AP Euro Renaissance (2025) Actual
Exam Questions and Answers A+
Graded
Italian .Renaissance .- .CORRECT .ANSWER-the .revival .of .ancient .learning .and
.the .supplanting .of .traditional .religious .beliefs .by .new .secular .and .scientific
.values .that .began .in .Italy .in .the .fourteenth .and .fifteenth .centuries
Jacob .Burckhardt .- .CORRECT .ANSWER-Civilization .of .the .Renaissance .in .Italy
.(1860), .argued .that .the .revival .of .ancient .learning .in .14th .and .15th .century .Italy
.gave .rise .to .new .secular .and .scientific .values. .He .saw .the .Renaissance .as .the
.birth .of .modernity.
City-States .- .CORRECT .ANSWER-During .the .14th .and .15th .century, .these
.powerful .entities .emerged .in .Italy, .dominating .the .political .and .economic .life .of
.the .surrounding .countryside. .They .were .not .united, .and .often .fought .with .each
.other. .Consisted .of .the .Duchy .of .Milan, .Republic .of .Genoa, .Republic .of
.Florence, .Republic .of .Venice, .Papal .States, .ad .the .Kingdom .of .Naples.
Signori .(Signoria) .- .CORRECT .ANSWER-A .council, .first .of .six, .and .later .of .eight
.members, .governed .the .city .of .Florence. .The .men .were .chosen .from .the .most
.powerful .guilds, .namely, .those .representing .the .major .clothing .industries.
.Cosimo .de .Medici .used .this .group .to .keep .a .firmer .grip .on .his .power.
Oligarchies .- .CORRECT .ANSWER-rule .of .merchant .aristocracies, .controlled
.much .of .Italy .by .1300
Commenda .System .- .CORRECT .ANSWER-Contract .between .merchant .and
"merchant-adventurer" .who .agreed .to .take .goods .to
distant .locations .and .return .with .the .proceeds .(for .1/3
of .profits)
Condottieri .- .CORRECT .ANSWER-Mercenary .armies .obtained .through .military
.brokers, .controlled .by .despots
, Republic .of .Florence .- .CORRECT .ANSWER-A .moderately .large .Italian .city .that
.was .central .to .the .Italian .Renaissance .because .of .its .gifted .individuals; .Dante,
.Pretrach, .Boccaccio, .Machiavelli, .Brunelleschi, .Donatello, .Masaccio, .Boticelli
.and .others. .The .city .was .ruled .by .the .Medici .familly, .a .family .of .great .wealth.
.Still, .the .city .continued .to .produce .new .ways .of .thinking .and .helped .progress
.the .Renaissance .further.
Medici .Family .- .CORRECT .ANSWER-Ruled .Florence .during .the .Renaissance,
.became .wealthy .from .banking, .spent .a .lot .of .money .on .art, .controlled .Florence
.for .about .3 .centuries
Cosimo .de' .Medici .- .CORRECT .ANSWER-the .wealthiest .Florentine .and .an
.astute .statesman, .he .brought .stability .back .to .Florence .in .1434 .when .he
.ascended .to .power; .controlled .the .city .internally .from .behind .the .scenes,
.skillfully .manipulating .the .constitution .and .influencing .elections; .through .his
.informal, .cordial .relations .with .the .electoral .committee, .he .was .able .to .keep
.councilors .loyal .to .him .in .the .Signoria .(the .governing .body .of .Florence,
.composed .of .8 .councilors); .as .head .of .the .Office .of .Public .Debt, .he .was .able
.to .favor .congenial .factions; .He .was .the .grandfather .of .Lorenzo .the .Magnificent
Duchy .of .Milan .- .CORRECT .ANSWER-Ruled .by .Sforza .Family .after .1450; .Milan
.was .a .principal .adversary .of .Venice .and .Florence .until .the .Peace .of .Lodi
.created .a .relative .40- .year .period .of .peace .among .the .Italian .city .states
Sforza .Family .- .CORRECT .ANSWER-Milanese .family .who, .through .despotism,
.came .to .power .in .1450; .ruled .without .constitutional .restraints .or .serious
.political .competition; .produced .one .of .Machiavelli's .heroes, .Ludovico .il .Moro
Republic .of .Venice .- .CORRECT .ANSWER-Longest .lasting .of .the .Italian .states
.because .it .did .not .succumb .to .foreign .powers .until .Napoleon. .Also .one .of .the
.world's .great .naval .and .trading .powers .during .the .14th .and .15th .centuries
Papal .States .- .CORRECT .ANSWER-A .group .of .territories .in .central .Italy .ruled
.by .the .popes .from .754 .until .1870. .They .were .originally .given .to .the .papacy .by
.Pepin .the .Short .and .reached .their .greatest .extent .in .1859. .The .last .papal
.state—the .Vatican .City—was .formally .established .as .a .separate .state .by .the
.Lateran .Treaty .of .1929.
Naples, .Kingdom .of .the .Two .Sicilies .- .CORRECT .ANSWER-Only .Italian .city
.state .to .officially .have .a ."king"
Charles .VIII .- .CORRECT .ANSWER-French .King .who .responded .to .Ludovico's
.call .for .help .and .invaded .Italy. .Conquered .Florence, .Papal .States, .Naples.
Girolamo .Savonarola .- .CORRECT .ANSWER-Became .the .unofficial .leader .of
.Florence .between .1494-1498 .who .pledged .to .rid .Florence .of .its .decadence .and
.corruption, .oversaw .a .theocracy .in .Florence. .When .France .was .removed .from
.Italy .in .1498, .Savonarola .was .imprisoned .and .then .burned .at .the .stake.
