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The Italian Renaissance (1380s-1550s) was one of the most exciting periods in human civilisationcivilization. It witnessed a great flourishing of the arts, literature, philosophy, architecture , and politics. Many of the greatest figures in World Civilisation appeared during the Renaissance in Italy, including Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Machiavelli , and Raphael. The Renaissance’s days of glories occurred from approximately 1400-1500. However, several factors led to the end of the Renaissance and the end of one of the most creative periods in human history.

The term "Renaissance" or "rebirth" (or "''rinascita''" in Italian) was coined by Giorgio Vasari around 1550 in his book <i>The Lives of the Artists</i>. The Renaissance started in the late 15th century as Italians sought to imitate the lost world of ancient Greece and Rome and move away from gothic art. The Italian, artists, writers, and thinkers who all participated in the Renaissance, sought to create works that were the equal of the ancients, whom they regarded as the pinnacle of civilization.<ref>Burke, Peter. ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0691162409/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0691162409&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=3e8ba646ddb55793983df78fb425f39e The Italian Renaissance: Culture and Society in Italy]'' (Princeton University Press, 1999), p. 6.</ref> The Renaissance, unlike the Middle Ages, stressed the individual, reason, beauty and secular values. This outlook became known as Humanism and has had a profound impact on European society.  The Renaissance not only produced great works of art but also resulted in a dramatic change in the views of Europeans and a decisive move away from the world of the Middle Ages. The Renaissance was in many ways to lay the groundwork for the rise of the modern world and especially ‘individualism and a secular outlook.’<ref>Burke, p.9.</ref> The Renaissance was able to occur because of the unique conditions that prevailed in Italy in the period from 1400 to 1500.

Defining when the Italian Renaissance ended occurred is somewhat difficult, but the most generous estimate goes from the 1380s to the 1550s. Typically, the Italian Renaissance has been tied to fortunes of Florence and Rome (especially Florence). At the end of the 14th century, after the collapse of the Florentine economy tied and Roman economies due to the Great Famine of 13150-1317 caused by the Little Ice Age, the disruption of trade by warbetween England and France, and the devastation of the Black Plague, Rome and Florence began to rebound. It These catastrophes actually helped start the Renaissance because it was initially driven by artists such as Petrarch and Dante who began to question the authority of the Church and because it had failed to alleviate the previous beliefssuffering of Italians during these catastrophes.

The end of the Italian is directly tied to Florence's decline and the eventual abandonment of the ideals of the Renaissance . This slow slide began with [[What was the impact of Charles VIIIs invasion of Italy (1494) on the Renaissance?|the invasion of Florence in 1494 ]] by France and gained speed as Italy broke out into warfare between its city-states. Additionally, like most significant political and intellectual movements, it the Renaissance gave birth to a severe significant intellectual and religious backlash. By the 1550s, many of the works of literature and art that help birth the Renaissance were banned. By the mid-1550s, the Italian Renaissance was essentially over. While the Italian Renaissance died in Florence and Rome, its ideas, beliefs, and art had spread across Europe. These other European Renaissances continued even as Florence's and Rome's rebirth stalledended.

The Counter-Reformation was to have a dramatic impact on artists, writers, and scientists’ scientists in Italy. No longer could they discuss or express their views freely. They were afraid to create any daring works, in case they offended the Catholic Church. In order [[How did Savonarola influence the Reformation and Counter-Reformation?|Girolamo Savonarola]] rose to power in Florence and ruled between 1494-1498. He sought to ensure that they did not come reverse the influence of secularism and ruled Florence as began its economic and cultural decline. Rulers such as Savonarola forced artists to recommit to the church to avoid attracting the attention of the Inquisition, they made sure . The threat of the Inquisition ensured that artists and writers tailored their works were to be more suitably Catholic. The result of the Counter-Reformation was that Italian artists worked in an environment that was repressive. This led to Italy, falling behind the rest of Europe, intellectually and artistically. It should still be remembered that Italy still produced great artists and thinkers such as Galileo, but they were far fewer and less original. The old humanist tradition, of the Renaissance, was abandoned, during the Counter-Reformation.<ref>Mullet, p. 141.</ref>