From the 14th Century onwards there were many advances and developments made in Science medicene and art. The renaissance began in Italy spreading and influencing other parts of Europe, reaching England by about 1500. People looked towards Italy as the centre of new learning. People who travelled were drawn to Italy; if traders wanted luxury goods they went to Italy for example, in the fifteenth century Florence was one of the most famous and beautiful cities in the world.
There was a freat influx of new ideas and new ways of looking at the world and reivival in art and learning. This concided with the beginning of what is known as the Modern age in Europe. In the middle ages, people had looked to the Chruch as the source of all knowledge to guide and direct them. During the Reniassance, the church still playes and important part in people's lives, but scholars and intellectuals also looked back at the lives and teachings of the Ancient Greeks and Romans. The study of their writings and works of art was seen to be like a great adventure and a voyage of discovery. The stuffy of Greek was fashionable and new- rather like the use of the Internet today!.
Because of the great influence of the Greek and Roman cultures during this period, people began to question some of the traditionally held views and many new ideas and thoughts were debated in the universities around Europe. It became fashionable for kings and queens to take on board of these new ways of thinking. With the invention of the printing press around 1450 in Mainz, Germany and increasing literacy(the ability to read and write) amongst the population, the seeds were sown for future change. Established trade and sea links also meant that ideas developed in Italy, for example, could easily be printed and then sent to other parts of Europe. .
The Renaissance began in northern and central Italy. In the middle of the sixteenth century Italy was split up into about 200 city-states.