- Theresa McAbee
- History 930: PRDV: Italy
- Summer II
- FACDIS
- July 28, 2005
“The Italian Roots of Western Culture”
Throughout history, Italy, and in particular northern Italy, with its people, politics, culture, and geography (among other things) has influenced the development of the western world in innumerable ways. From language and food to art, religion, and politics, its contributions are inestimable. The following five lesson plans highlight some of those areas and are written for middle and high school but could definitely be modified for elementary (with the exception of #3 which is probably best used in high school, perhaps in honors or AP classes in literature or government.)
I decided to write five separate plans, each highlighting something different, so a teacher could use them all or use them separately. They are: Venice as a trading center, the importance and role of castles, Niccolo Machiavelli as a political strategist, the emergence of education, and the role of women in Italian city-states.
Lesson Plan #1
Venice
Venice and its development and importance as a trading center for Europe.
Activities:
Have students draw a map of Italy (which should be easy to do since almost everyone thinks of Italy as a boot.) Go over a map of Italy highlighting its placement in the Mediterranean. Ask students to draw conclusions about its geography and trade.
Have the students highlight Venice on their maps and explain that Venice in the 1100-1400’s was the commercial and trading center in the world. Have students draw conclusions as to why that would have been. (Make sure they know that the advantageous location of Venice was conducive to trade because it was situated on the Mediterranean/Adriatic midway between the markets of Asia and Western Europe at a time when there was really no water route to Asia.) Discuss what a monopoly is and the fact that Venice, for awhile, really held a monopoly on trade in its region.
Have students research the geography of Venice and have them draw conclusions as to how its uniqueness also contributed to its power as a trading center. (Make sure students know that Venice is actually 120 islands in the Adriatic, separated from the mainland by a lagoon, thus allowing for shipbuilding and other maritime-supply industries to thrive.)
Either lecture on or have students do the following activities on their own for reports and/or presentations:
- Research (or lecture on) the unique geography of Venice with its canals. Have students include what it would have been like to live on a day-to- day basis in such a unique environment. (Have the students compare what is like today. Has it changed much, if so how? What challenges did Venetians have then and today?) Architecture and engineering aspects of Venice should also be addressed. This section could also include the
specific buildings we visited while we were in Venice like Palazzo Ducale
and San Marco’s Cathedral.
- Have students research the types of goods that were brought to and through Venice while it was the center of trade. (Furs, silks, spices, wool, leather, gold, etc.) Students can include where these different goods originated, where they would eventually end up and what the Venetian merchant received and how Venetian merchants became wealthy. Students could include in this section, what the merchants did with this wealth. What was the effect of the Hanseatic League on Venetian trade? (Students can compare and contrast.) What happened to the city when a southern African water route to Asia was discovered? Also explore the other local industries such as the glassmaking of Murano. Students could compare and contrast the glassmaking of Murano with the glassmaking of West Virginia.
- Have students find literature, writings, poetry, etc. that describes the affluence and grandeur of Venice when it was at its height of influence (or even later when Venice still continues to charm.)
- Research the form of government of Venice. (Students should be sure to include that Venice was a republic with an elected leader called a Doge although many feel it was really an oligarchy or aristocracy ruled by a group of merchant-aristocrats.)
Conclusion:
Assessments could include a test on material, grades for research, grades for presentations.
Lesson Plan #2
Castles
With no centralized monarchy, the independence of Italian city-states meant the leaders must protect themselves. Castles were the key, but they were so much more.
Activities:
Ask students to describe some of the ways in which people throughout history might have protected themselves from enemies. (Answers might include living in caves, building forts, and hopefully building castles.)
Using the information we received, the pictures we took (or postcards we bought) and maps of the Castello Estense (with its moat) in Ferrara, Palazzo Ducale and Palazzo Te in Mantova, Castello del Buonconsiglio in Trento, and Palazzo Ducale in Venice, discuss the role of castles and palaces, not only as protection, but also as a place to live, and as a place to show off ones wealth.
Either lecture or have students do research on their own for reports and/or presentations:
- Pick one of the castles or palaces and research the place, including the ruling family(ies) it belonged to, including who built it and how it was passed down (through inheritance, obtained through victory in war.) Include why it was built on the location it was built (high on a hill, surrounded by water, etc.) Include the type of architecture that was used or the different types of architecture that was used throughout the years as in the Castello del Buonconsiglio in Trento. Research the layout of the castle or palace. What were some of the rooms used for? How big is it?
- Pick one particular family, such as the Gonzaga, and research their history. How did the family come to power? How did they make their money or obtain their wealth? Who were the most important members of the family? What were they known for (the horses in Mantova?) How did they rule? What alliances did they have with other city-states? What was the relationship between the ruler and his wife or her family, and what eventually caused their power to cease, among other topics?
- Either pick one castle or palace and research the artwork that is in it (or compare and contrast with other ones.) Who was responsible for the artwork? What kind of artwork is it, is it frescoes, tapestries? Students can research how frescoes and tapestries are created, possibly creating one or the other or both. Why was the artwork put in the castle? What is its use as propaganda? Perhaps students can compare and contrast artwork from this period with artwork of modern time. Is there any modern artwork used as propaganda or even used to promote something or somebody? Students should also compare and contrast how artists were paid and supported then (through patronage) and now. Were artists able to create their own things or were they subject to control by the patron? Students could address the National Endowment for the Arts and the controversies related to its funding of some projects.
- Have the students design and construct a model of a castle or palace, either manually or on a 3-D computer program.
- Have the students draw or paint artwork they might want to see go in the castle or palace and explain why.
Conclusion:
Assessments could include a test on material, grades for research, grades for presentations.
