How was it to live in Forence, Italy during the Renaissance

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GHIRLANDAIO, Domenico (b. 1449, Firenze, d. 1494, Firenze)Visitation 1486-90 Fresco Cappella Tornabuoni, Santa Maria Novella, FlorenceThe right wall in the Tornabuoni Chapel tells the story of Saint John the Baptist in the same seven picture areas as the story of Mary is told on the wall opposite. The two stories meet in the fresco the Visitation, in which the two mothers-to-be, the young Mary and the aged Elizabeth are depicted.The Visitation is the second scene in the lower section of the right wall. "... the Visitation of Our Lady and St Elisabeth, accompanied by women wearing the costumes of the day..." (Vasari).Along with the two birth scenes, the Visitation is one of the most important pictures in the entire chapel. The meeting of the Virgin Mary and Saint Elizabeth in the centre was painted quickly and easily. Ghirlandaio then uses the remaining space to display a little of everything that his brush is capable of producing and that his donor stipulated in the contract: landscape and cities, animals and plants, a bold use of perspective, classical buildings and reliefs and, not least, portraits of noble and beautiful women.Various women spectators are witness to the event. Among them Vasari identifies "... Ginevra de' Benci, a most beautiful girl". The person he refers to is standing on the right, though it is much more probable that she is actually Giovanna degli Albizzi, who in those very years became the wife of Lorenzo Tornabuoni.In the background of the visitation, side by side, are features that reflect the two sources of Ghirlandaio's pictorial inspiration: classical art and Flemish painting. On the right, the classical era is represented by a building with sculptural decorations, while the men seen from behind, leaning over wall, are derived from superb Flemish paintings - Jan van Eyck painted such figures in the background of his so-called Rolin Madonna about 1436 (now in the Mus?e du Louvre), and Rogier van der Weyden created a variation on this idea in his Saint Luke Painting the Virgin (now in Boston). Ghirlandaio uses the classical reliefs and the strong horizontal line of the wall below them to establish a link with the next scene, the Angel Appearing to Zacharias.--- Keywords: --------------Author: GHIRLANDAIO, Domenico Title: Visitation Time-line: 1451-1500 School: Italian Form: painting Type: religious
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Living in Florence during the Renaissance meant living in a glorious and unrepeatable moment in history. In the 1400s and 1500s in Florence there was a magical combination, which will never be repeated again: a very rich family, the Medici, who invested many resources in making the city wonderful and many talented minds who transformed Florence into a center of innovation and prosperity that attracted artists, intellectuals and traders from all over Italy and Europe.
Florence was a small city that numbered around 50,000 people in which, just to name a few, the genius of Brunelleschi, Donatello, Masaccio, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci were concentrated.

Exploring daily life in this city means taking a look at a period full of contrasts, from the magnificent homes of rich merchants to the narrow and crowded streets of the less wealthy classes.

Where did people live in Florence during the Renaissance?

Cosimo de Medici, known asCosimo the Elder, builds a new type of house that changed the concept of livingforever:the city palace. Palazzo Medici is in fact the first building that develops horizontally and therefore communicates to the world that to show wealth and power you must have a large house. Having “square feet” from that moment on will be an indication of the wealth and prestige of the owner.
The palaces of Florence were therefore grandiose and magnificent, they had sumptuous facades but always very sober since the wealth was visible on the inside with frescoes and sculptures by renowned artists of the time. Palazzo Medici had Donatello’s Judith and Holofernes and David in the courtyard and the chapel of the Magi had been frescoed by Benzzo Gozzoli, the best pupil of Fra Angelico.

The rooms were furnished with precious works of art, elaborated furniture and finely crafted fabrics. This type of palaces had very prestigious amenities like a private well for water and above all fireplaces in the main rooms. Therefore they were heated and the rooms were kept warm also thanks to the beautiful tapestries on the walls which helped to insulate the house.

What was the condition of women in Florence during the Renaissance?

