Italy was the locus of transformation
from the close-mindedness of medieval
thinking to the expansiveness representative
of 15th-century thought. Many
factors contributed to this cultural
shift. Geographically, the Italian peninsula
benefi ted from connections to both
the East and the West. New ideas and
goods entered Italy as a result of the
Crusades. As the economy changed,
feudal estates dissolved, enabling land
ownership by the rising middle class.