2015 History: Renaissance Italy
examination report
General comments
The 2015 History: Renaissance Italy examination provided the basis of some high-scoring answers
to individual questions, as well as some high-scoring complete papers. While many students
answered all questions using all the space provided and supported these answers with a high-level
use of detail, a number of students did not answer some questions. It is always better for students
to attempt all questions, even those about which there is some uncertainty.
Some students made very effective use of both primary and secondary source material. Highscoring answers used both visual and literary sources where appropriate.
Specific information
Note: Student responses reproduced in this report have not been corrected for grammar,
spelling or factual information.
This report provides sample answers or an indication of what answers may have included. Unless
otherwise stated, these are not intended to be exemplary or complete responses.
The statistics in this report may be subject to rounding resulting in a total more or less than 100 per
cent.
Section A
Question 1
Marks
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Average
%
9
10
10
8
8
14
17
8
9
2
4
4.5
Question 1 offered students the opportunity to describe the elements of both republican
governments and non-republican governments, detailing the differences between them and
identifying the ways in which they were similar.
The republics of Venice and Florence were constitutional oligarchies, and the highest-scoring
answers noted the importance of the constitutions of the republics, and the lack of such legality in
the despotisms and kingdoms of this period.
High-scoring answers pointed out that while republics included participation only by some citizens,
there was nevertheless a limited franchise, whereas in the non-republican states, any participation
in government or the ruling class was at the discretion of the ruler. Non-republics were ruled by a
hereditary ruler, with a designated title.
Students who wrote on Florence could have noted the guild-based government, and those who
wrote on Venice could have noted it was a republic based on a hereditary class. Renaissance
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2015 History: Renaissance Italy examination report
republics had a range of councils, with periodic turnover of office, whereas this rotation of offices
was not a feature of non-republican states, which had a hereditary head with a designated title.
Students should have noted similarities between republics and non-republics, such as that both
had bureaucratic systems to support government and were dominated by a ruling elite. In the
republics this was a mercantile elite, whereas in, for example, the Duchy of Milan or the Kingdom
of Naples, the councils that supported the head of government were made up of nobles.
Students could also have noted that dynastic marriages became a key feature of both systems;
examples of this are the Visconti and Sforza families in Milan, and the Medici in Florence.
A high-scoring answer began: One of the most obvious examples of a Republic in Renaissance
Italy was Florence. It was a guild based republic where legislative powers lay with guildsmen,
representatives chosen with the approval of the people … The Florentine government consisted of
small but powerful councils … and had short tenures and constant rotation. In contrast, Bologna’s
government was more static. Bologna was initially governed under the tyranny of the Bentivoglio
family. The family controlled all aspects of government with no power given to the people …
Question 2
Marks
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Average
%
4
10
10
11
10
8
11
13
13
4
6
5.1
Humanism, with its interest in classical ideas and values, had a direct influence on the content and
style of visual art produced in this period.
Students could have discussed the humanist concern with the centrality of man and linked this to
the changing attitude to the body. Artists and sculptors were concerned with the realistic rendering
of the human body and the portrayal of the natural world. The influence of humanism on this period
could be seen in the development of artistic techniques to create this greater naturalism and
realism, the use of linear perspective and chiaroscuro in painting, and the use of contrapposto in
the sculpture. The emergence of portraiture at this time can be traced to the influence of the
humanists and their belief in the power of man and his role in civic life. The emergence of classical
mythology in painting and sculpture was another result of the humanists’ concern for the classical
past. Students needed to name a work of art in relation to the point they made and identify the
particular influence of humanism.
The influence of humanism on education could be seen firstly in the creation of a new curriculum,
the studia humanitatis, and its subjects of grammar, rhetoric, moral philosophy and poetry. This
new curriculum was the basis of the education of the humanists, who held roles in the
governments of the Renaissance republics, and development of the idea of the vita active politica
(Martines). The translations of the humanists and contemporary interest in the Greek world led to
the translation of Greek texts and the study of Greek.
Humanism’s influence can be seen in the establishment of schools in Ferrara and Mantua, and
also in the patronage of the Medici, which led to the Platonic Academy in Florence.
