • Princedoms: ruled by an individual with support of his family • Milan • Monarchies: larger, stronger, and more permanent princedoms • Naples and Papal States (though could be considered a theocracy) • Republics: run by oligarchies, or balanced councils of the people • Venice and Florence

5. Map of Italian City-States

6. Humanism in Politics • Removed religion from politics • Promoted that the government be run by science • Machiavelli • “The ends justify the means”

7. Naples & Sicily • “Kingdom of the Two Sicilies” • Only city-state in Italy with a king • Maintained feudalism for a time • Popes interfered with their affairs • Vassal state of the papacy • Involvement of the house of Aragon placed Sicily and Naples under separate rule • Continued conflicts to attempt reunification • Alfonso of Aragon united them • Also attempted to end status as a vassal state • Alfonso divided Naples and Sicily again upon his death • Major cause of French invasions into Italy

8. Milan • Visconti family led Milan • GianGaleazzo • Best chance for unification • Daughter marries the brother of French king • Francesco Sforza becomes ruler • Not related to Visconti’s by blood • Assisted by Florence in the takeover • Peace of Lodi • Ludovico the Moor uses young duke as puppet • Fails when duke marries the princess of the ruling house of Naples • Ends alliance between Florence, Naples, and Milan • Convinces French to make claim to throne of Naples

9. Venice • Retains republican form of government • Merchant aristocracy • Council of Ten • Designed to expel and extinguish all conspiracies • Maintained independence until Napoleon • Enemies with Milan • Sided with Florence, who later turned and sided with Milan

10. Venice • Held a large amount of territory and flourished • Currency was recognized throughout the world • Ruled Eastern trade • Government was stable • Begin to decline • Conflict with Ottoman Turks • Portuguese take over spice trade • French, Dutch, and English enter Eastern trade • Outbreak of the plague • Timber supplies are exhausted

11. Papal States • Popes ruled the Papal States • Tried to balance headed a city-state and the church • Secularized the papacy • In political unrest until Great Schism was resolved • Popes returned to Rome and left France • Popes became increasingly nepotistic and secular • Tried to increase state power and interfered in the diplomacy of other Italian city-states • Alexander VI and Cesare Borgia • Alexander VI restored order to Rome • His son Cesare uses papacy resources to create his own territory • Cesare tries to manipulate the election of his father’s successor

12. Papal States • Julius II • Adds Cesare’s territories into the Papal States to increase temporal power • Known as “warrior” pope • Leo X • Medici • Extremely lavish and distrusted • Did not concern himself with religious matters • Clement VII • Medici • Sides with France over Spain • Rome is sacked by the Spanish • Ends popes’ interests in diplomacy

13. Florence • Papacy aligns itself with Florence • Secures bankers the business of the papacy and merchants special privileges • Allowed them to take over the government • Opposed the Visconti family in Milan • Sided with Venetians against them • Changed their opinion with Sforza was elected • Unofficially ruled by the Medici family • Bankers and one of the ruling houses • Cosimode’Medici begins this rule • Maintains appearance of a republic • Helped Sforza take over Milan to neutralize threat • Created a hierarchical rule

14. Florence • Lorenzo the Magnificent • Grandson of Cosimo • Pope excommunicates him and joins Naples in declaring war on Florence • Lorenzo goes to Naples without consultation and worked out a peace settlement with the king of Naples • Maintains alliance with Naples and Milan, prevents foreign intervention, and stays in good terms with the French • Creates a Council of Seventy to run the government and a committee of seventeen to elect the priors • Banking business and trade suffer • Lorenzo used public funds for private purposes • Not allowed since he was a private citizen

15. Italian Decline • Fall of the Medici family • Savonarola • Niccolò Machiavelli • The Prince • Italian Wars cause Italy to lose its independence • Ruled by Spain for almost two centuries

16. Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) • Worked for various governments in Florence • No political opinion • Distrusted and disliked • First political scientist • Viewed politics in a strictly scientific manner without involving ethics • Assisted in the decline of Italian city-states and the end of the Italian Renaissance (involuntarily) • The Prince

17. Francesco Guicciardini (1483-1540) • Worked for the government in Papal States • Medici’s (papacy) senior administrator • Sought reformation of republic • Political Scientist • Discourse composed in Logrogno, Ricordi • Stressed that historical situations were unique • Considerations on Machiavelli’s Discourses • Works not published during his lifetime

18. Girolamo Savonarola (1452-1498) • Gains fame in Florence through his preaching • “Wrath of God” • Criticizes rulers, papacy, and humanists • Becomes dictator of Florence and establishes a theocracy • Ends the rule of the Medici • Develops enemies in the Medici family and the papacy • Alliance with France • Becomes their puppet • Leads to Italian decline • Arrested, tortured, and burned at the stake

