If your reading this over the next couple weeks, Im in Italy! My wife and I are flying into Venice, traveling to Florence, Cinque Terra and down to Rome for our fifth anniversary.

I think I’m most looking forward to Florence. It seems the Renaissance movement really started there and then spread to the rest of Europe. I am excited to see the art and architecture that revolutionized much of western civilization simply by looking to the past (Greeks/Romans).

So many artists like Michaelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo da Vinci and Masaccio, considered the masters, are from this time. Artists began to really study the body in pursuit of ideal human expression. Architects like Brunelleschi looked back at Greek and Roman styles striving for balance and symmetry. There was invigorated desire for excellence and to make sense of it all. 

Also, much of the art and architecture was made possible and funded by the church/government who began to afford the people certain artistic and economic freedoms. Freedoms which paved the way for democracy and capitalism as we know it today.

The Renaissance was a fascinating time in history. I’ll post up some pictures when we get back!

Ciao

This entry was posted on Monday, May 11th, 2009 at 6:00 am and is filed under Random. You can follow any responses to this entry through the feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.