Changes

==The Renaissance==

The term means ‘re-birth’. The renaissance was an effort to imitate the lost world of ancient Greece and Rome. The Italian, artists, writers and thinkers who all participated in the Renaissance, sought to create works that were the equal of the ancients, whom they regarded as the pinnacle of civilisation.<ref>Burke, Peter. ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0691162409/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0691162409&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=3e8ba646ddb55793983df78fb425f39e The Italian Renaissance: Culture and Society in Italy]'' (Princeton University Press, 1999), p. 6.</ref> The Renaissance unlike the Middle Ages, stressed the individual, reason, beauty and secular values. This outlook became known as Humanism and has had a profound impact on European society. The Renaissance not only produced great works of art but also resulted in dramatic change in the views of Europeans and a decisive move away from the world of the Middle Ages. The Renaissance was in many ways to lay the groundwork for the rise of the modern world and especially ‘individualism and a secular outlook.’<ref>Burke, p.9.</ref> The Renaissance was able to occur because of the unique conditions that prevailed in Italy in the period from 1400 to 1500.

==Economic Decline==

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> Although, the Pope’s still continued to be great patrons of the arts. The relative decline in the Italian economy, because of changing trade routes, because of the Discovery of America, led to less money being spent on the arts and education. This had a negative impact on the Renaissance and fewer great works of art and literature.<ref>Lopez, p. 98.</ref>