19. Sources • GRENDLER, PAUL F.. "Renaissance." Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World. 2004.Encyclopedia.com. 1 Sep. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. • Machiavelli, Niccolò.The Prince. Florence: 1513. Web. <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/machiavelli-prince.asp>. • MCCUAIG, WILLIAM. "Guicciardini, Francesco (1483–1540)." Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Sep. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. • Nelson, Lynn H.. "CHAPTER 3 THE ITALIAN CITY-STATES OF THE RENAISSANCE." Carrie - A Full-Text Electronic Library. N.p., 30 Apr 2012. Web. 1 Sep 2012. <http://vlib.iue.it/carrie/texts/carrie_books/gilbert/03.html>. • Nelson, Lynn H.. "CHAPTER 4 THE INVASIONS OF ITALY 1494-1527 MACHIAVELLI AND GUICCIARDINI." Carrie - A Full-Text Electronic Library. N.p., 30 Apr 2012. Web. 1 Sep 2012. <http://http://vlib.iue.it/carrie/texts/carrie_books/gilbert/04.html>. • Watson-Novacek, Deborah. "Condottiere - Renaissance Mercenary Captains." BellaOnline The Voice of Women. Minerva WebWorks LLC, 2012. Web. 31 Aug 2012. <http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art63087.asp>. • "Girolamo Savonarola." Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Sep. 2012<http://www.encyclopedia.com>. •  "Italian Politics." . N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Sep 2012. <http://www-student.unl.edu/cis/hist100w05/online_course/unit3/lsn09-tp02.html>. • “Italian Renaissance Art: Political Background: Machiavelli and Medici." Italian Renaissance Art: Political Background: Machiavelli and Medici. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Aug. 2012. <http://faculty.uml.edu/Culturalstudies/Italian_Renaissance/6.htm>. • "RENAISSANCE: HISTORICAL INFORMATION: The Renaissance." The Miniatures Pages. N.p., 24 May 1996. Web. 31 Aug 2012. <http://theminiaturespage.com/ref/history/reninfo.html>. • "Social and Economic Changes During the Renaissance."All-About_Renaissance_Faires.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Sep 2012. <http://www.all-about-renaissance-faires.com/renaissance_info/economic_social_and_religious_change_in_the_renaissance.htm>. • The Historical, Political and Diplomatic Writings of Niccolò Machiavelli, trans. C. E. Detmold, 4 vol, Boston 1882. Extract from `Discourses' (I, 55). Web. <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/machiavelli-disc1-55.asp>.

20. The Renaissance: Italian Literature By: Natalie Marshall

21. Renaissance Humanism • Most important literary movement in the Italian Renaissance • An intellectual movement • Derived from the study of classical literary works of the Greeks and Romans • People who studied humanism were called “humanists”

22. Renaissance Humanism • Studied the liberal arts which they derived from the writings of the ancient Greeks and Romans • The subjects that were studied are called “humanities” • Worth and dignity of a person was emphasized • Shift from theology and logic to human studies • Some form of syncretism was present- would mix present society ideals with the works and thoughts of the ancient Roman and Greek world

23. Italian Humanism • “Civic Humanism” • Connected to Florentine spirit and pride • Rejected family • Promoted intellectuals • Looked to the Roman Cicero as a model • Believed it was the responsibility of an intellectual to be productive for their state • One can only mature if they participate in the activities and life of the state

24. Italian Humanism • “Civic Humanism” • Reflected the values and ethics of urban society during the Italian Renaissance • Studies of humanities should be put into practice • Humanists often served as chancellors, councilors, and advisors to the state

25. Humanist Interest in the Greeks • Very interested in classical Greek civilization • Humanists researched and read the works of Plato • Humanists also followed Greek poets, dramatists, historians, and orators • Read the works of Thucydides, Euripides, and Sophocles • Humanists pursued the works of the classical Greeks while people of the middle ages ignored the Greeks

26. Humanism on Education • Profound impact on education • Believed humans could be greatly benefitted by education • Books were written on education • Schools were established • Most famous being one founded by Vittorino de Feltre at Mantua in 1423 • Educational system was based off of the ideas of Cicero and Quintilian • Liberal studies

27. Francesco Petrarch • “Father of Humanism” • Brought popularity to renaissance humanism • His father wanted him to become a lawyer, but he pursued a career in literature instead • Not modest at all • 1st person to describe the Middle Ages as a period of darkness • Searched monastic libraries in Europe for Latin manuscripts

28. Francesco Petrarch • Placed great emphasis on classical Latin • Emphasis on Latin caused humanists to use Cicero and Virgil as models • “Christ is my God; Cicero is the prince of the language” –Petrarch

29. The Ascent of Mount Ventoux • Written by Petrarch • It is an allegory of the struggle of his soul to reach a higher spiritual state • “nothing is admirable besides the soul; compared to its greatness nothing is great” • Look inward and forget worldly objects • “And men go to admire the high mountains, the vast floods of the sea, the huge streams of the rivers, the circumference of the ocean, and the revolution of the stars- and desert themselves.”

