I N T E R A C T I V E S T U D E N T N O T E B O O K
Florence: The Cradle of
the Renaissance
What advances were made during the
Renaissance?
P R E V I E W
Examine the photograph of Florence. Then circle six key features or structures
and write a sentence about what each one might tell you about the city. For example,
you might circle a mountain in the background and say that mountains indicate
that Florence is in a valley.
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R E A D I N G N O T E S
Social Studies Vocabulary
As you complete the Reading Notes, use these terms in your answers.
Florence secular NiccolÒ Machiavelli
Donatello Dante Alighieri
Michelangelo Leonardo da Vinci
Section 1
1. What factors helped Florence to become a wealthy city?
2. How did Florence’s wealth contribute to its cultural activity?
3. Why did many travelers come to Florence?
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Sections 2 to 8
If your class is doing the activity for this lesson, complete all the Reading Notes
for each section. (Note: If your class is not doing the activity, skip Question 3 under
each section.)
Section 2
1. How were architects and builders of the Renaissance
influenced by both classical and humanist ideas?
2. How did Brunelleschi build a dome that would
not collapse?
3. Compare your human dome to Brunelleschi’s dome by completing the
sentences.
• The beach ball on our dome was like the on
Brunelleschi’s dome.
• The bodies on our dome were like the on
Brunelleschi’s dome.
• On Brunelleschi’s dome, the parts that supported the most weight were
.
Section 3
1. Briefly describe how classical cultures and humanism influenced
Renaissance painters.
2. Briefly describe two Renaissance advances in painting techniques.
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3. Botticelli painted Adoration of the Magi in about 1482. In the left column
of the chart below, list at least two details from the image. In the right column,
identify the perspective technique Botticelli used for each. An example has
been provided.
Detail from Image Perspective Technique
People The figures meant to appear to be closer to
the viewer are bigger; those meant to appear
to be farther away are smaller.
Section 4
1. How were Renaissance sculptors influenced by humanist ideals and ancient
Roman statues?
2. What is significant about Donatello’s David? About Michelangelo’s David?
3. What was it like to try to sculpt an eye? What do you think it might have been
like for Michelangelo to create his David from a block of marble?
Section 5
1. Briefly describe two ways in which Renaissance literature differed from
medieval literature.
2. How is Dante’s The Divine Comedy an example of humanist art?
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3. Identify the elements of Boccaccio’s writing that demonstrate each feature of humanism:
Literacy:
Growing Equality of Women:
Scientific Interest in Nature:
Use of the Vernacular:
Striving Against Fortune:
Expressing Personal Thoughts and Feelings:
Section 6
1. How did the study of science change during the Renaissance?
2. Quickly sketch and label three items that represent different science or
mathematics topics Leonardo da Vinci explored in his notebooks.
3. Write what you think each drawing by Leonardo da Vinci on Placard E
represents, using the list on Handout H.
Drawing A: Drawing C:
Drawing B: Drawing D:
Section 7
1. How did the Medici family influence and rule in Renaissance Florence?
2. What did Machiavelli write about in The Prince? How did this book contradict
humanist ideals? In what ways was it a very modern work?
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3. Rewrite each quotation from The Discourses below in your own words.
Quotation 1: “For as we can have no better clue to a man’s character than the company
he keeps, he who frequents worthy company deservedly obtains a good name, since
there can hardly fail to be some similarity between himself and his associates.”
– Bk III, Chapter XXXIV
My paraphrase:
Quotation 2: “ANY one comparing the present with the past will soon see that in all
cities and in all nations there exist the same desires and passions as have always existed.
For this reason, it should be an easy matter for a person who carefully examines past
events to foresee those which are about to happen in any republic, and to apply the type
of solutions that the ancients used in like cases; or finding none which have been used
by them, to try new ones, such as they might have used in similar circumstances.”
– Bk I, Chapter XXXIX
My paraphrase:
Quotation 3: “... it is the well-being, not of individuals, but of the community which
makes a State great; and, without question, this universal well-being is nowhere secured
save in a republic.”
– Bk II, Chapter II
My paraphrase:
Section 8
1. What industries helped Florence become the center of the Renaissance?
2. What were two differences between Florence’s Old Market and New Market?
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3. Choose one of the following problems to solve using the information at Station G,
The Mercato Nuovo. Use the chart to help you keep track of your spending.
A. Figure out how much it would cost to clothe all the boys in your class or males
in your family from head to foot, including outer garments. Boys may wear
either a jerkin or a doublet.
B. Make a plan to spend exactly 2 florin.
HINT: If you want an easier problem, do B and choose only items that have a price
in lire (no soldi or denari). If you want a more challenging problem, choose A, or
do B using items with soldi and denari in their price.
Item Price Florins Spending Subtotal
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P R O C E S S I N G
Use your Reading Notes to create a scrapbook page about what you learned about Renaissance
Florence. Follow these steps to create your scrapbook page.
1. Write a caption for each image below that explains what it shows and tells about Florence.
2. On a separate sheet of paper, write a paragraph that describes Florence at the time of the
Renaissance. Use precise, descriptive words to create a visual image in the reader’s mind.
My Scrapbook Page of Renaissance Florence
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