- Renaissance: A fervent period of European cultural, artistic, political and economic “rebirth” following the Middle Ages.
- Birthplace: Florence, Italy, is widely regarded as the city where the Renaissance began.
- Key Figures from Florence: Artists like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli, Brunelleschi; writers like Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio (Proto-Renaissance); thinkers like Machiavelli.
- Patronage: Wealthy families (e.g., Medici in Florence) and the Papacy (in Rome) played a crucial role in supporting arts and scholarship.