What triggered the Renaissance?

[Soldier of Macedon]

Here are some different perspectives.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance

Most historians agree that the ideas that characterized the Renaissance had their origin in late 13th century Florence, in particular with the writings of Dante Alighieri (1265–1321) and Francesco Petrarca (1304–1374), as well as the painting of Giotto di Bondone (1267–1337).[15] Some writers date the Renaissance quite precisely; one proposed starting point is 1401, when the rival geniuses Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi competed for the contract to build the bronze doors for the Baptistery of the Florence Cathedral (Ghiberti won).[16] Others see more general competition between artists and polymaths such as Brunelleschi, Ghiberti, Donatello, and Masaccio for artistic commissions as sparking the creativity of the Renaissance. Yet it remains much debated why the Renaissance began in Italy, and why it began when it did. Accordingly, several theories have been put forward to explain its origins.

http://www.macedoniantruth.org/forum/showthread.php?t=5840

Together with Muslim Sicily, al-Andalus became an intellectual conduit between European Christendom and the Arab world, which enabled Europe to reestablish its broken connections with its own classical heritage. Baggage trains from Baghdad and Damascus brought Arabic books and manuscripts from the libraries of Baghdad and Damascus into Spain, togethher with translations of classical Greek and Latin texts that had largely vanished from Europe since hte collapse of Roman power.........a transfer that arguably helped lay the basis for the European Renaissance.......

The below is a foreword in a book from Gavin Menzies called 'The year a magnificent Chinese fleet sailed to Italy and ignited the Renaissance':

The brilliance of the Renaissance laid the foundation od the modern world. Textbooks tell us that it came about as a result of a rediscovery of the ideas and ideals of classical Greece and Rome. But now bestselling historian Gavin Menzies makes the startling argument that in the year 1434, China - then the world's most technologically advanced civilisation - provided the spark that set the European Renaissance ablaze. From that date onward, Europeans embraced Chinese intellectual ideas, discoveries, and inventions, all of which form the basis of western civilisation today.

Florence and Venice of the early fifteenth century were hubs of world trade, attracting traders from across the globe. Based on years of research, this marvelous history argues that a Chinese fleet - official ambassadors of the emperor - arrived in Tuscany in 1434, where they were received by Pope Eugenius IV in Florence. he delegation presented the influential pope with a wealth of Chinese learning from a diverse range of fields; art, geography (including world maps that were passed on to Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan), astronomy, mathematics, printing, architecture, steel manufacturing, military weaponry, and more. This vast treasure trove of knowledge spread across Europe, igniting the legendary inventiveness of the Renaissance, including the work of such geniuses as da Vinci, Copernicus, Galileo, and more.

[Soldier of Macedon]

We've often read the argument that the Balkans didn't go through a Renaissance period together with the rest of Europe because it was under Ottoman control at the time. Would like to see some opinions for and against that argument.