A high-scoring answer began: Humanism, as in the ‘values and outlook’ (Brown) and expression of
the Renaissance played a significant role in the growth of art and learning. The philosophy’s focus
on ‘man as the measure of all things’ (Pythagoras) and ‘the cult of antiquity’ (Brown) brought about
by the discovery, translation and collection of ancient texts greatly influenced the ideas and
methods of art and education.
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2015 History: Renaissance Italy examination report
Section B
Question 1a.
•
•
•
Marks
0
1
Average
%
20
80
0.8
Guild
Parte Guelfa
Scuole – religious association
Question 1b.
Marks
0
1
Average
%
4
96
1
Pitti wanted high-status Guido to arrange his marriage because:
•
•
Guido was ‘the most respected and influential man in the city’
Guido would help ‘obtain a truce’.
Question 1c.
•
•
Marks
0
1
2
3
4
Average
%
2
1
12
7
78
3.6
Brucker argues the individual needed personal connections with important men.
Brucker claims the individual was vulnerable/no longer protected, so he did not neglect
marriage alliances.
Pitti’s extract supports the opinions given by Gene Brucker in that:
•
•
•
•
Pitti sought support from men more powerful – seeking this from Guido
the individual was extremely vulnerable – Pitti’s feud with the Corbizi family
Pitti sought marriage alliances – the importance of these alliances for the reputation and
position of the family
Pitti explained that if one became a connection of a leading figure, one can gain good will – he
doesn’t refer to any corporate support.
Question 2
Marks
0
1
2
3
4
Average
%
26
17
18
13
25
2
Students could have focused on:
•
•
•
•
•
•
unemployment
hunger/famine
effects of war on economy
infighting between the elite families, leading to the invitation to Walter of Brienne
the threat of bank failures because of the Hundred Years War, the growth in the wool industry
and the Ciompi (the underclass that Walter sought to utilise to seize power)
Walter allowing the dyers to form a guild and allowing them to march under their own banner,
which caused resentment from the elite.
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2015 History: Renaissance Italy examination report
High-scoring responses might have acknowledged that it was not just the disenfranchised at the
bottom of the social stratum who were involved, but also those disenfranchised magnates at the
top who saw advantages for themselves.
The Ciompi Revolt was caused by social and economic factors such as:
•
•
•
•
•
the economic effects of the war with the Papacy
the raised expectations of those who had been enfranchised by Walter of Brienne
the social unrest of the underclass and the ambivalent status of the sottoposti
the difficult working conditions experienced by the popolo minuto
some minor guildsmen agitating for increased participation in the political process.
Question 3
Marks
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Average
%
9
12
11
12
8
11
8
13
8
4
5
4.4
For Question 3, students were asked to evaluate the relative effects of personal influence,
including personal patronage, civic patronage and constitutional change. Students were required to
discuss the question, referring to two Medici rulers, and there needed to be some balance in the
discussion between the two. High-scoring answers evaluated the impact of specific examples in
reaching their conclusion. Some students had a detailed knowledge of the changes made by the
Medici leaders but were unable to discuss the impact of these changes on Medicean control or
reach a conclusion about which methods were more important.
Students could have shown that institutional control and patronage were the two means by which
the Medici imposed their power. Both Cosimo and Lorenzo created new councils, both engaged in
electoral manipulation and both engaged in civic and personal patronage.
A discussion of Cosimo’s regime might have included the idea of Cosimo’s personal power versus
the significance of the changes to the role of the councils and the role the accoppiatori in altering
the scrutiny. Students might have included:
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•
•
•
•
the understanding that Cosimo was the person you saw to get things done because of his
personal influence
his civic patronage, supported by an example
the foreign connections he possessed, for example, the connection with Milan
Dale Kent’s argument that Cosimo was careful to avoid public demonstrations of his position
the constitutional changes he made with the creation of the Cento.
Cosimo’s son Piero utilised his foreign connection with Milan and the manipulation of other
important individuals like Luca Pitti.
Students might have written that Lorenzo the Magnificent:
•
•
•
•
created new councils such as the Council of 70, the Council of 12 and the Council of 8
engaged in an extravagant investment in public festivals and processions
made strategic use of marriage
made use of his own foreign contacts.
Many students wrote at length about Cosimo’s discretion, and while this was an important point it
was more important to discuss the nature of his personal and civic patronage.
A number of students chose to compare Cosimo or Lorenzo with Piero di Lorenzo. This was a
limiting choice because there was less material they could utilise.
