Thirteenth-Century Italy

During the eleventh and twelfth centuries, Italy continued to be accessible to Byzantine influences originating in Greece and Turkey through its eastern ports, particularly Venice and Ravenna.  Around the turn of the thirteenth century, however, momentous developments in Italy, inspired by imperial Roman traditions, laid the foundations for a major shift in western European art.

The name given to this period of Italian history, from the thirteenth through the sixteenth centuries, is the Renaissance - the French word for "rebirth" or la rinascita in Italian. It denotes a revival of interest in ancient Greek and Roman texts and culture, and Italy was the logical place for such a revival, since the model of imperial Rome was part of its own history and territory.