Unlike the Gothic style of religious edifices which had a strong vertical movement, the Florence Cathedral emphasized a horizontal movement which was prevalent in Italy, particularly in the Renaissance.

Life was not all toil and trouble during the Renaissance. The wars did keep people busy, and the infighting from powerful families was on some level entertaining – depending on whose side you were on. But were there any really big celebrations?

Michelangelo Buonarroti lived from 1475 to 1564. He created many fabulous and famous works of art: David, the Sistine Chapel ceiling, The Last Judgment mural on the back wall of said chapel, but did you know that he was also a poet?

Unlike contracted soldiers to the Plantagenet kings, the condottieri existed in Italy during the Renaissance as purely paid mercenaries or soldiers of fortune for the city-states who hired them. They were professional soldiers and swore allegiance to no one king save the one who paid them to fight.

Although more commonly known for two famous paintings, Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, Leonardo da Vinci’s portraits and religious depictions were the least of his contributions to the world.

Lorenzo de'Medici was the original Renaissance Man before such a term every existed. Hedonist, intellectual, patron of the arts, this son of the Medici dynasty had tremendous influence during the Renaissance and is credited with sponsoring the career of Michelangelo.

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What is the Renaissance? How did it come into being? Surely one did not wake up one day and it had arrived. A specific set of happenings cleared the way for a major change from the Dark Ages to a rebirth of classical ideals.

How did female artists develop to such an extent in Northern Italy when the remainder of the Italian city-states' guilds were strictly dominated by men?