Changes

==Spanish Domination==

The Italian city-states were very rich but also vulnerable to their larger neighbours. The kingdoms of Europe were becoming national states, with a unified government and standing armies. By the 16th century, the Italian city-states looked much weaker that large kingdoms such as France. In the 1490s, the French invaded Italy, in order to conquer the kingdom of Naples. The Spanish Monarchy refused to allow the French to dominate southern Italy <ref>Lopez, p. 67.</ref>. The French army eventually retreated from the Kingdom of Naples after a plague decimated the army. However, their invasion was to result in several decades of war, between France and Spain, for the control of first Naples and later Italy. Over the following decades, Italy became a battleground for the first time in centuries.<ref>Lopez, 112.</ref> This was to have a negative impact on the Renaissance. In 1527, the Spanish army sacked Rome and caused widespread loss of life and devastation. Eventually, the Spanish, under Phillip II, established Spanish domination in Italy. The Italian city-states were still technically independent, but they were under de-facto Spanish control. The Spanish control resulted in a loss of political and individual freedom and this dealt a blow to the Renaissance as increasingly artists and thinkers were unable to create the worked they wanted or to freely express their own ideas and opinions.

==Counter-Reformation==

The Reformation began in Germany and soon Protestant Churches were being established throughout Northern Europe. This cause a crisis in the Catholic Church in Italy and throughout Europe. Many feared that Italy would even turn Protestant. This caused a change in direction in the Catholic Church and led it to change its direction . In response to the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic Church engaged in a series of reforms and other measures. These sought to make sure that Protestant teachings did not become popular. The response of the Catholic Church became known as the Counter-Reformation. One of the most important aspects of the Counter-Reformation was the increasing role of the Inquisition in Italian Society. Any person, believed to be sympathetic to Protestant ideas was arrested as a heretic by the Inquisition. The Inquisition also arrested those who have opinions and views that were contrary to the teachings of the Church. <ref>Mullett, Michael A., ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415189152/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0415189152&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=2cee7968947f72dfe9e1cea5b8eafa6e The Catholic Reformation]'' (Routledge, London 1999)p. 56.</ref>