Italian Renaissance Facts for Kids

Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam c. 511, a fresco often used to symbolize the Italian Renaissance

The Italian Renaissance (Italian: Rinascimento) was the earliest beginning of the general European Renaissance. It was a period of great cultural change and achievement that began in Italy during the 14th century. It lasted into the 17th century, marking the gradual change between Medieval and Early Modern Europe. The term "renaissance" is a modern one that was first used in 1858 by French historian Jules Michelet. The Italian renaissance was a period of gradual change. Some parts can be traced back to the earlier part of the 14th century. Other parts did not happen until the end of the century. The French word renaissance (Rinascimento in Italian) means "Rebirth". The era is best known for the renewed interest in the culture of classical antiquity. While it started as a humanist movement it spread to other areas including science, religion, art and exploration. During this period William Shakespeare wrote his plays, Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa, and Martin Luther had started a new religious movement. It saw Christopher Columbus discover the Americas and Johannes Gutenberg introduced printing to Europe. The Italian "rebirth" gradually spread into Northern Europe. As it moved northward, it changed into less a classical movement and more into a religious movement.

Images for kids

Portrait of Dante Alighieri by Cristofano dell'Altissimo, Uffizi Gallery Florence
Pandolfo Malatesta (1417–1468), lord of Rimini, by Piero della Francesca. Malatesta was a capable condottiere, following the tradition of his family. He was hired by the Venetians to fight against the Turks (unsuccessfully) in 1465, and was the patron of Leone Battista Alberti, whose Tempio Malatestiano at Rimini is one of the first entirely classical buildings of the Renaissance.
Portrait of Cosimo de' Medici by Jacopo Pontormo
Leonardo da Vinci, Italian Renaissance Man
Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527), the author of The Prince and prototypical Renaissance man. Detail from a portrait by Santi di Tito.
Petrarch, from the Cycle of Famous Men and Women. ca. 1450. Detached fresco. 247 cm × 153 cm (97.24 in × 60.24 in). Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy. Artist: Andrea di Bartolo di Bargilla (ca. 1423–1457).
Detail of The Last Judgment, 1536–1541, by Michelangelo
Bramante's Tempietto in San Pietro in Montorio, Rome, 1502
Claudio Monteverdi by Bernardo Strozzi (c. 1630)