This article is about the early Italian city-states during the Italian Renaissance. The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe from the end of the 14th century to about 1600. ...

Italy in the 12th and 13th centuries was vastly different from Europe north of the Alps (feudal Europe). The Peninsula was a melange of political and cultural elements rather than a unified state. (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ... World map showing Europe Political map Europe is one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiographic one, leading to various perspectives about Europes borders. ... The West face of the Petit Dru above the Chamonix valley near the Mer de Glace. ...

Marc Bloch and Fernand Braudel have argued that geography determined the history of the region. Because an attack across the Alps was very difficult, German princelings could not exert sustained control over their Italian vassal states, and thus Italy was substantially freed of German political interference. No strong monarchies emerged as they did in the rest of Europe; instead there emerged the independent city-state. Marc Léopold Benjamin Bloch (July 6, 1886 - June 16, 1944) was a historian of medieval France in the period between the First and Second World Wars, and a founder of the Annales School. ... Fernand Braudel Fernand Braudel (August 24, 1902–November 27, 1985) was a French historian. ... Places where monarchies maintain rule appear in blue. ... A city-state is a region controlled exclusively by a city. ...

Within the Italian peninsula there is great physical diversity. Italy is cut into numerous small regions by mountains, which could make inter-city communication very difficult. The Po plain, however, was an exception; it was the only large contiguous area, and most city states which fell to invasion were located there. Those that survived longest were in the more rugged regions, such as Florence.

There was a strong continuity of urban awareness in northern Italy which had virtually disappeared in the rest of Europe. Some cities and their urban institutions had survived in Italy since the Dark Ages. Many of these towns were survivors of earlier Etruscan towns which had existed within the Roman Empire. The republican institutions of Rome had also survived the Dark Ages. Some feudal lords existed with a servile labour force and huge tracts of land, but by the 10th century, Venice had become a large trading metropolis. Map showing the extent of the Etruscan civilization and the twelve Etruscan League cities. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 10th century was that century which lasted from 901 to 1000. ... Venice (Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venexia), nicknamed the city of canals, is the capital of the region of Veneto and of the province of Venice in Italy. ...

While those Roman, urban, republican sensibilities persisted, there were many movements and changes afoot. Italy first felt the changes in Europe from the 11th to the 13th centuries. Typically there was:

• a rise in population―the population doubled in this period (the demographic explosion)
• an emergence of huge cities, like Venice, with had over 100,000 inhabitants by the 13th century
• the erection of churches
• substantial migration from country to city, the rate of urbanization reached 20%, the most urbanized society in the world at that time
• an agrarian revolution
• it is estimated that the per capita income of northern Italy nearly tripled from the 11th century to the 15th century

This was a highly mobile, demographically expanding society, fuelled by the rapidly expanding Renaissance commerce.

By the 13th century, northern and central Italy had become the most literate society in the world. Fifty per cent of the male population could read in the vernacular (an unprecendent rate since the decline of the Roman Empire), as could a small but significant proportion of women. (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ... Octavian, widely known as Augustus, founder of the Roman empire The Roman Empire was a phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by an autocratic form of government. ...

During the 11th century in northern Italy a new political and social structure emerged―the city-state or commune. The civic culture which arose from this urbs was remarkable. In most places where communes arose (e.g. Britain and Flanders) they were absorbed by the monarchical state as it emerged. Almost uniquely they survived in northern and central Italy to become independent city-states. The breakaway from their feudal overlords by these communes occurred in the late 12th century during the Investiture Controversy between Pope and Emperor. As a means of recording the passage of time, the 11th century was that century which lasted from 1001 to 1100. ... Flanders (Dutch: Vlaanderen) has several main meanings: the social, political and cultural community of the Flemings, through its social and political organizations, its media, universities, ... ; some prefer to call this the Flemish community, other refers to this as the Flemish nation; a constituent governing institution of the federal Belgian... (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... The Investiture Controversy was the most significant conflict between secular and religious powers in medieval Europe. ...

By the late 12th century, a new and unique society emerged; rich, mobile, expanding, with a mixed aristocracy, interested in urban institutions and republican government. Many city-states housed a violent society based on family, confraternity and brotherhood.

By 1300, most of these republics had become princely states dominated by a gran maestro. The exceptions were Venice, Florence, Bologna, Lucca, and a few others, which remained republics in the face of an increasingly monarchic Italy and Europe. At the beginning of the Renaissance, there were many city states, including Milan, Venice, Florence, and Naples. Events February 22 - Jubilee of Pope Boniface VIII. March 10 - Wardrobe accounts of King Edward I of Englanddo (aka Edward Longshanks) include a reference to a game called creag being played at the town of Newenden in Kent. ... A Gran maestro is the unofficial head of state of an Italian city. ... The Most Serene Republic of Venice (Venetian: Serenìsima Repùblica Vèneta; Italian: ) was a Venetian city-state in Northeastern Italy, based around the city of Venice. ... Founded 59 BC as Florentia Region Tuscany Mayor Leonardo Domenici (Democratici di Sinistra) Area  - City Proper  102 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 356,000 almost 500,000 3,453/km² Time zone CET, UTC+1 Latitude Longitude 43°47 N 11°15 E www. ... Lucca is a city in Tuscany, northern central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plain near (but not on) the Ligurian Sea. ... Milan (Italian: Milano; Milanese: Milán) is the main city of northern Italy, and is located in the plains of Lombardy, the most populated and developed region in Italy, being often mistaken with the capital of the country. ... Venice (Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venexia), nicknamed the city of canals, is the capital of the region of Veneto and of the province of Venice in Italy. ... Founded 59 BC as Florentia Region Tuscany Mayor Leonardo Domenici (Democratici di Sinistra) Area  - City Proper  102 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 356,000 almost 500,000 3,453/km² Time zone CET, UTC+1 Latitude Longitude 43°47 N 11°15 E www. ... Naples (Italian Napoli, Neapolitan Nàpule, from Greek Νέα Πόλις - Néa Pólis - meaning New City; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is the largest city in southern Italy and capital of Campania Region and the Province of Naples. ...

