Why did the renaissance begin in northern Italy rather than northern Europe?
Because that is where Rome is. Rome was the seat of power and was the government in Europe. When it fell in 410 AD everything was gone. Services that had been there for people and cities were gone. The roads weren’t kept up, the aqua ducts were allowed to fall in disrepair, society fell apart, and there was no longer an army to protect people from the tribes of raiders. Life was chaos, so when the Renaissance started it started in Italy. The crusaders were mainly under the protection of the pope so they came from all over Europe, but they brought back ideas, art, math, and science into Italy. There was also a movement all ready in Italy that was protected by the city/state families like the Medici and they promoted the buildings and art. So, it makes sense that where things went wrong first that the budding of the new life would start.
