Humanist writers and philosophers of the era touted the prosperous Florentine Republic, with its ruling signoria council and trade guilds, as heir to the ideal classical civilizations of Athens and Rome, spurring civic pride.

WSJ: Review: The Flowering of the Florentine Renaissance | 'Springtime of the Renaissance: Sculpture and the Arts in Florence 1400�C1460,' at the Palazzo Strozzi in Florence