In the late eighties, Renaissance Developments (Pty) Ltd. decided to develop their fifth retirement village in the tranquility of the picturesque Bushveld. And there it was: Warmbad Renaissance. You might wonder why the developer decided to incorporate Renaissance into the name of its development company.

What similarity is there, after all, between South African retirement villages in the 20th century and the cultural movement that originated in late medieval Italy and spread to the rest of Europe? A former chairman of the Warmbad Renaissance management committee, Nato Britz, wrote about it in 2001: “Looking at the history of the word Renaissance, I prefer its translation as revival. After all, that is what is happening here in Warmbad Renaissance. The residents have all bid farewell to a previous stage of their lives and entered a second, new phase of life.”

This text is placed on a photo of a characteristic Bushveld sunrise. This photo was chosen because it symbolizes the beginning of a new day in the life of every resident of the Warmbad Renaissance retirement village; each resident experiences a daily renaissance in his or her own life.