How did politics and economics shape the Renaissance?

TTHE CULTURE OF THE Renaissance rested on economic and political developments in the city-states of northern Italy. Economic growth laid the material basis for the Italian Renaissance, and ambitious merchants gained political power to match their economic power. They then used their money and power to buy luxuries and hire talent in a system of patronage, through which cities, groups, and individuals commissioned writers and artists to produce specific works. Thus, economics, politics, and culture were interconnected.

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A Florentine Bank SceneOriginally a “bank” was just a counter; money changers who sat behind the counter became “bankers,” exchanging different currencies and holding deposits for merchants and business people. In this scene from fifteenth-century Florence, the bank is covered with an imported Ottoman geometric rug, one of many imported luxury items handled by Florentine merchants. (Scala/Art Resource, NY)