When you think about the Italian Renaissance, a number of things likely come to mind. Of course, there's the flowing, frilly style of dress that characterized the era, and all the incredible works of art that were created for said fancy-dressed folk to enjoy. (Does the Mona Lisa ring a bell? How about Michelangelo's David?)

However, the Renaissance was instrumental in shaping the modern world, per History. Galileo shocked the world and peeved the Catholic church with his heliocentric model of the universe, and humanism became an emergent school of thought.