30. Leonardo Bruni • He was a chancellor of Florence • He wrote the New Cicero • A biography on Cicero • Talked about the mixture of political action and literary creation in the life of Cicero • To mature intellectually and morally one most participate in the state • Gained a through knowledge of the Greeks- one of the first Italian humanist to do this • Also wrote the History of the Florentine People

31. Lorenzo Valla • 1407-1457 • Raised in Rome • Knew both Latin and Greek • Eventually became a papal secretary • Used knowledge of the classical languages to criticize ideas, theories, beliefs, and practices of modern times • He was highly controversial • He said that the Donation of Constantine (a document that justified the papacy's claim to temporal rule) as forgery, or fake.

32. Lorenzo Valla • Wrote, The Elegances of the Latin Language • Wanted to restore Latin to how it was prior to medieval times • Advocated proper use of classical Latin • Only acceptable form of Latin was that between the last century of the Roman Republic and the 1stcentury of the empire

33. Renaissance Hermecticism • Cosimo de’ Medici asked Marsilio Ficino to translate a Greek work, Corpus Hermeticum, into Latin • The writings spoke of how everything was of divine nature- heavenly bodies and earthly objects • “God as a whole is in all things” –Giordano Bruno

34. Giovanni Pico della Mirandola • Wrote one of the most famous pieces of writings to come out of the Renaissance • He wrote, The Oration on the Dignity of Man • He researched the works of many philosophers to come up with the story • Very interested in Hermetic philosophy

35. The Oration of the Dignity of Man • Written as a preface to Mirandola’s 900 theses • In it Mirandola wrote that humans have unlimited potential • “To him it is granted to have whatever he chooses, to be whatever he wills.” –Mirandola • “You, constrained by no limits, in accordance with your own free will, in whose hand We have placed you, shall ordain for yourself the limits of your nature.” -Mirandola

36. Humanism’s Impact on History • Humanists strongly impacted the recording of history • Influenced by classical Roman and Greek historians, and not by those of the Middle Ages • Began to think in passages of time- chronologized the past into the ancient world, the dark ages, and then their own age • Started to secularize history • Focused more on political forces or individuals • Medieval historical literature emphasized God intervention in human affairs while the Humanists emphasized human motives

37. Francesco Guiccidardini • Historian during the Renaissance • To Renaissance scholars he was the greatest historian • Wrote the History of Italy and the History of Florence • Recordings of history were meant to teach lessons, but lessons were not always in plain view • He was experienced in government and diplomatic affairs which enabled him to analyze political situations • Used personal examples and documentary sources for his works

38. Bibliography • Petrarch. "The Ascent of Mount Ventoux." Francesco Petrarch. Peter Sadlon, 1999. Web. 04 Sept. 2012. <http://petrarch.petersadlon.com/read_letters.html?s=pet17.html>. • "The Renaissance Humanists." The Renaissance Humanists. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Sept. 2012. <http://www.roebuckclasses.com/ideas/humanist.htm>. • Sadlon, Peter. "Francesco Petrarch - Father of Humanism." Francesco Petrarch - Father of Humanism. N.p., 1999. Web. 04 Sept. 2012. <http://petrarch.petersadlon.com/petrarch.html>. • Nauta, Lodi. "Lorenzo Valla." (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Stanford University, 19 May 2009. Web. 04 Sept. 2012. <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/lorenzo-valla/>. • Nelson, Lynn H. "ITALIAN HUMANISM." ITALIAN HUMANISM. European University Institute, May 1993. Web. 04 Sept. 2012. <http://vlib.iue.it/carrie/texts/carrie_books/gilbert/05.html>. • Mirandola, Pico Della. "Oration on the Dignity of Man." Preface. Western Civilization. Fifth ed. Belmont: Thomson Wadsworth, 2003. 317. Print.

39. Women

40. Painting

41. The Italian Renaissance Painting

42. Italian Renaissance • Began in mid 14th century • Due to the growth of city-states.

43. Various City-States • Florence • Center of the Renaissance • Rome • Venice • Longest lasting • Naples • King • Sicily

44. Middle Ages • Artists were members of religious houses • No sculptures • Idolatry • One Dimensional

48. General Information • Art • Realism • Linear Perspective • Depth • Frescoes • Landscapes • Mythology • The Madonna • ¾ portraits

49. Why & How? • The revival of classical, Romanesque architecture inspired classicism in painting. • Vitruvius • Math=Art! • New artistic techniques/ideas • Open Mindedness • Humanism

50. Inspiration and $$$ • The Medici Bank • Cosimo • Vitruvius • 1st Century Writer “On Architecture” • The Bellini Family • Venice • The Catholic Church • Various Rich People