2.5: Background

The prosperity of northern Italy helped trigger the Renaissance. Italy did not face a major, ongoing series of wars like the Hundred Years’ War in France. It was hit hard by the plague, but no more so than most of the other regions of Europe. However, Italy benefited from the Babylonian Captivity and Great Western Schism. The Italian cities found it easy to operate with little papal interference, and powerful Italian families often intervened directly in the election of popes when it suited their interests. Likewise, the other powers of Europe either could not or had no interest in troubling Italy. England and France were at war, the Holy Roman Empire was weak and fragmented, and Spain was not united until the late Renaissance period. In short, the crises of the Middle Ages actually benefited Italy, because they were centered elsewhere.

In this relatively stable social and political environment, Italy also enjoyed an additional advantage: it was far more urbanized. Clustered in the north, Italian cities represented about 10% of Italy’s overall population. While 90% of the population was either rural or lived in small towns, there was still a far greater concentration of urban dwellers in Italy than anywhere else in Europe. Among those cities, Florence and Milan served as centers of banking, trade, and craftsmanship. In addition, Italian cities had large numbers of very productive craft guilds and workshops producing luxury goods that were highly desirable all over Europe.