Transcript Florence was the first city to grow very wealthy and produce artists

Chapter 7,
Week 1
What is the Renaissance?
• The word Renaissance means rebirth
• It was a time in history after the Middle Ages
where people became interested in art and
learning
• And even though they were still religious they
also became interested in human beings and
secular life
• Secular: Anything that is not religious
What was Italian political geography
like during the Renaissance?
•Italy was divided into many small city-states,
which are independent mini countries connected
to one whole
•Each city-state was run by a separate person
and had one major city
•Major cities were Florence and Venice
•City states caused competition which helped
the Renaissance flourish: grow or do well
Why was Florence and important
city?
•Florence was the first city to grow very wealthy
and produce artists
•It had a river and tall towers for defense
•Florentines made money from selling cloth and
banking
•Florence’s richest family were the Medici’s who
owned many banks
Where did Marco Polo travel to?
•Another important city was Venice, which
Marco Polo was from
•Venice is a city built on the water and known
for their shipbuilding and sailors
•Marco Polo was a famous explorer and sailor
•He traveled to India and China, even living
there for some time with the emperor
Why were Marco Polo’s travels
important?
•Marco Polo opened the trade routes to
Asia
•He wrote a book about his travels that
many people read
•Once they read it they wanted to buy
goods from Asia
•This increased trade and made Italy
wealthy
Other Vocab
•fervent: having or showing great warmth
or spirit; energetic
•gregarious: fond of the company of others,
social