The renaissance, 1485-1649 Levis Leonardo Lozano Hoyos. The Renaissance was an artistic and cultural movement that inspired a new way of life. It was born in Italy in the XV Century, but it spread worldwide. Renaissance means re-birth. There is still evidence of its influence on art and architecture. The first Renaissance went from 1400 to 1480 approximately, its center was the city of Florence. Then, came a period called the High Renaissance, which lasted from 1480 to 1520, and Rome was centered where it spread throughout Europe. Remember that was during the renaissance period when new worlds were discovered, and new ways of seeing and thinking were developed. It was also during this period when Cristopher Columbus arrived in America. (1492). Copernicus established that the system did not revolve around the Earth as was thought until the fifteenth century, but that the sun was the center of the universe, planets, comets, and other celestial bodies revolved around it.