The Renaissance saw the change not only of European culture, but also of Europe politically. Unlike Spain, England, and France, Italy fail to develop a strong centralized monarchy by the fourteenth century. Southern Italy had been divided into the kingdom of Sicily, ruled by the Spanish house of Argon, and the kingdom of Naples, whose rule came by the French house of Anjou. Central Italy had still been under the control of the Papacy. The Papacy had also opposed the Hohenstaufen rule in northern Italy, which virtually ensured Italy's division (Spielvogel). During this time two major changes had occurred in the way that the Italians were governed. Republican governments were replaced with limited rule. Tyrants soon purchased titles from the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire to make their rule justified. The second major change was the expansion of the lager city-states at the expense of the smaller, less powerful ones. Italy in the late fourteenth century was a land of five major states and numerous independent city-states.
Northern Italy was divided between the republic of Venice and the Duchy of Milan. Francesco Sforza conquered the city of Milan and became the new duke after the death of the last Visconti ruler in 1447. Both of these rulers, Visconti and Sforza, worked to create a highly centralized territorial state. They were tremendously successful in creating a system of taxation that generated a tremendous amount of revenue for the government. The republic of Venice remained a stable oligarchy ruled by a small group of merchant-aristocrats. .
The republic of Florence dominated the region of Tuscany. At the start of the fifteenth century, Florence was governed by a small merchant oligarchy that influenced the apparent republican government. It wasn't until 1434 that the Medici took control under Cosimo de" Medici. Although the Medici's preserved the republican form of government, it was only for appearance sake, for the Medici's ran the government from behind the senses.
