Final answer:
Italy was the birthplace of the Renaissance due to its central location, wealth, ancient history, and classical texts. The Renaissance art style featured linear perspective, naturalism, humanism, and incorporated techniques like oil paint and fresco.
Step-by-step explanation:
The beginnings of the Renaissance are believed to have started in Italy due to a combination of factors, including Italy's central location, wealth, and its rich ancient history which provided access to classical texts.
The catalyst was the cultural, social, and economic environment of Italian city-states like Florence, combined with the influence of the Medici family and the influx of Greek scholars. As for the new art style of the Renaissance, it was a departure from the utilitarian Middle Ages towards aesthetics.
Key elements included the use of linear perspective, a systematic way of drawing objects in a three-dimensional fashion on a two-dimensional plane, a greater emphasis on the imitation of nature, and a humanistic approach in art that focused on proportion, anatomy, and the portrayal of human emotion.
Painters like Giotto di Bondone paved the way for this new naturalism and humanism in art, which was further advanced by the advent of oil paint and fresco techniques during the Renaissance.
In essence, the reason why Italy was the starting place of the Renaissance can be attributed to a. Italy's central location, wealth, ancient history, and access to classical texts.