In the late Middle Ages, the Italian peninsula became a battlefield for the lords who rose to power in the region and surrounding areas. This article will discuss how the increase in Florentine wealth brought about by the rise of the merchant class ultimately led to the flowering of the Italian Renaissance and its aftermath. The struggle for political power within the Italian peninsula also allowed the Italian Renaissance to blossom. As a result of this competitive pursuit, there was a rise of the merchant class which, in turn, helped produce an excess of wealth allowing these new lords and their citizens to devote time to more intellectual pursuits. The aftershocks of this great cultural event still resonate in modern art, literature, and architecture today. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay It is widely accepted that Italy's location between Western Europe and the eastern shores of the Mediterranean paved the way for the Renaissance. At the height of the Holy Roman Empire, the cities of northern Italy united in an alliance called the Lombard League. In 1167 this alliance was formed to counter the attempts of the Holy Roman Emperors who sought to impose imperial rule over the cities of northern Italy. City-states were formed from surviving cities of the Roman cities that existed within the Roman Empire. With the decline of the Holy Roman Empire, cities arose under municipal government. The municipality was an oath of allegiance between cities and their citizens for mutual defense of each other both physically and in aspects of traditional liberties. Initially the municipality did not issue real laws, but only general rules according to which the cities must in turn govern themselves, while respecting these general rules. As time went on the comune became a more powerful entity in Italy, as it slowly began to gain power over the city-states. Over time, as it gained more power, the municipality began to function as a small state within the northern Italian peninsula. As these small states developed, people began to ask the important question: who will govern us? This concept created a power vacuum in which those with aristocratic potential fought for power. Easy access to the Danube, Rhone, and Rhine rivers connected Europe to the Byzantine Empire and the Muslim world. Increased trade between city-states and other countries led to the growth of new ideas. The development of the merchant class was a new concept for the populations of the Italian peninsula. Before this, merchants existed, but in smaller numbers and most of them participated in local, transverse trade rather than continental trade, as did the large number of emerging merchants. In northern Italy the most prosperous were Florence, Venice and Milan. Further south, in Rome, the Papal States gradually grew to rival the northern states in wealth as the seat of the papacy gained a strong influence on Italian politics and life. Some of the major ruling families of the city-states were the Pope in Rome, the Medici family of Florence, the Doge of Venice, and the Sforza family in Milan. In Florence, the Medici family, also known as the House of Medici, was the most influential during the late Middle Ages. The Medici family grew in the 12th century when family members from the Tuscan village of Cafaggiolo moved from Florence. In the 13th century they acquired political power and wealth through their banking and expertisecommercial and, in doing so, became the most influential house in Florence. The Medici made numerous contributions to society. From simple bankers and merchants they rose, despite much opposition and without military conquests, to become the most powerful and influential dynasty in Europe. As the Medici took on positions such as that of pope throughout Europe, they not only gained power as individuals but as a family because they kept their blood ties sacred. The Medici bank began to open several new branches throughout Europe. In addition to banking, they also operated mines, mills, and other businesses. Cosimo de'Medici (or Cosimo the Elder) came to power in 1434. Cosimo, owner of the Medici Bank, used the huge profits obtained to finance numerous cultural and political activities. The family's support for the humanities made Florence the cradle of the Renaissance, rivaled only by Greece. Through Cosimo Pater Patriae, Lorenzo the Magnificent, Pope Leo At the young age of twenty, Lorenzo de'Medici, known as Lorenzo the Magnificent, also became the founder of the family and succeeded to the government of Florence following the death of his father. Through Lorenzo the Magnificent the Medici family reached its peak. Lorenzo was known as a Renaissance man. A Renaissance man by definition was someone who was proficient in all subjects and achieved true greatness through Renaissance humanism. He was a man gifted with statesman's intuition and judgment, political wisdom, the ability to influence people, knowledge of ancient poets and writers, as well as a passion for various branches of art. Lorenzo was a patron of scholars, painters and sculptors including Ficino, Pico della Mirandola, Angelo Poliziano, Verrocchio, Ghirlandaio, the Pollaiuoli brothers, Botticelli, da Vinci and Michelangelo. Lorenzo raised Florence to the most important state in Italy, making it the capital of intellectual and artistic knowledge. He did this by increasing the prosperity