VIRTUOUS LIVING - Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

The attack of the combined brutal armies of Germany and Spain in the imperialexpansionist wars of Emperor Charles V of Germany (1516-1558) (see Hollings1959: 81; Cronin 1969:76-95) plundered the city-states. They were joined by theItalian soldiery looting works of art and a wealth of accumulated writings that hadmade Italian city-states the envy of Europe. The invasion by the Spanish and Germansoldiers was to be a turning point in Italian history. Cecilia observes:It was the fate of the second Medici Pope to experience the full horrors offoreign invasion, when for three days, in May 1527, Rome was plundered bygreedy and fanatical German and Spanish soldiers. The sack of Romemarked the end of the Italian renaissance. Some of the leading figures of theage… had been dead for several years; now scholars, arts were dispersed,and irreparable loss was suffered through the destruction of books,manuscripts, bronzes, marbles and other treasures (Cecilia 1960:163-164).As a result of these defeats, there was widespread disillusionment among mostItalians, as they felt helpless in the face of the overpowering invaders. The confidenceof the humanists was shattered, and they realized that man could not, after all,accomplish or preserve anything that he wanted. The armies that conquered them hadshown them that national military power determined the destiny of the weak citystates.Four general causes stand out as leading to the demise of the Italian city-states.(i) While the spirit of renaissance prevailed, it was the state of moraldecadence that was responsible for the collapse of the Italian city-states bythe second half of the 15 th century.There was ecclesiastical intolerance toward intellectual freedomfollowing the Reformation events connected with Martin Luther (1522).The intellectual milieu started to shift from Italy to different nationalcentres in Europe.(ii) The ethos of the Italian renaissance had remained in the domain of thecity-state elite, while the city-state hinterlands – the contados - were neverreached by the renaissance spirit.60