Database: Italy of the Renaissance, 1509

The Renaissance was a period of exceptional cultural vibrancy and Classical revival in Western Europe, starting in Northern Italy. Flourishing merchant city-states such as Florence and Venice competed to achieve economic dominance through international trade and political control. Rivalries were also strong inside individual cities, with bloody conflicts between the different families of the local oligarchies. Culture was a powerful tool of influence and rich families of the bourgeoisie patronized the most creative artists, painters, sculptors, architects and so on to promote their own interests. But violence, wars, conspiracies, and assassinations were also part of the struggle. Outside Italy, foreign powers such as France and the Holy Roman Empire, from Germany, also interfered in local affairs.