Wealthy Florentine banker Cosimo de' Medici's search of Europe for relics of antiquity sparks classical learning and inventive thinking.
Lorenzo de' Medici becomes a driving force of the Renaissance; monk Savonarola promotes fundamentalist purification of Florence after the death of Lorenzo de' Medici.
Giovanni de' Medici becomes Pope Leo X in 1513 and begins to sell indulgences to restore papal funds; Martin Luther protests the selling of indulgences.
Giorgio Vasari writes a book to define the Renaissance; Galileo pursues his scientific studies with the support of the Medici family.
