This major cultural rebirth and revival began in Italy during the 1300's and spread throughout Europe until around 1650.

Here are a few of the historical milestones during this period of great change.

Lorenzo de Medici (MED-uh-chee) (1449-1492) was a prominent ruler of Florence, Italy who was also a strong patron of many great artists of that era:

Sandro Botticelli created the well know painting: "The Birth of Venus".

Leonardo Da Vinci created the paintings: "Mona Lisa" and "The Last Supper".

Michelangelo sculpted "David" and "Pieta". He designed the dome of Saint Peter's Basilica and painted the Sistine Chapel frescoes.

As a young man, Michelangelo lived with the Medici family in Florence for a period.

In 1492, Columbus was credited for the discovery of America which was named after the ships navigator, Americus Vaspucci.

The Reformation of the 1500's was a religious movement which opposed the sale of "Indulgences" by the Roman Catholic Church. Church authorities would absolve and pronounce someone free of guilt for a specific monetary price. The reformation movement opposed the sale of these "Indulgences" and this set the foundations for the Protestant churches. Martin Luther, John Calvin and John Knox were leaders in this movement. Henry VIII declared himself head of the Christian Church in England.

During the Renaissance, the arts, architecture, literature and science received a new breath of life and relief from the relatively bleaker periods of the dark and middle ages.

Lamps, paintings, furniture, architecture and home decor items of all kinds will forever be influenced by Renaissance art period. A lamp, painting or sculpture showing two people touching hands brings a vision of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel and "The Creation of Adam".

- Jim Hoyle