He influence the Italian Renaissance had on Europe can fall into three very broad categories: cultural, economic, political.
Culture: The Italian Renaissance was extremely influential in the areas of scholarship, art, architecture and music. The study of Humanism was born during the Renaissance in Italy: this was a philosophy of education that looked back to the knowledge of classical Rome and Greece. It rediscovered much of the knowledge of that period and applied it to the contemporary context. Universities were founded, politicians were educated in the classics. The modern form of historical study was born during the Renaissance under Guicciardini. The impact the Renaissance had on art is well-documented, with many of the greatest masters of all time emerging in one time period (14th Century) in one city (Florence). Using Humanism, which placed humanity at the centre of all things, this art broke away from the Church-dictated art of the past and helped to shape a more secular worldview. Architecture flourished at this time also, with the cold and distant Gothic architecture of the Middle Ages that made humans feel irrelevant being replaced a warmer human-centric architecture. Each of these aspects spread forth into Europe.
Economy: The Italian Renaissance saw the foreshadowing of many modern economic institutions. Banking exploded in Florence at the beginning of the 12th century and was dominant for the next 200 years; many banking practices still in use today were established during this time. The Florentines also introduced the forerunner of the modern tax system in the 'catasto' of 1427. Renaissance Italy also foreshadowed the modern world in another way - it was an urban, unashamedly capitalist society where social status was, in part, measured by wealth. Trade lay at the heart of the Renaissance, and city-states such as Florence and Venice became virtual empires because of it. Other nations, including Spain and England, modelled aspects of their own economies on the examples set by the Italian city-states.
Politics: The urban city-states of the Italian Renaissance were the first nations to see the importance of diplomacy. Permanent, resident ambassadors were an invention of Renaissance Italy that is still vital to international relations today. People studied diplomacy, and Lorenzo de'Medici was a master of it, often called upon to mediate between warring nations. Macchiavelli's famous 'The Prince' a handbook of pragmatic politics still relevent today was written during this time. The Italian city-states were also the first nations to dismantle the medieval feudal structures that were so influential in other European states.
