Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Italian Renaissance was a cultural movement that occurred from the 14th to the 17th century. Northern and Central Italy became far more prosperous than their southern counterparts by the 14th century.
The Medici family became the leading family of Florence after challenging the House of Albizzi. Cosimo de' Medici returned in 1434 following his exile, and his grandson Lorenzo the Magnificent formalized rule in 1469.
Giovanni Boccaccio wrote The Decameron, which is a collection of 100 stories told by ten storytellers who fled to the outskirts of Florence to escape the black plague over ten nights. This work served as a major source of inspiration for English authors including Geoffrey Chaucer and William Shakespeare.
Early Italian Renaissance architecture introduced grand large domes over tall imposing spires and abandoned Gothic style predating ages. Filippo Brunelleschi designed San Lorenzo and Pazzi Chapel with interior light clarity and spaciousness typical of the period.
The invention of printing allowed faster propagation of new ideas starting from the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. Collection of ancient scientific texts began earnestly in the 15th century and continued up until that event.