Florence in the Renaissance - Essay Example

Giovanni Villani: Florence in the Renaissance. The Chronicle of Giovanni Villani is a very revealing account of Florenceand Renaissance Italy. Villani lived from 1276 – 1348 C.E. As a banker by profession, he was obviously an active participant in the life of his city, and his involvement is demonstrated in his detailed chronicle of life in Florence at the beginning of the Italian Renaissance. Villani’s chronicle gives the reader glimpses into the Florence of the early fourteenth century. The Florentine banker’s account draws attention to the fact that it was in Florence that the Renaissance had its birth. He is astutely aware that Rome is in decline and the rebirth, which is in the offing, is led by Florence, which “was mounting and pursuing great purposes” (36). His history reveals those factors which played a major role in the lives of Florentines as they stood on the threshold of the Renaissance. The Chronicle of Giovanni Villani demonstrates that Florence exemplified Renaissance Italy with its emphasis on commerce and the advancement of artistic creativity and was greatly affected by the devastation caused by the plague. Villani’s account of Florence as a thriving commercial center demonstrates that it was this economic prosperity which was one of the driving factors of the Renaissance in Italy. As typical of Renaissance Italian city-states, Florence is a flourishing center of commerce and an integral part of the trade network with the Eastern Empire. As fitting in any description of a commercial center, Villani holds “the income and expenditure of the commune of Florence in this period” to be one of the “great features of our city” (41). He goes on to give a detailed account of the income generated by the city’s manufacturing guilds, which are obviously the power houses of Florence’s economy and the foundation of its wealth and power. Villani demonstrates the dominance of the city’s largest industry, the woolen cloth makers by asserting that their workshops “were 200 or more, and they made from 70,000 to 80,000 pieces of cloth which were worth more than 1,200,000 gold florins --- and more than 30,000 persons lived by it” (42). In addition to the manufacture of cloth, the importers and sellers of Transapline cloth “imported yearly more than 10,000 pieces of cloth, worth 300,000 gold florins” (42). Villani glosses over the noble magnates and knights and gives the greater importance to the merchants, mercers, bankers, bakers, stone and carpentry masters and “many other masters in many crafts” (42) who make up the guilds. This supports our knowledge of Renaissance Florence, in which the members of a craft or merchant organization formed the commune which wielded authority over the political and economic affairs of the city. Villani confirms the erosion of the power of the traditional landed aristocracy in the Italian Renaissance, saying, “but from the time that the people began to rule, the magnates no longer had the status and authority enjoyed earlier” (41). Villani makes it clear that it is the members of the manufacturing guilds and professionals who are at the top of the social hierarchy. Renaissance Florence’s dominant position in the trade network is supported by Villani’s account of the city’s ability to meet the famine. Unlike other towns which ejected their beggars at this time of want, “the commune of Florence --- received and provided for a large fraction of the poor mendicants of all Tuscany” (39). The commune arranges for grain to be bought from Sicily and the regions surrounding the city (Romagna and Arezzo), to be transported at great expense and used to feed all the citizens. Villani pays tribute to Florence’s economic power by asserting that “in mitigation of this famine the commune of Florence spent in those two years more than sixty thousand golden florins” (39). Villani’s chronicle bears testimony to economic power and trade being the main cause for Florence’s position as the leader of Renaissance Italy. Villani testifies that Florence played a crucial role in the outburst of artistic accomplishment which characterized Renaissance Italy. The success of Florence’s merchant class directly contributed to their patronage of artists. The rebuilding of Florence after 1293 demonstrates that the merchant elite of the city associated fame and prestige with the arts. Villani recounts that “at that period people kept building with improved techniques to obtain comfort and richness by importing designs of every kind of improvement” (43). He lists “beautiful houses,” “parish churches and splendid monasteries,” “fine buildings,” “costly mansions,” and “costly palaces with towers, courts and walled gardens” (43). With all this building going on, it is little wonder that Florence has many “stone and carpentry masters” (42). The destruction caused by the fires of 1331 and 1332 are soon redressed by the commune and the guilds. In an evident show of power and wealth, the wool guild “ordered their palace to be reconstructed on a larger scale with stone vaults to the roof” (38). Villani’s account of the reconstruction of the old cathedral of Santa Reparata into Florence’s iconic Santa Maria del Fiore again emphasizes the Renaissance artistic culture. The commune is generous in financing the cathedral and the Palace of the Priors and ensures that, in the building of the Bell Tower, “the foundation was made as solid as possible” (37). Villani brings into his account the hiring of Giotto, who is widely acknowledged to be one of the pioneers of the architecture of the Italian Renaissance: “And as superintendent and overseer --- the commune appointed our fellow-citizen, Giotto, the most sovereign master of painting in his time” (37). Villani goes on to demonstrate that Giotto’s work exemplifies the characteristic Renaissance artistic trait of depicting human characters in realistic detail and with the expression of emotion. Villani declares that Giotto “drew all his figures and their postures according to nature” (37). Villani shows that Florence was the hub of the artistic ferment, which is one of the main characteristics of Renaissance Italy. Villani devotes considerable space to the description of the Black Death which ravaged Renaissance Italy. It is ironical that the trade routes which contributed to the rebirth of commerce in Italy and led to the Renaissance were also instrumental in bringing the dreaded plague to Italian shores. The plague is carried home by Italian sailors. Villani reports the devastation caused by the plague in Florence: “And in the city alone more than 15,000 corpses of men and women were buried” (40). Again, Florence demonstrates the mercantile skills which made the city the leader of Renaissance Italy “by importing grain by sea” (40). It is very unfortunate that Villani himself falls prey to the Black Death. The Chronicle of Giovanni Villani gives us an intimate glimpse of Florence on the threshold of the Italian Renaissance. Villani demonstrates Florence’s stature as a thriving commercial center. The mercantile guilds hold positions of economic and political power. It is trade and manufacture which ushers prosperity to the city. This commercial prosperity is the engine which drives the birth of the Renaissance in Florence. The incomparable art and architecture of Renaissance Italy is seen to be the offshoot of this great wealth. The wealthy merchants are eager to bolster their prestige through their patronage of the arts and enter into a frenzy of public and private construction. They are ready to invest great amounts in artistic creativity, as seen in their patronage of Giotto. This contributes to the great art and architectural works which came into existence during the Renaissance, including Giotto’s Bell Tower. The Black Death is also a part of the history of the Italian Renaissance, with its great destruction. Giovanni Villani’s chronicle is revealing reading for any student of Renaissance Italy. Works Cited Extracts from “The Chronicle of Giovanni Villani.” The Civilization of the Italian Renaissance. Kenneth R. Bartlett, ed. (Lexington, M. A: D. C. Heath, 1992), 33-43. Print. Read More