From antiquity until the 17th century, the inhabitants of Italians were at the centre of Western culture, being the fulcrum and origin of Ancient Rome, the Roman Catholic Church, Humanism and the Renaissance.
Italy also became a seat of great formal learning in 1088 with the establishment of the University of Bologna, the first university in the Western World.[110] Many other Italian universities soon followed. For example, the Schola Medica Salernitana, in southern Italy, was the first medical school in Europe.[111] These great centres of learning presaged the Rinascimento: the European Renaissance began in Italy and was fueled throughout Europe by Italian painters, sculptors, architects, scientists, literature masters and music composers. Italy continued its leading cultural role through the Baroque period and into the Romantic period, when its dominance in painting and sculpture diminished but the Italians re-established a strong presence in music.