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April 6, 1341
Francesco Petrarch is crowned Poet Laureate
Historians often cite this as the beginning of the Renaissance.
1397
Giovanni de Medici moves to Florence
Giovanni de Medici, the papal banker, headquarters his business in Florence and becomes involved in Florentine public life and patronage of the arts, laying the groundwork for the rise of his son Cosimo de Medici to power.
1401
Ghiberti wins the right to sculpt the northern doors of the Baptistry
Ghiberti is commissioned and takes 28 years to sculpt the bronze doors of the Florentine church. The doors remain one of the most valued treasures of the Renaissance.
1420
The Papacy returns to Rome
The Papacy, having been located in Avignon since 1305, returns to Rome, bringing with it the prestige and wealth necessary to rebuild the city.
1423
Francesco Fosari becomes Doge of Venice
Fosari assumes the position of doge and attempts to usurp great political power, to the distaste of the Great Council, Venice's oligarchic ruling body, which asserts its power over the doge and torments him until his resignation.
1429
Cosimo de Medici takes over his father’s business
Cosimo de Medici becomes head of the bank after his father dies, using his economic power to consolidate political power. Within five years he runs the city without question.
1447
Nicholas V ascends to the Papal throne
Pope Nicholas V takes the first steps toward turning Rome into a Renaissance city, undertaking many construction projects and strongly encouraging the arts.
1450
Francesco Sforza seizes control of Milan
After a short experiment with republican government, Milan returns to monarchy when Francesco Sforza takes control of the city. His most prominent successor is Ludovico Sforza.
1453
Constantinople falls
The center of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople falls to the Ottoman Turks, provoking an exodus of Greek people and works of art and literature into the Italian city-states.
1454
Johann Gutenberg prints the Gutenberg Bible
Gutenberg is credited with the invention of the printing press in Europe, and ushers in the age of printed books, making literature more accessible to all Europeans.
1464
Lorenzo de Medici ascends to power in Florence
After Cosimo’s death in 1464, his son Piero rules until his death in 1469, when power falls into the hands of Lorenzo, who rules until 1491, raising Florence to its greatest heights of the Renaissance.
1471
Sixtus IV becomes Pope
As pope, Sixtus IV undertakes many successful projects in Rome, but disgraces the Church through his corruption and practice of nepotism.
1486
Pico publishes his collection of 900 treatises
Pico’s philosophy often conflicts with that of the Catholic Church and he is declared a heretic. He is saved from demise by the intervention of Lorenzo de Medici.
1492
Rodrigo Borgia Becomes Pope Alexander VI
Alexander VI is widely known as a corrupt and manipulative pope, scheming for his family's benefit. Many claim that the Papacy reaches its greatest moral decline of the Renaissance during his pontificate.
1494
The Medici are ousted from Florence by Girolamo Savonarola
Savonarola, preaching a return to simple faith, leads a popular uprising against the Medici, who are forced to flee. Savonarola’s rule is short-lived, and he is burned as a heretic in 1495.
1494
Ludovico Sforza permits the French invasion of Italy
In an attempt to weaken his enemy, the King of Naples, Ludovico invites the French to invade Italy, granting them free passage through Milan. Though this invasion fails, the French return in 1499, turning on Ludovico and taking Milan, and opening an era of foreign competition for Italian land.
1503
Pope Julius II assumes the Papal throne
The ascension of Pope Julius II begins the Roman Golden Age, during which the city and Papacy both prosper. Julius II reverses the trend of moral degradation in the Papacy and takes great steps in the rebuilding of Rome.
1513
Pope Leo X succeeds Julius II
Pope Leo X, the son of Lorenzo de Medici, continues the trend of the Golden Age, proving himself a gifted administrator and intelligent patron of the arts. Rome prospers.
1513
Niccolò Machiavelli publishes The Prince
Considered the most influential political book of all time, The Prince outlines the argument that it is better for a ruler to be feared than loved.
1517
The Reformation Movement begins
Martin Luther posts his 95 Theses on the door of a church in Wittenburg, Germany, igniting a movement which provokes an enormous split in the Roman Catholic Church.
1519
Leonardo da Vinci dies
Leonardo, perhaps the most remarkable individual of the Renaissance, dies in France, having established himself as a painter, sculptor, engineer, and scientist.
1523
Pope Clement VII ascends to the papal throne
Pope Clement VII comes to power in difficult times, following Pope Leo X. He soon proves himself an incompetent politician, and his poor decisions lead to the sack of Rome.
May 6, 1527
The sack of Rome
After Pope Clement VII refuses to grant the imperial army a ransom, it attacks the city of Rome, taking the city in just over 12 hours. The sack of Rome symbolizes the downfall of Renaissance Italy, much of which is subjugated to Imperial-Spanish rule by the settlement of Bologna in 1530.
