Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Italy During the Enlightenment and Scientific Revolution


During the Enlightenment and Scientific Revolution, many Italians emerged as forward thinkers, including Vico, Beccaria, Verri, Carli, Parini, Goldonoi, Alfieri, Baretti, and Galileo. These enlightened thinkers paved the way for such things as verum factum, denouncement of the death penalty, and opposition of the Church.
In Italy, the Enlightenment was known as Illuminismo. However at its start, Italy was in a state of oppressed learning as the Church controlled much of Italians' ways of life. Students were taught to memorize rather than to think for themselves. Yet the Enlightenment brought with it a change in those ideas and a return to the Renaissance's humanism.
Moreover, during the Scientific Revolution, Italy was home to many medical schools established by Versalius in order to further his research in anatomy, hence the root of many anatomical names. Furthermore, Galileo was a key figure in the field of astonomy, particularly in perfecting the telescope and opposing the Church's limited views.

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