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To what degree did the new culture created in the Italian city states reflect the changing economic structures and values of the politically empowered merchant class.

The new culture that emerged was a result of the newly empowered merchant class and their desire to rule the most beautiful and amazing city state in Italy. As a result of the merchant empowerment, a new sense of art, architecture, and free thinking exploded throughout Italian cities. The merchant class found itself into new money as the Black Death swept across the Continent. This money, once formerly in the hands of a noble class used to having such wealth, was now in the hands of everyday workers with their own glory in mind. It is for the reason that these new rulers were without great political knowledge that they sought to beautify their respective city-states with cutting edge architecture and by supporting the arts, literature and philosophy. This new birth of culture was spread, in large part, due to the fact that these wealthy merchants were trying to be more ostentatious than anyone else. The Medici family was a great example of this practice during their rule of Florence. They hired such artists as Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael Santi to construct some of the greatest masterpieces the world had ever seen. The clear wealth of these families now came from commerce and industry instead of in the amount of land one's family owned. A change in economic philosophy fostered the continued power of the merchant class throughout Italy.