Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Italian Renaissance began in the 14th century and was started by Petrarch, who carried a copy of Homer with him everywhere he traveled. This movement was defined by an obsession with recovering lost knowledge and transforming Italy from a collection of warring city-states into the intellectual engine of Europe.
The Medici family, led by Giovanni de' Medici and later his son Cosimo, were the main patrons who controlled the largest bank in Europe and used their wealth to fund the arts. Cosimo de' Medici returned to Florence after being exiled by the rival Albizzi family in 1434 and became the unquestioned leader of the city without holding official posts.
The Black Death decimated the populations of Northern Italy and increased wages and wealth for the remaining population, which led to a new focus on humanism and the potential of human beings. Florence had a pre-plague population of 45,000 and decreased over the next 47 years by 25 to 50 percent, creating a labor shortage that made the remaining population wealthier.
The most famous painters from the High Renaissance phase are Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Michelangelo, who created masterpieces such as The Last Supper, The School of Athens, and the Sistine Chapel Ceiling. Leonardo da Vinci also created the Mona Lisa, which is among the most widely known works of art in the world.
The end of the Italian Renaissance is imprecisely marked, with many historians pointing to the rise of Girolamo Savonarola in 1494 or the return of the Medici family in 1512. The most damaging event was the 6th of May 1527, when Spanish and German troops sacked Rome, which ended the role of the Papacy as the largest patron of Renaissance art and architecture.