Florence
Topic: Renaissance, Reformation and the Scientific Revolution · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 5 "Changing Cultural Traditions"
Meaning
Florence was an Italian city that was run as a republic. Until the late thirteenth century it was not a great centre of trade or learning. It then became the most exciting intellectual and artistic city in Italy. Its university was founded in 1349. Rich patrons there paid artists, writers and architects for their work, so Florence became a cradle of the Renaissance.
Example
Florence first became famous through two people: Dante Alighieri (1265–1321), a layman (not a priest) who wrote on religious themes, and Giotto (1267–1337), who painted lifelike portraits. Later, in 1436, Filippo Brunelleschi completed the great dome, or Duomo, of Florence cathedral.
Don't confuse with
- Court-cities: Italian towns ruled by princes. Florence, like Venice, was a republic, not a princely court-city.