Changes

Florence's decline and the eventual abandonment of the ideals of the Renaissance began with the invasion of Florence in 1494 by France and gained speed as Italy broke out into warfare between its city states. Additionally, like most significant polictical and intellectual movements, it gave birth to a severe backlash. By the 1550s, many of the works of literature and art that help birth the Renaissance were banned. By the mid 1550s, the Italian Renaissance was essentially over. While the Renaissance died in Florence, it ideas, beliefs and art had spread across Europe. These other Renaissances continued even as Florence's rebirth stalled.

[[File:Leonardo.jpg|thumbnail|Leonardo da Vinci|200px|left]]

Until 1500 Italy was at the centre of the Mediterranean world and its vast network of trade routes. Italian traders made vast profits by acting as middlemen in the trade between the Muslim and Christian worlds. Furthermore, the Italian clothing industry exported its goods all over the Mediterranean.<ref>Ruggiero, p. 134.</ref> The riches made enabled the elite to fund the work of great artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael. However, after Columbus discovered America, the Mediterranean economy went into a steep decline. New trade routes were established in the Atlantic and the trade of the Mediterranean dropped off. This led to less money being spent on art in Italy.<ref>Lopez, Robert Sabatino, ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316532002/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0316532002&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=d7834ce1e2ccb139a585310f8f29d767 The Three Ages of the Italian Renaissance]'' (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1970), p. 89.</ref>