Name: Date: Blk:
Italian City States
What is a City State?
- A city state consists of a city and the rural area immediately surrounding it
- Hinterland:
- A city state has its own government and its own armed forces
- The Italian city states were DEMOCRATIC for a part of their history
Mercenary Soldiers (soldiers for hire) were often used during times of war. War between city states were very common.
VENICE and FLORENCE: Italy’s most important Renaissance Cities
- BOTH were very large and very powerful
- BOTH had very skilled business people
Florence:
- Made its fortune in the trade
- Controlled the kingdom of
and were the most famous artists in Florence during the time. They flourished in this time period and are still very popular today.
- Florence is located in Tuscany (northwest Italy) on the banks of the Arno River
- Early Florence was ruled by
- Later, the city was ruled by which is a government by a few powerful people
- Beginning in 1434, the family ruled Florence
How did the Medici family keep the Florentine people relatively happy?
Venice
- The city of Venice is built completely on which are heavy beams driven upright into the earth to support the entire city.
- Instead of roads, Venice uses
- Venetian leaders created a powerful navy through which Venice was able to gain control of the trade routes on the
- The city’s navy and watery surroundings made it very difficult to attack
- Venice identified its government as a system which is a form of democracy; BUT in reality, the people had very little political freedom
- The was supreme ruler and elected for life
- The city also had a senate and a Great Council that passed laws. The members came from wealthy families which really made the government an
- There was also a Secret Council of Ten – which was the most powerful and feared arms of government
True or False: the Secret Council of Ten had the power to imprison, torture, and execute any citizen of Venice?
was the most famous Venetian artist. He works were massive, and often commissioned by the Republic of Venice.
HOMEWORK L I’m sorry!
Textbook page: 213-217: Italian City-States
1. What is a city state? How did city states manage to avoid becoming part of larger kingdoms or empires?
2. Why is a hinterland important to a wealthy city?
3. On page 214 in your text, read about the traditional banking system of the time period. Below list the functions performed by early banks, and then beside it, list the functions performed by today’s banks.
EARLY BANKS / TODAY’S BANKSVENICE / FLORENCE
Location
Geographical
Advantages
Geographical Disadvantages
Population
Source of Wealth
Political System
Important Artists