of its citizens and bringing about far-reaching change to the government of Florence, transforming it into a jealously guarded republic that was virtually an autocracy. In doing so, he was able to accomplish what those around him could not. He created a government that was a combination of autocracy and democracy. This form of government was not only admired by his countrymen, but also left him as the absolute ruler of Florence. This allowed for a period of peace in which citizens were encouraged by their government to become patrons of the arts, so the Renaissance continued to flourish and the Middle Ages came to an end. After Lorenzo's death, his son Piero, although a minor, was chosen by the Signoria and the Colleges united with the four councils, with a vote of 483 against 63, as the most qualified to hold all the positions held by his father. Although the council originally had faith in his government, they proceed to blame him in times of tragedy because once he took power, Piero abandoned the principles of his family and, most importantly, his father who preceded him. There are little known documents of Piero other than the above allegations, unlike the generosity of his father's documents, and while his eldest son was still a boy, Piero died. These contributions not only made the family well known, but ensured that the Medici played a role in numerous aspects of medieval society, which created a political position that paved the way for the Renaissance. The influence that political leaders such as The Medici influence on the Renaissance was only the spark that started the fire. The tinder that allowed the spark to ignite was the economy, in particular the increase in wealthof the common people along with the rise of the merchant class within the economy. Although it developed much later than other seaports such as Pisa, Genoa and Venice, it has gone through a rapid rate of growth and development and has still emerged as one of the most populous and wealthy cities on the Italian peninsula. We went from a society dominated by the church to everything that supported the philosophical principles of humanism. The focus of the Italian people moved from the afterlife stressed by religion to everyday life. They became more interested in individual achievements in art, literature, politics, and personal life. Renaissance thinkers viewed medieval life as archaic and backward and took inspiration from the ancient Greeks and Romans. Two significant developments that positively influenced the city's growth were the establishment of close ties with the papacy and the Angevin kingdom of Naples, and the rise of woolen cloth. industrial in a city located in a privileged position for trade with both European and Asian markets. The reason for the development of close political ties with the papacy and the Angevin kingdom of Naples brings us back to the great Medici family. As the Medici assumed powerful positions such as pope throughout Europe, they gained power not only as individuals but as a family because they kept their blood ties sacred. On the other hand, the success of the merchants was not only due to the fact that they increased trade, but above all to the fact that they created a demographic boom within the city of Florence. This miracle was brought about by the woolen cloth industry, which employed thousands of workers, producing fabrics of such quality that they fetched the highest prices in the markets, fairs and bazaars of the three known continents. The Florentines entered the woolen fabric industry at a very privileged time, which allowed them to be so successful. They arrived late on the scene as other regions such as Flanders and Lombardy had developed their industries long before the Florentines, however, the Flemish textile industry was in decline at a time when the Florentines were just beginning to prosper. The Florentines were the first to produce fabrics by finishing fabrics imported from abroad; their greed and special skills allowed them to quickly develop their own system for producing fabrics from imported wools. The city's mercantile network contributed to the economic growth of the woolen cloth industry by providing capital, organizing and importing high-quality wool from England and Spain, as well as being aggressive and efficient in marketing the finished wool to the global market. The development of the merchant class was a new concept for the populations of the Italian peninsula. Another trading concept that began to emerge was the idea of ​​traders dabbling in multiple types of trade. In Florence in particular the mercantile community was constantly changing, it became more a question of circumstances based on opportunity and propensity. The wealth derived from these sources has allowed citizens to live a more comfortable lifestyle. Between the Medici's encouragement of the arts and the new wealth developing within Florence, citizens began to devote more time to more intellectual endeavors, allowing them to make great advances in technology and become patrons of the arts . The Renaissance was both a social as well as an artistic movement. It encourages both scholar and student to go against the norm and transcend the boundaries of traditional disciplines. The Renaissance in its most basic form can be divided into two groups of people, humanists and artists. This new way of thinking was called Humanism. The.