The Renaissance did not begin in Italy.
Italy . The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe , bringing a renewed interest in humanism , science , exploration and art . Renaissance . It started as a cultural movement in Italy in the Late Medieval period and later spread to the rest of Europe , marking the beginning of the Early Modern Age . The Renaissance began in Florence , in the 14th century . Various theories have been proposed to account for its origins and characteristics , focusing on a variety of factors including the social and civic peculiarities of Florence at the time : its political structure ; the patronage of its dominant family , the Medici ; and the migration of Greek scholars and texts to Italy following the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks .