#1 Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo da Vinci was the ideal Renaissance man, the greatest Universal Genius, who, among other things, was a painter, mathematician, engineer, architect, botanist, sculptor and anatomist.

What was reborn in the Renaissance? The rebirth of learning; the arts,literature, science, and mathematics. It started in 476 C.E. and ended in the 1300s when the Renaissance first hit Italy.

The Renaissance was an era when learning and inquiry were beginning to take hold within society over what is sometimes considered to be the dogma and mysticism of the Middle Ages. It was a “rebirth” (Renaissance literally translates to rebirth from Latin) of ideas and art of the Ancient Greeks and Romans.

• Florence.
• Milan.
• Venice.

The fresco technique was employed on plaster walls (reaching perfection with artists such as Michelangelo). Sculpture began to be conceived “in the round”, instead of as relief decorations on cathedrals. Perspective and light were also introduced into art, perfecting the sense of three-dimensional reality.

Petrarch is often considered the founder of Humanism. Petrarch’s sonnets were admired and imitated throughout Europe during the Renaissance and became a model for lyrical poetry. In the 16th century, Pietro Bembo created the model for the modern Italian language based on Petrarch’s works.

While atheism is merely the absence of belief, humanism is a positive attitude to the world, centred on human experience, thought, and hopes. Humanists believe that human experience and rational thinking provide the only source of both knowledge and a moral code to live by.

The word ‘spirituality’ has religious roots, originally referring to the idea that human beings have a non-material spirit or soul. Since humanists are materialists and don’t believe in a spiritual realm, many humanists prefer not to use the word. But all human beings need to feel their life has meaning.