Editing History of Italy (section)

==Renaissance==
{{Main|Italian Renaissance}}
[[File:'David' by Michelangelo Fir JBU005.jpg|thumb|[[Michelangelo's David]], one of the symbols of Italian Renaissance]]
[[File:Da Vinci Vitruve Luc Viatour.jpg|thumb|''The [[Vitruvian Man]]'' by [[Leonardo da Vinci]] is a quintessential masterpiece of the Renaissance.]]

The recovery from the demographic and economic disaster of the late Middle Ages led to a resurgence of cities, trade and economy. Italy was the main centre of the Renaissance, whose flourishing of the arts, architecture, literature, science, historiography, and political theory influenced all of Europe.<ref>J. R. Hale, '' A Concise Encyclopaedia of the Italian Renaissance''</ref><ref>J. H. Plumb, ''The Italian Renaissance – A Concise Survey of its History and Culture'' (1985)</ref> The Renaissance represented a "rebirth" not only of economy and urbanization but also of arts and science, fuelled by rediscoveries of ancient texts and the migration west into Italy of intellectuals fleeing the [[Eastern Roman Empire]]. The [[fall of Constantinople]] led to the migration of [[Greek scholars in the Renaissance|Greek scholars]] and texts to Italy, fueling the rediscovery of Greco-Roman [[Humanism]].<ref name="Britannica1">Encyclopædia Britannica, ''Renaissance'', 2008, O.Ed.</ref><ref name="Harris">Har, Michael H. ''History of Libraries in the Western World'', Scarecrow Press Incorporate, 1999, {{ISBN|0-8108-3724-2}}</ref><ref name="Norwich">Norwich, John Julius, ''A Short History of Byzantium'', 1997, Knopf, {{ISBN|0-6794-5088-2}}</ref> Humanist rulers such as [[Federico da Montefeltro]] and [[Pope Pius II]] worked to establish [[ideal city|ideal cities]], founding [[Urbino]] and [[Pienza]] respectively. [[Pico della Mirandola]] wrote the ''[[Oration on the Dignity of Man]]'', considered the manifesto of [[Renaissance Humanism]].

The Italian Renaissance began in Tuscany and spread south, having an especially significant impact on Rome, which was largely rebuilt by the Renaissance popes. The Tuscan variety of Italian came to predominate throughout the region, especially in [[Renaissance literature]]. Prominent authors of the era include [[Petrarch]] and [[Giovanni Boccaccio]]. [[Italian Renaissance painting]] and [[Renaissance architecture|architecture]] exercised a dominant influence on subsequent European art. The Aldine Press, founded by the printer [[Aldo Manuzio]], developed [[Italic type]] and the small, relatively portable and inexpensive printed book that could be carried in one's pocket. In the early 16th century, Baldassare Castiglione with ''[[The Book of the Courtier]]'' laid out his vision of the ideal gentleman and lady, while [[Niccolò Machiavelli]] in ''[[The Prince]]'', laid down the foundation of [[modern philosophy]], especially modern [[political philosophy]]. It was also in direct conflict with the dominant Catholic and [[scholasticism|scholastic]] doctrines of the time.<ref name="counter">{{Cite book |last=Bireley |first=Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7UFQAQAAIAAJ |title=The Counter-Reformation Prince: Anti-Machiavellianism Or Catholic Statecraft in Early Modern Europe |date=1990 |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |isbn=978-0-8078-1925-8}}</ref>

The Italian Renaissance was remarkable in economic development. Venice and Genoa were trade pioneers, first as maritime republics and then as regional states, followed by Milan, Florence, and the rest of northern Italy. Reasons for their early development include the relative military safety of Venetian lagoons, the high population density and the institutional structure which inspired entrepreneurs.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Baten, Jörg |title=A History of the Global Economy. From 1500 to the Present. |date=2016 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-1075-0718-0 |page=44}}</ref> [[Venice]] was the first real [[international financial center]], which slowly emerged from the 9th century to its peak in the 14th century.<ref name="Coispeau2016">{{Cite book |last=Coispeau |first=Olivier |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yor4DAAAQBAJ |title=Finance Masters: A Brief History of International Financial Centers in the Last Millennium |date=2016-08-10 |publisher=World Scientific |isbn=978-9-8131-0884-4}}</ref> Tradeable [[Bond (finance)|bonds]] were invented during this period.

