The historical period of the Renaissance is usually considered to include the years from 1450 to 1600. This time is associated with the transition between the medieval and modern periods. From its beginnings in Italy, the Renaissance was marked by a new interest in literature, poetry, and painting in a shift of attention from the mainly religious preoccupations of life in the Middle Ages to the secular, perceptible world. The Western world changed, along with this transformation of values: the Copernican revolution radically reconfigured the place of human life in the physical cosmos; inquiries leading to the scientific revolution began; seeds for nation states were sown in political thought and action; the great age of exploration and travel by Europeans to Asia, Africa, and the Americas for adventure, science, and wealth began. All of these factors during the Renaissance changed the course of philosophy.