Lesson #3
Niccolo Machiavelli Although born in Florence in 1469, his book, The Prince, has continued to influence politicians to this day. Activities: Put the following quote on the board:
“Everyone realizes how praiseworthy it is for a prince to honor his word and to be straightforward rather than crafty in his dealings; nonetheless experience shows that princes who have achieved great things have been those who have given their word lightly, who have known how to trick men with their cunning, and who, in the end have overcome those abiding by honest principles.”
Ask the students to read and react to this quote. Discuss what it is saying and analyze the quote in case some students do not understand it. Ask the students who they think may have written it. (Perhaps some of them might mention contemporary people!) Ask the students to write down what attributes and/or values one must have to lead. Key in on honesty and ask students if this is an important value in a leader or could they vote for somebody they knew had lied. (Bring in contemporary leaders such as Bill Clinton, Arch Moore.) Ask students if they believe a leader acts on behalf of the state and the people and if so, should the leader act against his or her conscience if necessary or blatantly lie? Ask the students if they believe people are basically self-centered or altruistic? Again, this discussion should bring up contemporary events and lead to some “interesting and potentially volatile” discussions!
Either read the book, The Prince, or excerpts that illustrate Machiavelli’s most important or controversial beliefs, as a class and discuss.
Either lecture or have students do research on their own for reports and/or presentations:- Research the life of Machiavelli. Students should highlight that he was a diplomat and civil servant himself and observed many rulers at home and in other countries. What events were happening at that time that may have influenced the writing of this book? Students could compare Machiavelli with other rulers or leaders, either historical or contemporary.
- Research the role of the church in politics. Before Machiavelli
wrote his book; princes were “expected” to rule based on
Christian principles. How did The Prince change that ideal?
Discuss how the church was both a religious and political
entity and explain how and when it became only
religious.
- Research a contemporary politician or issue and compare
and contrast the politician or issue with the views of
Machiavelli.
Conclusion:
Assessments could include a test on material, grades for research, grades for presentations.
Lesson #4
Education
Northern Italy took the lead in emphasizing education with the creation of the University of Bologna.
Activities:
Ask students what a university is and ask them to name some. (This should be easy due to the number of universities around West Virginia.) Ask the students what a university is for. Tell the students that the university of today started in Northern Italy in Bologna in the Middle Ages. Explain the university was to produce educated and trained individuals, and as it did, the Renaissance begins with its emphasis on humanism and vernacular literature and human development.
Either lecture or have students do research on their own for reports and/or presentations:
- Students research (or teacher lectures on) what a “classical education” was. Students should know it centered on a liberal arts curriculum of grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy. Books were rare, so lecture was the primary delivery method. After a liberal arts education, students could then specialize in other areas, with theology highly regarded. (Students could compare and contrast early education with contemporary education.)
- Research who was allowed to go to a university and what a day would be like. How many hours daily were spent studying? (Students go to classes and sit on hard benches like the ones we visited in Bologna, listen to lectures in Latin, study, study, study, have a light supper, study some more, go to bed and start it all again!) Students could compare and contrast a day of education then and today. Students could investigate universities of today of their choice that they might like to attend and compare and contrast those universities.
- Research how the rise of education at universities led to the use of vernacular language instead of Latin and how more and more educated writers began to write books aimed at the “educated masses.” Students could read and do a book review on pieces such as Dante’s, Divine Comedy.
- Students can read Giovanni Boccaccio’s, The Decameron, a story written during the bubonic plague and compare and contrast how victims of that tragedy were treated in relation to the current AIDS crisis. Students should pay particular attention to the excerpt, “What is even worse and nearly incredible is that fathers and mothers refused to see and tend their children as if they had not been theirs.”
- Research the effect of universities on Europe and the world and the changes the occurred.
- Research the design and architecture of a university like the University of Bologna. Students could design their version of an ideal university.
Conclusion:
Assessments could include a test on material, grades for research, grades for presentations.
Lesson #5
The Role of Women Women were relegated to only a few roles during the Renaissance. Activities:
Ask students to make a list of the different roles that women fill today. Have the students share the list and write the different roles on the board. Students should understand that today there are many choices for women.
Discuss with the students the role of the family in general. Ask the students (without prying into personal family dynamics) how most families are set up and what the role is of every family member. Most students will indicate their family has shared power between the mother and the father; however, some may indicate one spouse has more power than the other. Tell the students that the modern family is both different and similar to families in history, but the role of the woman has changed drastically over the last one hundred years.
Either lecture or have students do research on their own for reports and/or presentations:
Research the family unit in Northern Italy during the 1600’s. Students should conclude the family was very important with the father at the center of the family. (The mother’s role was primarily to supervise the household and children.) Students should include that the father gave the family his name, managed all finances, and made decisions that affected his children’s lives. This included arranging the marriage of his daughters, primarily to strengthen business or family ties, and usually not for love. The father’s authority was usually absolute until he died. Students should also include examples of arranged marriages, which almost always included dowries. Families such as the Gonzaga should be researched.Students should research the role of individual women
such as Isabella d’Este of Ferrara and Mantova and
compare and contrast her life with the life of
peasant/other women of her era. Students should
realize that she was not the norm as she was a woman
who held power and influence, eventually ruling
Mantova before turning power over to her son.
Students should also note, however, that her marriage
was arranged for political purposes, making her
situation the same as the women of her time.
- Students should research the life of common women of
the time and compare and contrast with the privileged
women of her day and compare and contrast with
women of today. Students should include life for
privileged women was luxurious with games, parties,
dancing, festivals, servants, clothe, jewelry, and travel.
For common women, it was a life of drudgery, of work,
with little pleasure.
- Research how it was possible for some women to be
educated.
Conclusion:
Assessments could include a test on material, grades for research, grades for presentations.