Let's say you're standing in the Louvre, the biggest art museum in Paris, France. You're face to face with one of the most famous paintings of all time, it's worth millions, and there is a large number of people who would travel across the world to see it yet, you're the lucky one there. The painting is of a woman, she has a subtle half-smile and her eyes are warm and welcoming, making her seem delicate and sweet. If you look hard enough, she has curly honey brown hair and her face glows with this natural beauty, the woman has her left hand on the armrest of the chair she is sitting on, while the right lays on top. The entire painting has a warm yellow undertone to it, almost as if you were to put a camera filter on it. This intricate work is called "The Mona Lisa" by the famous Italian Renaissance painter, Leonardo Da Vinci. Work like the Mona Lisa defined the "rebirth" of society in the 14th century, the time period the Renaissance/Humanism started.

As our journey into the Italian Renaissance begins, we must acknowledge that we are here today because of the advancements humans made in the era. Literature, art, science, math, and overall education on human philosophy all progressed further because more people decided to specialize in studying and using their curiosity to create, explore, and discover. With humans from this era putting their knowledge into these academic subjects, we are able to do the same, using their achievements to our advantage. While we travel through important sites during the renaissance, we will encounter the many achievements that these brilliant and intellectual humans made.