===Age of Discovery===
Italian{{Efn|Though the modern state of Italy had yet to be established, the Latin equivalent of the [[Italians#Name|term Italian]] had been in use for natives of [[Italian geographical region|the region]] since antiquity. See [[Pliny the Elder]], ''[[Epistulae (Pliny)|Letters]]'' 9.23.}} [[List of Italian explorers|explorers]] and navigators from the dominant [[maritime republics]], eager to find an alternative route to the Indies to bypass the [[Ottoman Empire]], played a key role in the [[Age of Discovery]] and European colonization of the Americas. The most notable among them were [[Christopher Columbus]], who is credited with discovering the New World;<ref>Encyclopædia Britannica, 1993 ed., Vol. 16, pp. 605ff / Morison, ''Christopher Columbus'', 1955 ed., pp. 14ff</ref> [[John Cabot]], the first European to set foot in "New Found Land" and explore parts of the North American continent in 1497;<ref>{{Cite web |date=2007 |title=''Catholic Encyclopedia'' "John & Sebastian Cabot" |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03126d.htm |access-date=17 May 2008 |publisher=newadvent}}</ref> [[Amerigo Vespucci]], who first demonstrated in about 1501 that the New World was not Asia as initially conjectured but a different continent ([[Naming of the Americas|America]] is named after him);<ref>{{Cite book |last=Martone |first=Eric |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MHJ1DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA109 |title=Italian Americans: The History and Culture of a People |date=2016 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-6106-9995-2 |page=504}}</ref> and [[Giovanni da Verrazzano]], the first European to explore the Atlantic coast of North America between Florida and New Brunswick in 1524.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Greene |first=George Washington |author-link=George Washington Greene |url={{Google books|1qsuAAAAYAAJ|page=PA13|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |title=The Life and Voyages of Verrazzano |date=1837 |publisher=Folsom, Wells, and Thurston |location=Cambridge University |page=13 |access-date=18 August 2017 |via=Google Books}}</ref> [[Marcos de Niza|Marco da Nizza]] explored the region that later became [[History of Arizona|Arizona]] and [[History of New Mexico|New Mexico]] in 1539. [[Henri de Tonti]] explored the Great Lakes region and co-founded New Orleans. Italian missionaries, including [[Alessandro Geraldini]], [[François-Joseph Bressani]], and [[Eusebio Kino]], played a role in establishing Catholic missions in California. Kino explored and mapped the southwest and California.<ref>Rolle, ''The immigrant upraised'' pp. 339–349.</ref> In the beginning of the 15th century, adventurers and traders such as [[Niccolò Da Conti]] travelled as far as Southeast Asia.
{{Gallery|align=center
|width=160 |File:Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio - Ritratto di Cristoforo Colombo (1520).jpg|[[Christopher Columbus]], who is credited with discovering the New World
|File:Amerigo Vespucci (with turban) - cropped.jpg|[[Amerigo Vespucci]], who first demonstrated in about 1501 that the New World was not Asia as initially conjectured but a different continent ([[Naming of the Americas|America]] is named after him)
|File:John-cabot-2.jpg|[[John Cabot]], the first European to set foot in "New Found Land" and explore parts of the North American continent in 1497
|File:Giovanni da Verrazano.jpg|[[Giovanni da Verrazzano]], the first European to explore the Atlantic coast of North America between Florida and New Brunswick in 1524
}}

===Warfare===
In the 14th century, Northern Italy was divided into warring city-states, the most powerful being [[Milan]], [[Florence]], [[Pisa]], [[Siena]], [[Genoa]], [[Ferrara]], [[Mantua]], [[Verona]] and [[Venice]]. High Medieval Northern Italy was further divided by the long-running battle for supremacy between the Papacy and the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. Warfare between the states was common, and invasion from outside Italy was confined to intermittent sorties of [[Holy Roman Emperors]]. Since the 13th century, as armies became primarily composed of [[mercenaries]], prosperous city-states could field considerable forces despite their low populations. Over the 15th century, the most powerful city-states annexed their smaller neighbours: Florence took [[Pisa]] in 1406, Venice captured [[Padua]] and [[Verona]], while the [[Duchy of Milan]] annexed nearby areas including [[Pavia]] and [[Parma]].

The early Renaissance saw almost constant warfare on land and sea as the city-states vied for preeminence. On land, these wars were primarily fought by armies of mercenaries known as ''[[condottiere|condottieri]]'', bands of soldiers drawn from around Europe (especially Germany and Switzerland) led largely by Italian captains.<ref>Jensen, De Lamar. ''Renaissance Europe''. 1992, p. 64.</ref> Decades of fighting saw Florence, Milan and Venice emerge as the dominant players. These three powers agreed to the [[Peace of Lodi]] in 1454, which saw relative calm brought to the region for the next forty years. At sea, the main contenders were Pisa, Genoa, and Venice, but after a long conflict, the Genoese succeeded in reducing Pisa. Venice proved to be a more powerful adversary, and with the decline of Genoese power during the 15th century Venice became pre-eminent on the seas.

Foreign invasions of Italy (the [[Italian Wars]]) began with the 1494 invasion by France that wreaked widespread devastation on Northern Italy and ended the independence of many of the city-states. Originally arising from dynastic disputes over the Duchy of Milan and the Kingdom of Naples, the wars rapidly became a general struggle for power and territory. The French were routed by Holy Roman Emperor [[Charles V of Habsburg|Charles V]] at the [[Battle of Pavia]] (1525) and again in the [[War of the League of Cognac]] (1526–30). After years of inconclusive fighting and involvement by multiple countries, with the [[Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis]] (1559), France renounced its claims in Italy, while the south of Italy remained under Spanish rule.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/99311/Peace-of-Cateau-Cambresis |access-date=4 December 2014}}</ref>

Much of Venice's hinterland (but not the city itself) was [[Ottoman–Venetian War (1499–1503)|devastated by the Turks]] in 1499 and plundered by the [[League of Cambrai]] in 1509. Worst of all was the 6 May 1527 [[Sack of Rome (1527)|Sack of Rome]] by mutinous German mercenaries that all but ended the role of the Papacy as the largest patron of Renaissance art. The long [[Siege of Florence (1529–1530)]] brought the destruction of its suburbs, the ruin of its export business and the confiscation of its citizens' wealth. Italy's urban population halved; ransoms paid to the invaders and emergency taxes drained the finances. The wool and silk industries of Lombardy collapsed when their looms were wrecked by invaders. The defensive tactic of scorched earth only slightly delayed the invaders, and made the recovery much longer.<ref>John Julius Norwich, ''The Italians: History, Art and the Genius of a People'' (1983) p 165-66.</ref>