Pisa vs. Florence as the birthplace of the Renaissance I had this whole thing typed out and then my computer attacked it. Aarrrgggh.

OK, so Pisa has prior claim historically. They did the groundwork. Because they were the first city to have a booming trade and intellectual commerce with the Arabs, the Pisans started in on the Renaissance ideas and practical applications. However, their culture soon went to the dogs, while Florence rose above. While the Pisans definitely had the first inklings of a Renaissance culture, it still bore the influence of another completely different culture.

Thus, the Florentines overall have a more secure claim on the title of birthplace of the Renaissance in the sense that it spread that culture elsewhere. Furthermore, they took more of a cultural possession of the practices and ideas.

In my opinion it's all relative, since time is a continuum of points. Therefore, since you can't really define the Renaissance as having a specific beginning and endpoint, I think that both claims are equally valid.

-- JeanWood? - 05 Apr 2005

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