Why did the renaissance start in Italy?
Something of a misnomer– the Renaissance started as art, education, trade, record keeping and invention began to influence life. We usually think of it beginning in Italy since Rome and the Vatican provided a ready focus of support for artisans and thinkers in addition to commercial centers like Venice. International trade through Venice, for example the spice trade, made that city a central point for both Europe and the Middle East. There are claims that many essential records were maintained by monks in places like Ireland that facilitated the rebirth of civilization during the Renaissance so saying it all started in Italy leaves a lot of the picture blank.
