Name two reasons given that explain how Italy got its wealth.

First:The city-state of Italy was positioned on the Mediterranean Sea, were centers for trade and commerce, the first port of all goods and new ideas.

Second:Italy was the core of the former Roman Empire, and, at the collapse of the Byzantine Empire, in 1453, became the refuge of Constantinople who brought with them many of the great works of the ancient Greek and Roman, works that had been lost during the Dark Ages.