Milan

At the beginning of the 11th Century, Milan was having several civil outbreaks. The main conflics were between the Nobles and Plebeians. Therefore, a tripartite was formed, creating a compromise between the great nobles, lesser nobles, and plebeians, led by a podestà. There was also fighting between the Guelphs and Ghibellines, who supported the pope and emperor respectively. The ruling family of Milan, the Viscontis, suppored the Ghibellines, and the emperor acknowledged Ottone Visconti as the Archbishop. The Visconti House went on to peacefully conquer Pavia, Piacenza, Bergamo, Brescia, and Parma. They gained support from their citizens by treating them charitably. In 1354, power fell into the hands of brothers Galeazzo and Bernab Visconti. Originally they split the city in two to share the power, but rejoined in 1359 to defeat Pavia. Pavia then became Galeazzo's city, where be built a university. When he died in 1387, he left his land to his son, Gian Galeazzo Visconti. However, Bernab was a different child. He ruled under strict laws, was threatened excommunication, and became greedy after his brothers death. In 1385, when he attempted to take all the land back under one rule, Gian imprisoned him. Gian went on to be a powerful ruler, who expanded the empire arcoss northern Italy, gathering land as he went. The only northern city-state to avoid his conquest was Venice. He died from illness while trying to conquer Florence in 1402. His sons, Giovanni Maria Visconti and Filippo Maria Visconti split up the land, which then either became independent or was conquered by Venice. Giovanni became duke, but in 1412 was assassinated over political controversy. Filippo did not have any sons, ending the Visconti line. He died in 1447, when the people's gonvernment was established. In Ancient Rome, the plebs was the general body of Roman citizens, distinct from the privileged class of the patricians. ... The Palace of the Podestà in Florence, known as the Palazzo Vecchio or the Palazzo della Signoria Podestà is the name given to certain high officials in many Italian cities, since the later middle ages, mainly as Chief magistrate of a city state (like otherwise styled counterparts in other cities... The Guelphs and Ghibellines were factions supporting, respectively, the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire in central and northern Italy during the 12th and 13th centuries. ... Visconti was a noble family that ruled Milan during the Middle Ages and Early Renaissance period. ... Church San Michele in Pavia The Old Bridge (Ponte Vecchio) on the Ticino river is a symbol of Pavia Pavìa (the ancient Ticinum) (population 71,000) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its... Piacenza (Placentia in Latin and old-fashioned English, Piasëinsa in the local dialect of Emiliano-Romagnolo) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. ... Bergamo is a town in Lombardy, Italy, about 40km northeast of Milan. ... Location within Italy Brescia is a city in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy with a population of around 200,000. ... Parma is a medieval city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, with splendid architecture and a fine countryside around it. ... A 19th century version of Giangaleazzo Visconti. ... Filippo Maria Visconti Filippo Maria Visconti, (1392–1447), who became nominal ruler of Pavia in 1402, succeeded his assassinated brother Gian Maria Visconti as Duke of Milan. ...

Filippo did have a daughter, who married Francesco Sforza. He later was hired to protect the city state with the creation of the people's government, but instead took over, creating the Sforza line. Francesco died in 1466, leaving the land to Galeazzo Maria Sforza. He was disliked because of his cruelty, and assassinated in 1476. His 7-year-old son, Gian Galeazzo Sforza, with Galeazzo Maria's brother, Ludovico Sforza(Ludovico the Moor), becoming the de facto ruler of Milan. Ludovico was very cultural, adding much to universities and architecture, but when Gian Galeazzo married Princess Isabella of Naples, Ludovico's persuasion of Gian came to an end. Isabella disliked the amount of power Ludovico had, and turned to her family in Naples for help. In return, Ludovico turned to Charles VIII of France, who could claim Naples through the House of Anjou. Portrait of Francesco Sforza, ca 1460, by Bonifazio Bembo: Sforza insisted on being shown in his worn dirty old campaigning hat. ... Sforza was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. ... Galeazzo Maria Sforza (January 24, 1444 – December 26, 1476) was Duke of Milan. ... Gian Galeazzo Sforza (June 20, 1469 - October 21, 1494), the third duke of Milan of the Sforza family, was only 7 years old when he became the duke in 1476, after the assassination of his father, Galeazzo Maria Sforza. ... Ludovico Sforza in a portrait by Giovanni Ambrogio de Predis. ... Isabella di Aragona (1470-1524), was born a Princess of Naples, granddaughter of king Ferrante I of Naples and daughter of the future king Alfonso II of Naples. ... Charles VIII the Affable (French: Charles VIII lAffable) (June 30, 1470 – April 7, 1498) was King of France from 1483 to his death. ... Counts of Anjou, c. ...