Renaissance

The Renaissance is a European period of history and cultural movement, very roughly defined as covering the 14th through 17th centuries, though sometimes more narrowly defined for instance as only covering the 15th through 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by the European rediscovery and revival of the literary, philosophical, and artistic achievements of classical antiquity. Associated with great social change in most fields and disciplines, including art, architecture, politics, literature, exploration and science, the Renaissance was first centered in the Republic of Florence, then spread to the rest of Italy and later throughout Europe. The term rinascita ('rebirth') first appeared in Lives of the Artists by Giorgio Vasari, while the corresponding French word renaissance was adopted into English as the term for this period during the 1830s.