Italian Renaissance Notes

• cosimo medici http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosimo_Medici
• Michelangelo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelangelo
• Galileo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo
• Brunelleschi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filippo_Brunelleschi
• Da Vinci http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_vinci
• The achievements of the classics were unsurpassed
• Knowledge was brought back to Italy
• Florence was unlike any other city in Europe. It was a republic where rich families vied for power
• The Medici bank was originally very small, run in the back of a store.
• They valued profit but mainly loyalty
• The Medici's gambled their entire business, and it paid off. They got a man to become the Pope.
• When this happened, the Pope chose the Medici bank as his bank.
• They joined a powerful group of Florentines
• For over a hundred years, an unfinished cathedral remained in the city.
• This was a "mutilation" to the city. They tried to build the largest dome.
• The Medici family hired a self taught genius, Filippo Brunelleschi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filippo_Brunelleschi).
• They gambled again on his judgment.
• He used classical orders of architecture, which had not been done for a long time.
• This sparked an architecture revolution.
• It was only the beginning for the Medici's.
• The offered a large cash prize for a solution for the church's dome.
• Brunelleschi was hired to do this
• He had to rewrite the rules of architecture to do and there was no guarantee for success.
• He used ideas used for the Pantheon.
• Brunelleschi used sandstone rings to create enough support for the dome.
• Cosimo's father's health began to decline.
• Giovanni was buried in a church redone by Brunelleschi
• The Medici's were challenged by a rival family
• Brunelleschi tried to escape his age.
• Cosimo was at the mercy of his enemies. They locked him at the top room at the top floor.
• But the rival family had to have the consent of the people.
• He was accused of treason against the city and the people. He now faced execution
• His friends spared him death by paying them a bribe.
• Cosimo and his family were banished. None of his friends were safe.
• Brunelleschi was thrown in jail.
• They tried to attack the city in the church but were held off by the city guard.
• Agents of the Pope were sent to Florence. They had gone too far.
• Cosimo modestly accepted rule of the city.
• Revenge was selective but severe.
• Work on the church resumed.
• The Medici bank collected money from every archbishop in Europe.
• They were now the most profitable bank in Europe.
• He began to commission many artists. He was the most sought after patron.
• He had problems with Lipo following through with his job.
• Cosimo was highly tolerant with these kinds of artists.
• Brunelleschi continued to break boundaries. He unveiled a new technique called perspective.
• The Pope was invited to the church once it was finished.
• A story was painted at the top of the dome
• It proved that man could conquer the seemingly impossible
• "It touches the sky and casts a shadow over the whole of Tuscany."
• Brought together more artists and thinkers than ever before
• Cosimo remained a cautious man
• He had no one to follow in his footsteps

• The Medici's were in danger of losing control of the city to other rival families.
• The heirs to the city were Julio and Lorenzo
• They knew that they had to kill Cosimo to take over.
• The Medici's started to become vulnerable. They need to become allies with families outside of Florence.
• business had never been better since Lorenzo married the daughter of a Roman baron.
• Lorenzo takes over after Cosimo died
• He does not have the power that he exercises.
• Created a new type of art called the spring. It was pure fantasy and inspired by poetry and imagination.
• There is a mafia atmosphere during this time.
• The Pazzi were trying to kill the Medici's
• They had the support of the church.
• The Pazzi had to kill the younger and older brother
• On Easter day, The Medici's gathered in church to celebrate the holiest day of the year.
• Juliano died instantly, but Lorenzo was unaccounted for.
• The Medici's supported were enraged by this and killed the conspirators
• The Murder shook Lorenzo to the core.
• He found out that Pope had ordered the killing. He traveled to the south to talk to his enemies. The entire city was worried for his survival.
• He traveled for a month until he got to Naples. They made a deal and they are at peace.
• Lorenzo was hailed as the magnificent
• But his experiences changed him. He wanted to make sure the they did not lose power.
• He had as many kids as possible and took over the Florentine government.
• Lorenzo found Leonardo Da Vinci. His talent was impossible to ignore.
• He wanted to reflect the detail of the natural world.
• Leonardo's rival rose the stakes. Botticelli took his style to new extremes
• the birth of Venus was unlike any other painting of its time
• One monk believed Leonardo was leading Italy on a bad path.
• He turned his hate to Lorenzo
• Lorenzo's wife died of Tuberculosis
• He found solace in art and established the first art school in history. Here he found Michelangelo
• Lorenzo immediately takes him into his family and was given his own rooms in the palace.
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girolamo_Savonarola
• He was drawn to classical legends.
• Savonarola was strongly against Leonardo. Financially, things were at a breaking point.
• Lorenzo lost his grip on the family business
• Branches of the bank were forced to close.
• Savonarola's predictions were starting to become true.
• Lorenzo called Savonarola to his death bed. He damned Lorenzo instead of forgiving him.
• Lorenzo died at the age of 43.
• Savonarola wanted to create a kingdom of God on Earth. He organized a public burning.