During the Italian Renaissance meaning 'Rebirth', which started at around 1350, many changes were brought upon society. These changes influenced society positively. These new styles of art, music, politics, and medicine brought forth many advancements as society soon emerged. Conditions in society changed in many ways. Intellectuals created new inventions and studied religion. New ideas in medicine, politics and the arts came to life as reformation took it's place. The arts became a major impact of the Renaissance. The Renaissance with its many advancements played a massive role in bringing society to it's current position in todays world.
Before the Renaissance, Italy was one of the European countries with a strong and an organized government. Between the 12th and 13th centuries, Italy developed a political pattern, much different from feudal Europe north of the Alps. As no dominant powers emerged as they did in other parts of Europe, the oligarchic city-state became the dominant form of government. By the fifthteenth century, Italy was divided into separate city-states, each with a different form of government. Florence, where the Italian Renaissance began, was an independent republic. Florence was the center for banking and advertisement. Wealthy citizens in Florence spent their money by becoming patrons, artists, and intellectuals. There were four social classes in the Renaissance. The lowest class were the workers. Workers had no job protection. The middle class consisted of shopkeepers and professionals. Then the merchants. The merchants were below the highest class people. They were often craftsmen; blacksmiths, bankers, etc. Merchants were quite wealthy. The highest class was the nobles. Nobles were the wealthiest and owned much of the land and lived on large estates. The primary language used in the Renaissance was Latin. The written language was vernacular or the common language.