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====Socio-Economic Consequences====
The social consequences of the plague on society came to be profound. The high mortality rate resulted in a drastic decline in the labor force.<ref> Hay, Denys. ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0521291046/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0521291046&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=20ec38bb2892fda8011774d1b91c7f5b The Italian Renaissance in Its Historical Background]''. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,1997) p. 19</ref>. Wages rose for both agricultural and urban workers. The survivors of the Black Death generally had a higher standard of living than before the plague.<ref> Hays, 1997, p. 78 </ref> This was a phenomenon that occurred in both urban and rural areas. The crisis caused by the Black Death led to many changes in the economy, in response to the fall in the population. Because of the labor shortages, there was a move from labor-intensive farming such as cereal to livestock and increase both in industry and agriculture more labor-saving devices employed.<ref> Pullan, 1997, p 145 </ref> The impact of the Black Death was contrary on feudalism in Italy. Feudalism was a system whereby peasants and farm laborers bound, as serfs, to serve a local lord. In the north of Italy, good farmland was plentiful, and wages increased, and the last vestiges of feudalism disappeared as serfs increasingly could purchase their freedom.
In the south of Italy the opposite occurred, here, since the Norman kings, the aristocracy had been consolidating feudalism. After the Black Death, the elite responded to the labor shortages by strengthening the restrictions on the peasants and thereby strengthened feudalism in southern Italy. The consequences of the plague resulted in a growing divide between the North and South of Italy that persists to this day.<ref>Benedictow, Ole Jørgen ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1843832143/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1843832143&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=449097edacea911d1f7384a876564988 Black Death 1346–1353: The Complete History]'' (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press,2004) p. 234</ref> In general, after a period of recovery, much of Italy became very wealthy as a more sophisticated economy emerged, especially in the North of Italy. This was crucial, as the increased wealth of Italy allowed the elite, such as the De Medici’s in Florence to become the patrons of great artists such as Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.<ref> Frederick Hartt, and David G. Wilkins, ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0131882473/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0131882473&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=6cfea7bdf46c76a3b637cf054ebc4f63 History of Italian Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture]'' (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2003), p 67</ref>
Many of their laborers simply left the land, and they were not replaced. Many of the nobility found themselves obliged to sell their serfs their freedom or to sell land to merchants from the cities. At this time, many wealthy merchants purchased new estates. The demise of the traditional elite meant that a new elite came to the fore, composed of merchants and self-made men. This new elite often keen to patronize arts. They were very conscious of their lack of birth and humble origins.<ref>Pullan, 1973, p. 23 </ref>
They were keen to use art and to patronize men of letters to compensate for the lack of traditional authority. In order to appear the equal of the old aristocracy, they sought to sponsor artists who would win the esteem of the public.<ref> Burkhardt, 1878, p. 78</ref> This was one of the reasons for the lavish patronage of the de Medici’s in Florence. They were keen patrons of the arts, to justify their status in society and to impress the general population. This meant that the great artists had many patrons, who often competed for their talents and this allowed them to concentrate on their art and to produce some of the greatest art, ever known.<ref>Hayden B. J. Maginnis, 1997, p. 167 </ref> ====Who benefitted from the Renaissance in Italy?====While the Renaissance may have laid the foundation for broad changes in Europe over the longterm, the wealthy in Italy were the primary people who benefitted during the Renaissance. While wages for agricultural workers increased after the plague arrived, wages did not increase throughout the Renaissance. Additionally in Florence, life expectancy declined for people during the Renaissance. Wealthy Italians during the Renaissance did clearly did benefit. Their wealth essentially funded the artistic achievements of the era, but most Italian peasants probably would have preferred higher wages rather than the Mona Lisa.<ref>Eleanor Janego, "[https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/10/dont-kid-yourself-black-deaths-aftermath-isnt-cause-optimism-about-covid-19/ Don’t kid yourself. The Black Death’s aftermath isn’t cause for optimism about covid-19.]" Washingington Post, April 14, 2020.</ref>
====Conclusion====
The Black Death devastated Italian society in the middle of the 14th century. It led to great socio-economic, cultural and religious changes. After the initial horrors of the plague, Italian society, staged a spectacular recovery. Italy became richer than before. The impact of the plague reduced the influence of the Catholic Church as diminished, and the culture became more secular. The new social mobility meant that individualism came to be respected. The Black Death unleashed the forces in Italian society that made the Renaissance possible.
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