Renaissance Terms/People

An independent state consisting of a city and its surrounding territory

Wrote The Divine Comedy (about heaven, purgatory, and hell) and is the first well-known writer to create in a native language.

An Italian poet who was one of the first humanists with a particular interest in old books.

A man who conducted important experiments about gravity and built the first telescope used to look into space.

An Italian Humanist scholar who paid for his ideas by being burned at the stake.

A Renaissance architect who is credited for successfully building Florence’s sufficiently large dome, also known as Santa Maria del Fiore or Duomo.

A philosophy that tries to balance religious faith with an emphasis on individual dignity and an interest in nature and human society.

Collectively, areas of study that focus on human life and culture, such as history, literature, and ethics.

The belief in the importance of an individual’s achievements and dignity.

One of the most powerful members of the Medici family who was a leading patron of art and scholarship and ruled Florence from 1469 to 1492.