A Brief History of Renaissance Italy by Washington Renaissance Fantasy Faire at Gig Harbor's Actor's Library

Italy and the Papal State

Italy was not a unified kingdom in the 16th century, but a number of city-states surrounding the Papal State who's capitol was Rome. Such small, independent territories proved easy pickings for the larger, more powerful empires of France, Spain and the Holy Roman Empire, and the Italian wars had recently been fought by these European powers for control of most of the small Italian city-states. France controlled, at times, Milan, Genoa and Naples, while Spain held nearly everything else on the Italian peninsula, and in fact was ultimately granted dominion over these territories by the treaty of Cateau-Cambresis. Venice remained nominally independent, though it had been besieged and remained under extreme pressure by its more powerful neighbors, as did Florence, home of the Medici family.

Despite the turmoil and warring that blanketed Italy during this period, it remained a fairly prosperous area, and was undoubtedly still a cultural seat in Europe. Much of the perceived cultural supremacy of the French courts was due, in no small part, to the influence of Catherine de Medici and the artisans and chefs that attended her when she married Henri II. Italian trade continued to flourish unabated, and the Italian peninsula itself was both fertile and temperate. Major cities in Italy included Venice, Genoa, Florence, Rome and Milan.

Additional Information:

Website: The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy
Website: Italian Renaissance Gown Construction
Book: The Culture of the High Renaissance : Ancients and Moderns in Sixteenth-Century Rome, Ingrid D Rowland