Exam Questions and Answers A+
Graded
Italian .Renaissance .- .CORRECT .ANSWER-the .revival .of .ancient .learning .and
.the .supplanting .of .traditional .religious .beliefs .by .new .secular .and .scientific
.values .that .began .in .Italy .in .the .fourteenth .and .fifteenth .centuries
Jacob .Burckhardt .- .CORRECT .ANSWER-Civilization .of .the .Renaissance .in .Italy
.(1860), .argued .that .the .revival .of .ancient .learning .in .14th .and .15th .century .Italy
.gave .rise .to .new .secular .and .scientific .values. .He .saw .the .Renaissance .as .the
.birth .of .modernity.
City-States .- .CORRECT .ANSWER-During .the .14th .and .15th .century, .these
.powerful .entities .emerged .in .Italy, .dominating .the .political .and .economic .life .of
.the .surrounding .countryside. .They .were .not .united, .and .often .fought .with .each
.other. .Consisted .of .the .Duchy .of .Milan, .Republic .of .Genoa, .Republic .of
.Florence, .Republic .of .Venice, .Papal .States, .ad .the .Kingdom .of .Naples.
Signori .(Signoria) .- .CORRECT .ANSWER-A .council, .first .of .six, .and .later .of .eight
.members, .governed .the .city .of .Florence. .The .men .were .chosen .from .the .most
.powerful .guilds, .namely, .those .representing .the .major .clothing .industries.
.Cosimo .de .Medici .used .this .group .to .keep .a .firmer .grip .on .his .power.
Oligarchies .- .CORRECT .ANSWER-rule .of .merchant .aristocracies, .controlled
.much .of .Italy .by .1300
Commenda .System .- .CORRECT .ANSWER-Contract .between .merchant .and
"merchant-adventurer" .who .agreed .to .take .goods .to
distant .locations .and .return .with .the .proceeds .(for .1/3
of .profits)
Condottieri .- .CORRECT .ANSWER-Mercenary .armies .obtained .through .military
.brokers, .controlled .by .despots
, Republic .of .Florence .- .CORRECT .ANSWER-A .moderately .large .Italian .city .that
.was .central .to .the .Italian .Renaissance .because .of .its .gifted .individuals; .Dante,
.Pretrach, .Boccaccio, .Machiavelli, .Brunelleschi, .Donatello, .Masaccio, .Boticelli
.and .others. .The .city .was .ruled .by .the .Medici .familly, .a .family .of .great .wealth.
.Still, .the .city .continued .to .produce .new .ways .of .thinking .and .helped .progress
.the .Renaissance .further.
Medici .Family .- .CORRECT .ANSWER-Ruled .Florence .during .the .Renaissance,
.became .wealthy .from .banking, .spent .a .lot .of .money .on .art, .controlled .Florence
.for .about .3 .centuries
Cosimo .de' .Medici .- .CORRECT .ANSWER-the .wealthiest .Florentine .and .an
.astute .statesman, .he .brought .stability .back .to .Florence .in .1434 .when .he
.ascended .to .power; .controlled .the .city .internally .from .behind .the .scenes,
.skillfully .manipulating .the .constitution .and .influencing .elections; .through .his
.informal, .cordial .relations .with .the .electoral .committee, .he .was .able .to .keep
.councilors .loyal .to .him .in .the .Signoria .(the .governing .body .of .Florence,
.composed .of .8 .councilors); .as .head .of .the .Office .of .Public .Debt, .he .was .able
.to .favor .congenial .factions; .He .was .the .grandfather .of .Lorenzo .the .Magnificent
Duchy .of .Milan .- .CORRECT .ANSWER-Ruled .by .Sforza .Family .after .1450; .Milan
.was .a .principal .adversary .of .Venice .and .Florence .until .the .Peace .of .Lodi
.created .a .relative .40- .year .period .of .peace .among .the .Italian .city .states
Sforza .Family .- .CORRECT .ANSWER-Milanese .family .who, .through .despotism,
.came .to .power .in .1450; .ruled .without .constitutional .restraints .or .serious
.political .competition; .produced .one .of .Machiavelli's .heroes, .Ludovico .il .Moro
Republic .of .Venice .- .CORRECT .ANSWER-Longest .lasting .of .the .Italian .states
.because .it .did .not .succumb .to .foreign .powers .until .Napoleon. .Also .one .of .the
.world's .great .naval .and .trading .powers .during .the .14th .and .15th .centuries
Papal .States .- .CORRECT .ANSWER-A .group .of .territories .in .central .Italy .ruled
.by .the .popes .from .754 .until .1870. .They .were .originally .given .to .the .papacy .by
.Pepin .the .Short .and .reached .their .greatest .extent .in .1859. .The .last .papal
.state—the .Vatican .City—was .formally .established .as .a .separate .state .by .the
.Lateran .Treaty .of .1929.
Naples, .Kingdom .of .the .Two .Sicilies .- .CORRECT .ANSWER-Only .Italian .city
.state .to .officially .have .a ."king"
Charles .VIII .- .CORRECT .ANSWER-French .King .who .responded .to .Ludovico's
.call .for .help .and .invaded .Italy. .Conquered .Florence, .Papal .States, .Naples.
Girolamo .Savonarola .- .CORRECT .ANSWER-Became .the .unofficial .leader .of
.Florence .between .1494-1498 .who .pledged .to .rid .Florence .of .its .decadence .and
.corruption, .oversaw .a .theocracy .in .Florence. .When .France .was .removed .from
.Italy .in .1498, .Savonarola .was .imprisoned .and .then .burned .at .the .stake.
