Directions: For this discussion, you will be using the following PDF to complete these assigned “stations".

Question

Each station has the name of the corresponding reading in the PDF file. You will use the reading to answer the questions in each station. Make sure that you answer each station fully.

Station 2 - Florence & the Medici Family

Florence was Italy’s leading cultural center during the Renaissance. The city was
the birthplace of the great poet Dante Alighieri (ahl-ee-GARE-ee). The famed painter
and sculptor Michelangelo grew up there. So did the brilliant thinker and artist
Leonardo da Vinci. Other Florentines, such as the sculptor Donatello, also achieved
great works of art, wealth, and fame during the Renaissance.
What factors helped Florence to become such a wealthy city? One answer is its
location. Renaissance Italy was divided into city-states. Florence was one of them. The
city’s location on the Arno River made it an important center for trade and commerce.
Florence became the hub of woolen-cloth trading for all of Europe. In the early 14th
century, Florence also became Europe’s banking center. About one hundred thousand
people lived inside the city walls.
Renaissance Florence was dominated by a single family known as the Medici. The
Medici acquired their wealth through banking. They helped Florence become the
banking center of Europe. Banking, along with the wool trade, created wealth that
supported intense cultural activity in Florence. The city and its rich residents could
afford to be patrons of talented artists and thinkers. The Medici family, for example,
spent lavish sums on art. Their home was a gathering place for artists, such as
Michelangelo, philosophers, and poets.
Over time, Florentines inspired still more creative activity. People learned from
one another, and they sometimes competed to produce even greater works of art.
Florentines were also influenced by ideas from other places. The city drew travelers
from many parts of the world. Some came to do business. Some came to study art
with Florence’s master artists. Others came to learn at the city’s schools and libraries.
These visitors brought new ideas, goods, and technologies to the city.
Florentines were also inspired by the freedom of ideas that was at the core of
humanism. Humanists prized the individual and tried to look with fresh eyes at nature
and human society. One reason why Florence became a cultural center was the wealth
that trade and commerce brought to the city. A thriving banking industry developed.
Over time, Florence became Europe’s banking hub, and richer than the largest
kingdoms in Europe. Popes and kings alike borrowed money from its 80 banks.

Station 2 – Florence & the Medici Family
Answer the following questions using the STATION 2 - FLORENCE PDF

1. What city was the leading cultural center during the Renaissance?

2. Name four famous Renaissance Men who were from Florence:
1) 2) 3) 4)
3. How did the LOCATION of Florence help it become such a wealthy city?

4. What city became the center of banking in Europe?

5. How many people lived in Florence?

6. What family dominated the city of Florence?

7. How did the Medici family acquire their wealth?

Answer 1

1. The leading cultural center during the Renaissance was Florence.

2. Four famous Renaissance Men who were from Florence:

   1. Dante Alighieri
   2. Michelangelo
   3. Leonardo da Vinci
   4. Donatello

3. The LOCATION of Florence helped it become wealthy due to its position on the Arno River, making it an important center for trade and commerce. It became the hub of woolen-cloth trading for all of Europe and developed into Europe’s banking center.

4. Florence became the center of banking in Europe.

5. About one hundred thousand people lived in Florence.

6. The family that dominated the city of Florence was the Medici family.

7. The Medici family acquired their wealth through banking.