While Renaissance intellectuals where already rediscovering the work of Roman authors, the politicians of Florence only caught up when they were on the brink of total destruction in a war against Milan (the painting depicted as actually another war against Milan a century or so later)
Shocked by the defeat, they came to believe that ancient Roman ideas about how to run a state effectively were superior to their own politics, which created a culture in which education became highly valued among rulers. This movement is today called civic humanism.
"The Great World History Book"