Women during the Renaissance had a subordinate role. That is to say that they were first daughters, then wives and then mothers. They therefore had no economic independence and were completely dependent on the man at the head of the family.
When they were daughters, it was their father that decided whether they would get married and who would be their husband or whether they would become nuns. The decision that the father had to take was not simple because marrying a daughter meant creating bonds with another families and this was fundamental on a social and political level to increase the importance of the family. However, this also meant paying a dowry and, the more important the groom, the larger the dowry had to be.

Dowry

In the Renaissance, dowry was a sum of money, goods or property that the bride’s family offered (read paid) to the groom’s family at the time of marriage. This financial contribution was considered essential to ensure the couple’s economic security and represented a demonstration of social status and respect. The dowry could include jewels, lands, furniture and other valuable property. Its value varied based on the social class and economic situation of the families involved, but often reflected the wealth and influence of the bride’s family.

When women became wives, their power depended on the trust they received from their husbands and also on how many children (especially boys) they had given to the new family.
So in general women took care of the family and children. However, some influential Florentine women had a significant impact on the city’s cultural and political life. Women like Lucrezia Tornabuoni de’ Medici, wife of Piero de’ Medici (known as the Gouty) and mother of Lorenzo the Magnificent, were prominent figures in Florentine society, indirectly influencing political and cultural events through their influence in power circles.Cosimo the Elder called his daughter-in-law Lucrezia “the only man in the family” !

What did they eat in Florence during the Renaissance?

Florentine cuisine was generally characterized by very simple food.
For rich people it was mainly based on meat (in fact of them suffered from gout) which was generally very spiced in the attempt to make it last for a long time since that this was the only way to preserve it (there were no refrigerators yet!).
The poorer families instead relied on a simpler diet based mainly on legumes and vegetables or on the innards and less valuable parts of animals.  It is no coincidence that the most traditional Florentine dishes are lampredotto, ribollita and acqua cotta (vegetable soup with bread).

What was the average age in Florence during the Renaissance?

The average age of people in Florence during the Renaissance varied considerably depending on socio-economic and health conditions. However, the overall average age may have been around 30-40.

What was the level of education in Florence during the Renaissance?

The level of education in Florence during the Renaissance (and to be fair even in the Middle Ages) was surprisingly high. We can say that a generalized system of education existed.
There were abacus schools designed for the children of merchants where reading, writing and arithmetic were taught in a practical way. Only what was necessary for trade.
However, there were also renowned humanistic schools and universities where the subjects of the trivium and quadrivium were taught.
The trivium included three main disciplines:

  • Grammar: The study of the structure and correct use of the Latin language. It also included Latin literature
  • Rhetoric: The art of persuasion and effective communication, both in writing and oratory.
  • Dialectics or logic: The study of valid reasoning and the formulation of arguments.

The quadrivium, however, included four disciplines:

  • Arithmetic: The study of numbers and basic mathematical operations.
  • Geometry: The study of geometric shapes and their properties.
  • Music: The study of musical theory, including the system of notes and harmony
  • Astronomy: The study of celestial bodies and astral movements.

These disciplines formed the basis for the study of more advanced subjects such as philosophy, theology, medicine and law.

What were the most important families in Florence in the Renaissance?

The richest and most important people in Florence during the Renaissance were bankers and merchants. Among all, the most important family is the Medici family, which managed to govern the city (with ups and downs) from 1434, when Florence was still officially a Republic, to 1743 when the last descendant of the family died: Anna Maria Luisa de Medici.
Power therefore belonged to the Medici and those with whom they chose to ally themselves and therefore marry, among others the Tornabuoni, the Rucellai, the Pazzi and the Soderini.
The greatest merit of the Medici was to finance the arts and letters with the money of their bank, supporting artists such as Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Botticelli and intellectuals such as Pico della Mirandola and Marsilio Ficino.

Living in Florence during the Renaissance must have been splendid.
Just imagine being in Piazza Signoria on a September morning in 1504.Michelangelo is unveiling his David, while Leonardo da Vinci attracted by the noice that reaches him from the window, goes to see what is happening and leaves the work he is painting: the Mona Lisa and soon Raphael will also arrive in Florence attracted by such genius.

The 3 greatest artists of all time together in the same space and at the same time: Florence during the Renaissance!