The European Renaissance was a time of massive economic and cultural growth following the stagnation of the Middle Ages. Beginning in Italy in the 14th century, the movement spread to all parts of the continent during the next 300 years.lorence is the city where the Renaissance began, and where it reached its peak in the 15th and 16th centuries under the patronage of the powerful Medici family. Some of the greatest names in Renaissance art are associated with the city, including Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli and Michelangelo.