[00:01.34]To start with,Athens could afford it.
[00:03.97]It was the greatest trading centre
[00:05.81]in the Mediterranean.
[00:07.61]Many foreigners like Herodotus were drawn
[00:09.92]to this cultural magnet.
[00:11.88]Their contribution played an important role
[00:14.58]in transforming Athens from a conservative,
[00:17.40]aristocratic society,
[00:19.42]to a sophisticated urban democracy.
[00:25.09]Renaissance Italy
[00:27.22]In the 15th century,the Italian city-state
[00:30.10]of Florence became the centre of an artistic
[00:32.87]period known as the Renaissance.
[00:35.74]Outstanding painters and sculptors of the day
[00:38.85]included Botticelli,Donatello,
[00:41.19]Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vincii.
[00:44.34]Like the ancient Greeks,
[00:46.11]these artists tried to create an ideal form
[00:48.96]of beauty based on nature.
[00:51.76]Brunelleschi's cathedral dome
[00:53.64]is one example of the architectural splendour
[00:55.94]of Florence during this period.
[00:58.72]The Renaissance occurred in Florence
[01:01.00]because of the city's long tradition
[01:02.94]of cultural achievement,
[01:04.68]and its key position as the richest city-state
[01:07.66]in Italy.Florence's wealth primarily
[01:10.62]came from a commercial revolution
[01:13.16]which saw the development of modern banking
[01:15.88]and accounting.
[01:17.69]To ensure that there was a good supply
[01:20.19]of educated labourers to work
[01:22.32]in the Florentine economy,
[01:24.27]new schools were built and local people
[01:26.71]got the chance to learn to read and write.
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