Duecento

Most of the innovation in both the visual arts and literature was concentrated in the second half of the century, after about 1250, when major new directions opened up in both painting and sculpture, mostly in northern Italy, and the Dolce Stil Novo (Sweet New Style) emerged in poetry.

During this period, the modern commercial infrastructure developed, with the creation in Italy of the double-entry book-keeping, joint stock companies, an international banking system, a systematized foreign exchange market, insurance, and government debt.

Many argue that the ideas that characterized the Renaissance had their origin in late 13th century Florence, in particular with the writings of Dante Alighieri (1265–1321) [4] as well as the painting of Giotto (1267–1337).

The 1250s saw a major change in Italian poetry as the Dolce Stil Novo (Sweet New Style, which emphasized Platonic rather than courtly love) came into its own, pioneered by poets like Guittone d'Arezzo and Guido Guinizelli.

The art of the region of Tuscany (and northern Italy) in the second half of the 13th century was dominated by two masters: Cimabue of Florence and Duccio of Siena.

Giotto (born in 1266) by tradition a shepherd boy from the hills north of Florence, became Cimabue's apprentice and emerged as the most outstanding painter of his time,[8] though his most famous works came early in the following century.

Unlike those of his Byzantine-related contemporaries, Giotto's figures are solidly three-dimensional; they stand squarely on the ground, have discernible anatomy and are clothed in garments with weight and structure.

He had a large workshop, including his son Giovanni Pisano, and the many sculptures on the Great Fountain at Perugia (1277–1278) were probably designed by Nicola, but mostly carved by them.

[13] The Arca di San Domenico, a large free-standing tomb monument for Saint Dominic in Bologna, was begun in 1264, though work by many other hands continued for centuries.

His Pulpit of Sant' Andrea, Pistoia is similar in form to his father's ones in Pisa and Siena, but shows a different style.

Italian Gothic architecture began to appear in the early Duecento in northern Italy, under influence from France.

Brickwork was most common in the Po Valley, while stone prevailed in central Italy and Tuscany, where polychrome wall decoration sometimes continued from the local Romanesque tradition.

The Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, in effect two large churches, one above the other on a hilly site, is one of the best examples, begun in 1228 and painted with frescos by Cimabue, Giotto, and others in the next century.

The most important ones include: Also notable is the civil and military construction program promoted by Emperor and King of Sicily Frederick II of Hohenstaufen in southern Italy at the beginning of the century.