The New York Times reported that there is a possibility that Leonardo's lost work has been discovered in Florence...behind a wall.

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.

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.

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The rebirth that happened in the Renaissance affected all aspects of life from politics to art to education and everything in between. Nothing escaped the change including the styles of clothing worn by the people of the time.

A painting, believed to be a previously unknown work by Leonardo da Vinci, surfaced at auction.

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?

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.

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.

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?