The first site we will be visiting is the city of Florence, in the northern section of Italy. This was probably one of the most important sites due to the reason that it's where the Renaissance began. Florence was thriving around the end of the 1300s, it was one of the most heavily populated cities in Europe with almost 100,000 people. The reason Florence was able to be so successful and thrive during the Renaissance was the population and the economic gain. One of the factors that led to such success providing progression to the Renaissance was the established coin "florin" It was easy and reliable, people used the florin even outside of Florence which led to it being used as currency across Europe. This brought wealth to Florence's bank, and the city became a center of prosperity where trade and commerce occurred. The city was also a republic, and it limited power between nobles and working men/women to avoid a person getting full political control of the city. Although, wealthy families like the Medici family had some political control over the city, a family that we will be talking about further into our trip.

Before Florence was successful in the upbringing of the Renaissance, there was a period of darkness, where almost no cultural achievements were made. Those were the middle ages, where plague wiped out almost half of Europe and there were barely any new scientific discoveries. The paintings were not as intricate and detailed as those in the Renaissance, so when the Renaissance did start, it was one of the greatest time periods for human achievement and culture flourished. The middle ages also lacked in having powerful leaders, but as stated previously, the Medici family was one of the great political powers of Florence during the Renaissance.