Western Civilization

Italian Renaissance vs . Northern Italian Renaissance

Renaissance (Rinascimento in Italian ) which literally means rebirth is the era well-known for the revival of interest in the culture of classical antiquity after the period of the Dark Ages . Scholars commonly use the term Renaissance to describe the cultural achievements rest on economic and political developments of earlier centuries . This aims to see the similarities and differences in two of the eras which characterized the Renaissance : the Italian Renaissance and the Northern Italian Renaissance

The Italian Renaissance was spawned by the birth of the

philosophy of humanism , which accentuated the significance of individual accomplishment in a wide range of fields . It is , thus , best known for its cultural achievements . They include works of literature by such figures as Petrarch , Castiglione , and Machiavelli works of art by artists such as Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci and great works of architecture , such as The Duomo in Florence and St . Peter 's Basilica in Rome . The early humanists , such as writer Francesco Petrarch , studied the works of the ancient Greeks and Romans for inspiration and ideology mixing the philosophies of Plato and other ancient thinkers with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church . Under the influence of the humanists , literature and the arts climbed to new levels of importance

The Italian Renaissance started in the cities of Florence and Siena . It later had a momentous effect in Venice , where the remains of ancient Greek culture were mixed together , feeding the humanist scholars with new texts . The Renaissance later had a significant impact on Rome . The Italian Renaissance climaxed in the late 15th century as foreign invasions pushed the region into chaos . Nevertheless , the ideas and ideals of the Renaissance spread into the rest of Europe , setting off the Northern Renaissance centered in Fontainebleau and Antwerp , and the English Renaissance

The Northern Renaissance , on the other hand , has its roots in Italian Renaissance . In the last quarter of the 15th century , students from the Low Countries , France , Germany , and England flocked to Italy , imbibed the new learning ' and carried it back to their countries . Northern humanists interpreted Italian ideas about and attitudes toward classical antiquity , individualism , and humanism in terms of their own traditions The cultural traditions of northern Europe tended to remain more distinctly Christian , or at least pietistic , than those of Italy . North of Alps , the Renaissance had a distinctly religious character , and humanists stressed biblical and early Christian themes

What essentially distinguished Italian humanists from northern ones is that the latter had a program for broad social reform based on Christian ideals . Christian humanist were interested in the development of an ethical way of life . To achieve it , they believed that the best elements of classical and Christian cultures should be combined . For instance the classical ideals of calmness , stoical patience , and broad-mindedness should be joined in human conduct with the Christian virtues of love faith , and hope . Northern humanists also stressed the use of reason rather than acceptance of dogma , as the...