Italy
Throughout the Renaissance, Italy was politically divided. Northern Italy included several states ruled by princes* as well as the Republic of VENICE. FLORENCE was the most important state in north-central Italy, while the popes had authority over large areas of central Italy called the Papal States. The Kingdom of NAPLES dominated the south until 1504, when it was taken over by Spain. Within each region of Italy, people were separated into communities.
Regional Divisions. The geography of Italy played a major role in its regional divisions. The Apennine mountains, which extend from north to south, formed a natural barrier. In addition, Italy's location in the midst of the busy Mediterranean Sea brought its coastal cities and towns in contact with people from many other cultures.
Social and economic forces also divided Italy into regions. A commercial revolution that began in the 900s led to the growth of cities across Europe. As Italian cities expanded and prospered, many of them seized power from existing rulers and became self-governing. Some urban communities in northern Italy and elsewhere formed republics*, and they became thriving industrial, commercial, and financial centers. Business competition led to rivalries between communities.
Political issues were responsible for much of the division within Italy. Disputes over trade routes and resources led to some political clashes. Most important, Italy had no single ruler or dominant state but consisted instead of 15 to 20 small states. This encouraged the five major states—MILAN, Venice, Florence, the papacy, and Naples—to try to gain territory at the expense of smaller states and each other.
Italy also had cultural divisions. People in different regions spoke different dialects. In areas under foreign rule, languages such as French and Spanish came into use. Other customs, such as the style of dress worn in princely courts, also varied from place to place. As a result, people felt a strong association with their city, state, or region rather than with Italy. They expressed their loyalty to a particular area through devotion to local saints and the construction of town halls, law courts, bell towers, commercial centers, and city walls.
Unity and Identity. Despite deep divisions, Italy did have an identity that defined the peninsula and its population. People moved freely across local borders to other regions. Merchants and bankers traveled widely throughout the peninsula, setting up agencies in different areas and obtaining multiple citizenships to advance their business interests.
The migration of people within Italy existed on many levels. Workers moved from place to place in search of opportunity, helping Italian cities grow and prosper and increasing communication among regions. Skilled crafts workers and professionals were in great demand everywhere.
Some communities hired government officials from other areas, creating a class of well-traveled Italian administrators. Mercenaries* from poorer regions sought military service with wealthier Italian states.
Students from all over Italy enrolled at universities in Padua, BOLOGNA, and other cities. In addition, artists and scholars moved around the country in search of patrons*.
The use of Roman law was another important unifying factor in Renaissance Italy. A legacy of ancient Rome, this body of law not only influenced legal systems but also encouraged a sense of Italian identity, even a feeling of superiority toward other countries. In the 1300s, Renaissance writers such as PETRARCH reinforced this sense of identity.
In spite of these common elements, Italians made few attempts to establish a political union. In 1347 a Roman official proposed forming a federation* of Italian states, but his idea received little support. In 1455 several northern Italian states created an alliance known as the Italian League. However, its purpose was not to unite Italy but to maintain the balance of power between the major states on the peninsula.
Forms of Government. During the Renaissance many Italian cities changed from one form of government to another. Between the 1200s and the 1500s, most of the republics were taken over by powerful signori (lords). Some of these rulers were foreigners who acquired control by military force, such as Francesco Sforza, who seized the duchy* of Milan in 1450. Most signori, however, were local leaders who gained power through networks of alliances. Political conflict, social unrest, and economic weakness contributed to the decline of republican governments and enabled the signori to step in.
The process of changing from independent republics to duchies or princedoms did not always go smoothly. In Florence, for example, members of the MEDICI family began to take control of the city in 1434, but a republican government was reestablished in 1494. The lordship of the Medici was not formally recognized until 1530. By the end of the Renaissance, only one major Italian city—Venice—had retained its republican government.
Foreign Invasion. Italy's location in the central Mediterranean exposed it to the influence of foreign powers and to invasion. The wealth of Italian cities attracted rulers from Spain, France, and northern Europe. Powerful individuals also attempted to seize Italian lands to which they had some claim through family ties.
Beginning in 1494 the Italian peninsula became the battleground for the WARS OF ITALY, a series of invasions by foreign powers. The French monarchs laid claim to Naples and Milan and fought to gain control of Naples and SICILY. In the first half of the 1500s, the HABSBURGS and the kings of France engaged in a power struggle that involved lands and people across Europe. Many of the battles in this conflict took place on Italian soil.
The Italian city-states were not able to defend themselves against the foreign invaders. They failed to join forces to meet the threat, and some cities even tried to take advantage of the situation. The military defeats dealt a blow to the Italians' sense of cultural superiority. As foreign rulers came to dominate the peninsula, some powerful Italian states, such as Milan, ceased to exist. Others, including Venice, survived by remaining politically neutral. Meanwhile, Naples, Sicily, and some of northern Italy became imperial provinces under Spain. In many respects, by the end of the Renaissance, Italy had returned to what it had been in the Middle Ages—a collection of cities and regions controlled by larger states.
