Cultural Changes In Italy During The Renaissance

Human culture is constantly adapting and changing. Throughout time, patterns can begin to reveal how these changes happen. The Common Themes Theory suggests that for every cultural change, there is a problem, solution and effect. This theory is reflected by the cultural change in Italy during the Renaissance period which led to the explosion of the arts and new inventions.
In the late medieval period, just before the Renaissance, north Italy was becoming very urbanized and contained some of the largest cities in Europe. Italy’s economy greatly benefited from trade, which allowed some big cities to become much more industrialized. Trade allowed for great amounts of exported goods which generated wealth for Italy. According to Clinton Sandvick, “because of the increasing urbanization of Italian society and the impact of the Black Death, the feudal economic system collapsed” (Sandvick). This economic downfall created a dependence on the wealthy, but the idea of feudalism was never popular, and its collapse allowed people to realize new ways of thinking. During this time, there
There’s no doubt that the Renaissance was one of the greatest time periods for advancements in culture and art. Cunningham made a good point when he stated that “by some stroke of good fortune, Florence and its surroundings produced, in the 15th century, a group of artists who revolutionized Western art” (Cunningham 364). This time period produced some of the most amazing works of art and architecture still to modern day. Construction of buildings like the Florence Cathedral’s dome benefited the community as a whole, finishing the dome was a way of restoring glory to Italy. The dome was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, and without the support and patronage of the Medici family, it is likely that the dome would have never been completed, leaving Florence with the embarrassment of an unfinished