Information:

The end of the Renaissance is as imprecisely marked as its starting

point. For many, the rise to power in Florence of the austere monk
Girolamo Savonarola in 1497 marks the end of the city's flourishing;
for others, the triumphant return of the Medici marks the beginning
of the late phase in the arts called Mannerism. Savonarola rode to
power on a widespread backlash over the secularism and indulgence
of the Renaissancehis brief rule saw many works of art destroyed
in the "Bonfire of the Vanities" in the center of Florence. With the
Medici returned to power, now as Grand Dukes of Tuscany, the
counter movement in the church continued. In 1542 the Sacred
Congregation of the Inquisition was formed and a few years later the
Index Librorum Prohibitorum banned a wide array of Renaissance
works of literature.
Just as important was the end of stability with a series of foreign
invasions of Italy known as the Italian Wars that would continue for
several decades. These began with the 1494 invasion by France that
wreaked widespread devastation on Northern Italy and ended the
independence of many of the city-states. Most damaging was the
May 6, 1527, Spanish and German troops' sacking Rome that for two
decades all but ended the role of the Papacy as the largest patron of
Renaissance art and architecture.
While the Italian Renaissance was fading, the Northern Renaissance
adopted many of its ideals and transformed its styles. A number of
Italy's greatest artists chose to emigrate. The most notable example
was Leonardo da Vinci who left for France in 1516. However, teams
of lesser artists invited to transform the Chteau de Fontainebleau
created the school of Fontainebleau that infused the style of the
Italian Renaissance in France. From Fontainebleau, the new styles,
transformed by Mannerism, brought the Renaissance to Antwerp,
and then throughout Northern Europe.
This spread north was also representative of a larger trend. No
longer was the Mediterranean Europe's most important trade route.
In 1498, Vasco da Gama reached India, and from that date the
primary route of goods from the Orient was through the Atlantic
ports of Lisbon, Seville, Nantes, Bristol, and London. These areas
quickly surpassed Italy in wealth and power.

1,400 artworks were damaged beyond repair in the November 4,

1966, floods that devastated Florence, Italy, including Cimabue's
The Crucifixion.
In the Protestant Reformation, the great majority of Medieval and
Renaissance religious art was destroyed in Protestant areas, mostly
in orderly official removals, but sometimes in riotous attacks, of
which the most widespread were those of the Beeldenstorm which
swept the Low Countries in the summer of 1566.

Summary:
It is known that 1,400 artworks from the Renaissance period were
damaged during the floods in Florence, Italy, on November 4, 1966,
and artworks such as Cimabue's The Crucifixion were destroyed. It is
also known that during the Protestant Reformation, a great majority
of Medieval and Renaissance religious art was destroyed in areas
inhabited by Protestants, mostly in official removals, but often in
riotous attacks, in which the most widespread were those of the
Beeldenstorm, which occurred in the "Low Countries" during the
summer of 1566. Also, during the end of the Renaissance, many
bronze or metal sculptures were melted down for materials to go to
war with. The rise to power in Florence of the austere monk
Girolamo Savonarola in 1497 marks the end of the city's flourishing;
his brief rule saw many works of art destroyed in the "Bonfire of the
Vanities" in the center of Florence. Many famous Renaissance
paintings have been attacked before; for example, the Mona Lisa
was attacked twice, once by acid, which severely damaged part of
the painting, and the other time by a rock, which took off some
pigment near the left elbow of the figure. Many sculptures from the
Renaissance have also been attacked, with body parts or faces cut
off. Paintings have also been attacked, sometimes by paint, acid,
rocks, ink, and even physical contact.