Explain the factors that lead to the shifts in the social structure of Boccaccio's Italy

Quite a number of factors were responsible for the shifts in the social structure of Italy in the days of Giovanni Boccaccio (in the 14th century), when the nation shifted from an agricultural society to an increasingly urbane and learned society. Some of them are as follows:

1. Disease and changes to the European weather patterns led to changes in population location and mass.

2. There was an emergence of new social classes as the merchant class rose in power and the economics of Europe began changing from agriculture to trade.

3. The rediscovery of classical learning and art led to new ideas and the growth of urban universities.