All SAT II World History Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Italy And The Renaissance
The Last Supper can be attributed to which Renaissance artist?
Dante
Cosimo de Medici
Leonardo da Vinci
Raphael
Michaelangelo
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci is often considered the ultimate "Renaissance man," a term that suggests being supremely skilled in many different areas of life, particularly artistically and intellectually. Perhaps Da Vinci's most famous work is The Last Supper.
Example Question #2 : Italy And The Renaissance
Which of the following was not an Italian city-state during the Italian Renaissance?
The United Provinces
The Duchy of Milan
The Republic of Florence
The Papal States
The Kingdom of Naples
The United Provinces
During the Italian Renaissance, the country we now know as Italy was divided up into several independent city-states. All of the answer choices were city-states except for the United Provinces. The United Provinces refers to territory in what is now the Netherlands and Belgium during the time when this territory was under Spanish control.
Example Question #1 : The Renaissance
Cosimo de Medici was the ruler of __________.
Geneva
Milan
Florence
Berlin
Naples
Florence
Cosimo de Medici was the ruler of Florence throughout a large period of the Italian Renaissance. He is renowned as a patron of the arts who encouraged the Renaissance to flourish in his city-state.
Example Question #1 : Italy And The Renaissance
The Sistine Chapel and David are works of art and architecture that are attributed to which Renaissance artist?
Jan van Eyck
Leonardo da Vinci
Raphael
Albrecht Durer
Michelangelo
Michelangelo
The Sistine Chapel and David are two of the most famous works of the famous Renaissance artist and sculptor Michelangelo.
Example Question #1 : Italy And The Renaissance
The Renaissance most likely evolved first in Italy due to __________.
Italy's urban society and emerging middle class
Italy's cultural legacy of artistic and scientific accomplishment
the wealth of the Papacy
Italy's political and religious unity
Italy's extensive mercenary class that protected the cities from barbarian raids
Italy's urban society and emerging middle class
Italy's relatively large urban society and emerging middle class allowed for a large number of individuals to be free to pursue artistic or scientific pursuits. This was in contrast to most of the rest of Europe and the world, where the vast majority of people had no free time for pursuits unrelated to simply surviving. This allowed the Renaissance to flourish first in Italy.
Example Question #2 : Italy And The Renaissance
The Decameron, by Giovanni Boccaccio, tells a series of stories about __________.
The Black Death
The Italian Renaissance
Greek mythology
The Roman Empire
The Hundred Years' War
The Black Death
The Decameron was written by Giovanni Boccaccio in the fourteenth century. It is considered one of the most important works of early Humanism and the Italian Renaissance. It is centered around a series of tales about the Black Death. The Black Death was a devastating plague that hit Europe in the fourteenth century and led to widespread death and suffering. By some estimates as many as a third of all Europeans perished as a direct result of the Black Death. It would take almost two hundred years for population levels to recover.
Example Question #4 : Italy And The Renaissance
The Medici rose to prominence in which Italian city-state?
Florence
Venice
Naples
Milan
The Papal States
Florence
The Medici rose to prominence in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries in Florence. The Medici were a banking family, and in the fifteenth century, the Medici Bank was the largest in Europe. The Medici are significant because they were frequent and enthusiastic patrons of the early Renaissance in Italy. They funded artistic works and spectacular architectural wonders.
Example Question #3 : The Renaissance
The School of Athens is one of the most famous works of which Renaissance artist?
Jan Van Eyck
Petrarch
Michaelangelo
Raphael
Leonardo da Vinci
Raphael
The School of Athens is one of the most famous Renaissance paintings, and it is still considered a masterpiece today. It was painted by the Renaissance artist, Raphael, in the early sixteenth century. The fresco can be found in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican.
Example Question #3 : Italy And The Renaissance
Lorenzo the Magnificent is best remembered as __________.
an Enlightenment philosopher
a Northern Renaissance artist
a religious dissident
a patron of the arts
an Italian mercenary captain
a patron of the arts
Lorenzo the Magnificent was a ruler of Florence in the fifteenth century. At the time, Florence was an economic center of Europe and one of the most prominent cities of the Italian Renaissance. Lorenzo the Magnificent is most commonly remembered as a generous and enthusiastic patron of the arts. He sponsored the works of Michelangelo, among many others.