Social Studies 8: Renaissance Europe

Florence was the epicenter of the Renaissance and was the home to a seemingly inordinate amount of cultural output.

The Protestant Reformation was an important part of the Renaissance.

In the 1400s, suddenly Europeans developed a bunch of tools to help them to travel around the world. This wasn't good news for the rest of the world.

The European Renaissance may have started in Florence, but it pretty quickly moved out of Italy and spread the art, architecture, literature, and humanism across Europe to places like France, Spain, England, and the Low Countries.

This is an 11-minute video that takes a somewhat funny and interesting view of the Renaissance. The video discusses the key countries and people involved and how trade played a role.

Discover about who received education in the Renaissance and what people thought it was important to learn

Resources to explore the Renaissance period in Europe with your students. You can bypass the sign-in by clicking the image

"Join us as we explore the Renaissance and discover the forces that drove this rebirth in Europe, and in Italy in particular." (site) This site takes you through a study of the Renaissance in Europe. It includes text and activities.

“Renaissance” is the French word for “rebirth,” which is given to the period of time between the 14th and 17th centuries in Europe

Check out the timeline of events directly involving the Medicis.

This article looks at the role of the Medici in patronizing artists that led to the birth of the Renaissance in Florence.

A freely available resource, this site features eight units, each of which explores a different theme in Italian Renaissance art

Take a virtual tour of the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter. Click on any of the menu items on the left side to go directly to that area.