In the following response, the student discussed the relative weight of the different methods
employed by the Medici: Lorenzo used the personal patronage with his ‘citywide web of contacts
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2015 History: Renaissance Italy examination report
and clients (Martines), however Murphy notes that he used institutional reforms, such as the
creation of the Eight and the Twelve … Ady, likewise, calls the Settanta of 1480 ‘the instrument of
[Lorenzo’s] control.
Section C
Question chosen
none
1
2
%
4
59
37
Marks
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Average
%
7
3
3
4
6
4
5
6
7
4
5
3
7
5
8
8
7
4
4
1
2
9.7
In response to the essay topics in Question 1 and Question 2, students needed to discuss those
who were excluded from the social institutions of the city and those who were included.
Question 1 – Florence
High-scoring essays explored the contradictions between those who were excluded and those who
participated in the social life of the city and used detailed factual evidence to support their answers.
Vague and unsubstantiated generalisations were not rewarded.
The men of the elite families and the major guilds dominated the social institutions of Renaissance
Florence. High-scoring answers included a discussion of the means by which they dominated the
social life of the city, in particular through the guilds, confraternities, parishes and neighbourhoods,
but students also needed to discuss the social events and social institutions, which made some
participation available to women, foreigners and the poor.
Women were excluded in this patriarchal society; they had a mainly private and domestic role while
men had a public role. Foreigners were restricted as to where they could live. Jews were required
to wear identifying marks and were subjected to specific laws. Prostitutes were restricted by law
and forced to wear particular clothing to signify their occupation.
High-scoring answers spoke of the parishes and the confraternities as institutions where the rich
and poor would meet and join in the religious and charitable activities. It was very good if a student
was able to give examples of particular confraternities and show how wealthy men and poor men
interacted. Specific confraternities were established for women, allowing them another avenue for
social participation. Parishes were also important sites of social interaction for women across the
classes. High-scoring answers provided examples of social interaction involving women.
The social institution of the neighbourhood also facilitated social interaction for Florentines of
different classes. The working class participated in the social life of the city in part through their
brigades, or Potenze, associated with a particular area of the city. Membership of these brigades
was reserved for the working class.
Festivals, such as the Feast of Saint John the Baptist, encouraged social inclusion. They were
occasions when most Florentines could share in the communal celebration.
The following sound introduction to an essay on Florence clearly established an argumentative
response to this question: The social map of Quattrocento Florence was a dense network of
obligation and ritual. Many specific institutions within this network were highly exclusive, accessible
only to a select few. Furthermore a large number of specific groups, Jews, women, outsiders and
homosexuals were … excluded from a large part of this society. However, at a basic level, every
Florentine was a participant in some aspect of life …
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2015 History: Renaissance Italy examination report
Question 2 – Venice
In Venice the fixed class divisions meant that the patricians and to a lesser extent the cittadini
males were dominant in the society and the beneficiaries of inclusion. However, there were events
and institutions that allowed some measure of inclusion for women, foreigners and the poor.
Social institutions like the parish, the scuole grande and scuole piccole, and the neighbourhoods
included not only the sestieri, but also the calle and the campi. Frederick Lane’s point that in
Venice ‘rich and poor lived cheek by jowl’ was a function of the geography of Venice and meant
that the neighbourhoods were heterogeneous and, as such, locations for the casual interactions of
the rich and poor.
Women were excluded in this patriarchal society; they had a mainly private and domestic role while
men had a public role. Foreigners were restricted as to where they could live: the Jews were
restricted to the Getto and the Germans were restricted to the Fondaco dei Tedeschi. Prostitutes
were restricted to the area around the Rialto and forced to wear particular clothing to signify their
occupation.
In Venice the social institutions of the parishes and the scuole allowed for the common activities of
prayer and charity to both rich and poor. The scuole piccole welcomed all – men and women, rich
and poor – and some scuole allowed women to hold positions of responsibility that they were often
denied elsewhere. Festivals were times when all Venetians were brought together to celebrate
civic and religious occasions. Students could have cited some of the scuole paintings, which
suggest this inclusion.
Again, the highest-scoring responses were those that provided detail in the evidence used, as well
as reference to both primary and secondary sources.
In developing a discussion of the affiliations that bound people together in Venice, this student
wrote: … the Scuole Grande and the Scuole Piccole were places of inclusion for different classes.
