Where and when did the Renaissance start Why there and then?

Answer 1

The Renaissance began in the late Middle Ages, around the fourteenth century. While it is difficult to pinpoint an exact starting place, the general consensus is that it began in Florence, Italy.

There were a variety of factors that contributed to its emergence. During the thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries, medieval political and social structures had begun to crumble. There occurred a shift in the economy, which brought forth a new elite who carried new models of thought. Additionally, the Great Plague played a role. The Plague's death tolls were immense, and so survivors were left with proportionally more wealth. Further, the high death toll meant that there were less laborers for the fields, and the increased demand for labor led to higher wages. A degree of increased social mobility resulted, and a greater number of people were therefore interested in displaying their wealth as a way to reinforce their social and political positions. Finally, Florentine culture emphasized civic Humanism, or the political and ideological discourse that was rooted in the city's contemporary reality but drew from classical political thought. Civic humanism sought to revive classical republicanism and its associated virtues, which necessitated the revival of the study of classical texts and languages.

For more, see Hans Baron's work The Crisis of the Early Italian Renaissance.