The Medici family were very influential rulers of Florence Italy during the Renaissance. They were wool merchants and bankers. Since both businesses made a lot of money, they became very wealthy. The Medici family were most famous for their support of the arts. Art flourished during the renaissance due to the Medici family. They supported famous artists such as Michelangelo, Donatello, Raphael, and Leonardo da Vinci. They also supported Science. They supported the famous scientist Galileo, who tutored their children. There were many important people in their family. Giovanni de Medici founded the Medici bank which made them rich. Pope Leo X was the first of four Medici to become pope.

Dante Alighieri was born in 1265, in Florence, Italy. Dante was a writer. Even though most writers wrote in Latin, Dante wrote in Italian. He did this to show that Italian was just as good as any other language. In 1301 Dante was sent on an embassy to Rome. But he never returned. He was banished from Italy. He took refuge in places all over Europe. Dante Alighieri died in 1321.

Leonardo da Vinci was very important to the renaissance. He was even nicknamed the "Renaissance Man." Renaissance man meant someone who is good at everything. He was an artist an inventor and a scientist. Leonardo was born in 1452 in Vinci, Italy. Leonardo is most famous for two of his artworks, The Mona Lisa and the Last Supper. While Leonardo was a scientist, he mostly studied the human body. While he was an inventor he filled his journals with sketches of hang gliders, helicopters, war machines, and musical instruments. Leonardo da Vinci died in 1519 in Amboise, Kingdom of France.

Raphael was a famous painter and architect during the renaissance. He was born in 1483 in Urbino Italy. When he was a young boy, he learned the basics of painting from his father. When Raphael turned seventeen, he moved to the city of Perugia to work with a famous artist. Raphael then moved to Florence where he was considered a master painter. He became so well know, he even painted for the pope in the Vatican in 1508. He was also the pope's chief architect in 1514. Raphael's most famous works of art were The School of Athenes, The Sistine Madonna, and The Transfiguration. Raphael died in 1520 in Rome, Italy.