Romano notes that these organisations ‘dispelled the differences of wealth, kinship and power’ for
Venetians and it was one of the special privileges of the cittadini class to have control of the Scuole
Grande. Andrea Vendramin, seen recovering the relic in Bellini’s ‘Miracle of the Relic on the Bridge
of San Lorenzo’ was one such cittadino leader of the Scuole of St john the Evangelist.
Section D
Question 1
Marks
0
1
2
3
4
Average
%
7
5
15
31
42
3
Answers needed to link an aspect of the Myth of Venice with an element of the image. If the link
was not made, no marks were awarded.
•
•
•
•
Piety – the Scuole processing on bridge; the presence of the relic of the true cross
Social harmony – the procession; all social classes linked together in the sacred moment; the
nature of the crowd, including the women; the cosmopolitan nature of the scene, including the
African man
Beauty and uniqueness – the canals and the bridge
Wealth – the clothing of the patricians and the cittadini; the nature of the buildings that flanked
the canal
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2015 History: Renaissance Italy examination report
Question 2
Marks
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Average
%
10
15
21
14
28
5
7
2.8
Students needed to comment on how any of the processions mentioned had both a civic and
religious component. They could have discussed:
•
•
•
•
•
processions like the one celebrated in Bellini’s painting were public expressions of communal
piety
the civic function of the procession, as a visual expression of the constitution
the glorification of the city as ‘La Serenissima’, and a reminder that no individual is above the
Republic
other processions that show civic and religious nature include the Marriage of the Sea, Corpus
Christi, and other large festivals that took place in the Piazza San Marco
the procession as an expression of the civic religion of the city; the aspect of the Myth that all
join together in an expression of social harmony.
Question 3
Marks
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Average
%
14
12
12
7
10
8
11
11
11
2
3
4.1
Answers to this question needed to acknowledge the role of the Myth in both the growth and
decline of the Venetian Empire. Most students struggled to discuss the influence of imperial growth
on the development of the Myth and felt more comfortable in discussing the effect of imperial
decline on the Myth.
Students could have commented on Venice’s expansion onto the terra ferma as well as the
Maritime Empire. Details of the early development of the Myth could have included some of the
following:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
some discussion of how the Myth began at these early stages of imperial expansion, in the
uniqueness and wealth of the city, the home of the body of St Mark
the early period of the public expression of Myth that can be found in visual representations
like the mosaics on the facade of the San Marco
architectural features of the Doge’s Palace, and its relationship to the East
the Bronze Horses appropriated by Venice after the 1204 Sack of Constantinople
Petrarch’s identification of Venice as ‘mundus alter’
Lunettes of Justice on the Ducal Palace
Lions of St Mark in the 13th century
images of Mary and her identification with Venice
in dealing with the decline of the empire, the Myth becomes more fully articulated; it grows ‘in
inverse proportion’ as the reality of the Venetian Empire and status is threatened
the incursions of the Turks
the League of Cambrai
the Portuguese discoveries
the decline of Venetian territory and influence; as such the Myth inflates
paintings commissioned by the Patrician government; for example, 1516 The Lion of St Mark
and the works of Veronese in the Doge’s Palace.
Students needed to make use of the literary and visual representations in both the growth and
decline of the Myth.
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2015 History: Renaissance Italy examination report
There were a number of different ways of approaching this question.
One student noted: Venice’s expansion onto the Terraferma began in 1402. Already the Queen of
the Adriatic, Venice sought to consolidate her rule moving beyond her mercantile empire … Prior to
the growth of the terraferma, the Myth focussed on Venice’s status as an inviolable city chosen by
God. The people united around the ‘cult of St Mark, (Passmore).
Another student began with the establishment of the city: Venice’s Maritime Empire served as a
foundation of the prosperity found in the myth as Priuli noted that the wealth of the city ‘was gained
by the sea’. However, as the Myth of Venice grew ‘in inverse proportion’ (Chabod) to the actual
state of the city, maritime imperial growth did not influence the development of the Myth as much
as its loss. Longwirth notes that in 1499 a series of crises ‘struck the city, including the Venetian
loss in the Battle of Zonchio to the Turks and the news of Portugal’s reaching India and this the
loss of the Venetian monopoly of the ‘lucrative pepper trade (Muir).
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