Italian Renaissance · 1434-1494

Florence and the Medici

A family of bankers runs a republic without ever being crowned. Students explore how Medici money paid for artists and builders, and why Florence became a cradle of the Renaissance.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
11–14
On the map
3 steps, AD 1530 to AD 1470
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

A family of bankers runs a republic without ever being crowned. Students explore how Medici money paid for artists and builders, and why Florence became a cradle of the Renaissance.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain how the Medici family gained power in Florence without becoming kings.
  • Give two examples of art or buildings that wealthy Florentines such as the Medici paid for.
  • Describe what "Renaissance" means and why it began in rich Italian cities.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1530

An Italy of many states

Open the map in 1530 and zoom in on Italy. Count the separate states you can see. Was "Italy" one country in the age of the Medici?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1470

A city of bankers

Go to 1470 and turn on the Cities layer. Compare the dots for Florence, Venice and Rome. Which is biggest? How could a mid-sized city still lead European art?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1470

Ideas on the move

Turn on Spreads and choose the printing press. Play it from 1450 to 1500. In which years does printing reach Rome and Venice, Florence's great rivals?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. The Medici were bankers, not kings. How could a banking family control a city that called itself a republic?
  2. Why would a rich family pay for paintings, churches and statues? Give two possible reasons.
  3. "Renaissance" means rebirth. What was being reborn, and from which period of history?
  4. In 1478 rivals attacked Lorenzo and his brother during Mass in the cathedral. What does this tell you about politics in Florence?
  5. Is it a problem when one rich family decides what art a whole city gets? Explain your view.
4

Game round

10 min

Play one round of Rule History as Sejong the Great of Korea, who ruled in the same years as Cosimo de' Medici and gathered scholars at his court. Discuss: what does a king, or a banker, gain from paying for learning and art?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.