Question

Why were Italian towns the first to experience the ideas of humanism?

Answer 1

The idea of Humanism was a direct off-shoot of the Renaissance spirit. Very similar to the Renaissance, humanism emphasized on breaking the medieval practice of outright reliance on religious teachings to gain holistic knowledge. The ancient Greek and Roman philosophies, literatures and historiographies, according to the humanists, were the best means to establish the long lost tradition of rationality. Italy had a persistent connection with Rome. Already exposed to the classical tradition of the old civilisation, the launch of humanism in Italy was inevitable.

Apart from Italy's connection with ancient the Rome and Greece, the commercial revolution in Italian towns provided an important ground for the launch of humanistic thoughts. The active trading with the Byzantine Empire, China and Western European countries revived several Italian trading towns like Florence and Venice. Trading activities created a class of people who were rich and educated. The exposure of the emerging class of lawyers and notaries to the ancient Roman civil law opened new spaces for the deeper understanding of Roman institutions. These changes in the lives of Italian population served to better inculcate the spirit of humanism that emphasized on individual accomplishments and not transcendental achievements.