Florence originated as a Roman city, and later, after a long period as a flourishing trading and banking
medieval commune, it was the birthplace of the
Italian Renaissance. It was politically, economically, and culturally one of the most important cities in Europe and the world from the 14th to 16th centuries. the Florentine dialect, above all the local dialects, was adopted as the basis for a national literary language. Starting from the late
Middle Ages, Florentine money—in the form of the gold
florin—financed the development of industry all over Europe, from
Britain to
Bruges, to
Lyon and
Hungary. Florentine bankers financed the English kings during the
Hundred Years' War. They similarly financed the papacy, including the construction of their
provisional capital of Avignon and, after their return to Rome, the reconstruction and Renaissance embellishment of Rome. Florence was home to the Medici, one of European history's most important noble families.
Lorenzo de' Medici was considered a political and cultural mastermind of Italy in the late 15th century. Two members of the family were
popes in the early 16th century:
Leo X and
Clement VII.
Catherine de' Medici married King
Henry II of France and, after his death in 1559, reigned as regent in France.
Marie de' Medici married
Henry IV of France and gave birth to the future King
Louis XIII. The Medici reigned as
Grand Dukes of Tuscany, starting with
Cosimo I de' Medici in 1569 and ending with the death of
Gian Gastone de' Medici in 1737. The
Kingdom of Italy, which was established in 1861, moved its capital from
Turin to Florence in 1865, although the capital was moved to
Rome in 1871.
Roman origins Florence was established by the Romans in 59 BC as a colony for veteran soldiers and was built in the style of an
army camp. Situated along the
Via Cassia, the main route between Rome and the north, and within the fertile valley of the
Arno, the settlement quickly became an important commercial centre and in AD 285 became the capital of the
Tuscia region.
Early Middle Ages King
Totila razes the walls of Florence during the
Gothic War: illumination from the Chigi manuscript of
Villani's Cronica In centuries to come, the city experienced turbulent alternate periods of
Ostrogoth and
Byzantine rule, during which the city was fought over, which caused the population to fall to as few as 1,000 people. Peace returned under
Lombard rule in the 6th century and Florence was in turn conquered by
Charlemagne in 774 becoming part of the
March of Tuscany centred on
Lucca. The population began to grow again and commerce prospered.
Second millennium Margrave Hugo chose Florence as his residency instead of
Lucca around 1000 AD. The
Golden Age of Florentine art began around this time. In 1100, Florence was a "
commune", meaning a city-state. The city's primary resource was the
Arno river, providing power and access for the industry (mainly textile industry), and access to the Mediterranean sea for international trade, helping the growth of an industrious merchant community. The Florentine merchant banking skills became recognised in Europe after they brought decisive financial innovation (e.g.
bills of exchange,
double-entry bookkeeping system) to medieval fairs. This period also saw the eclipse of Florence's formerly powerful rival
Pisa. The growing power of the merchant elite culminated in an anti-aristocratic uprising, led by
Giano della Bella, resulting in the
Ordinances of Justice which entrenched the power of the elite guilds until the end of the Republic.
Middle Ages and Renaissance Rise of the Medici statue outside the
Uffizi Gallery At the height of demographic expansion around 1325, the urban population may have been as great as 120,000, and the rural population around the city was probably close to 300,000. The
Black Death of 1348 reduced it by over half. About 25,000 are said to have been supported by the city's
wool industry: in 1345 Florence was the scene of an attempted strike by wool combers (
ciompi), who in 1378 rose up in a brief revolt against oligarchic rule in the
Revolt of the Ciompi. After their suppression, Florence came under the sway (1382–1434) of the
Albizzi family, who became bitter rivals of the Medici. In the 15th century, Florence was among the largest cities in Europe, with a population of 60,000, and was considered rich and economically successful.
Cosimo de' Medici was the first Medici family member to essentially control the city from behind the scenes. Although the city was technically a democracy of sorts, his power came from a vast
patronage network along with his alliance to the new immigrants, the
gente nuova (new people). The fact that the Medici were bankers to the pope also contributed to their ascendancy. Cosimo was succeeded by his son
Piero, who was, soon after, succeeded by Cosimo's grandson,
Lorenzo in 1469. Lorenzo was a great patron of the arts, commissioning works by
Michelangelo,
Leonardo da Vinci and
Botticelli. Lorenzo was an accomplished poet and musician and brought composers and singers to Florence, including
Alexander Agricola,
Johannes Ghiselin, and
Heinrich Isaac. By contemporary Florentines (and since), he was known as "Lorenzo the Magnificent" (Lorenzo il Magnifico). Following Lorenzo de' Medici's death in 1492, he was succeeded by his son
Piero II. When the French king
Charles VIII invaded
northern Italy, Piero II chose to resist his army. But when he realised the size of the
French army at the gates of Pisa, he had to accept the humiliating conditions of the French king. These made the Florentines rebel, and they expelled Piero II. With his exile in 1494, the first period of Medici rule ended with the restoration of a republican government.
Savonarola, Machiavelli, and the Medici popes being hanged and burned in 1498. The brooding
Palazzo Vecchio is at centre right. During this period, the
Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola had become
prior of the
San Marco monastery in 1490. He was famed for his penitential sermons, lambasting what he viewed as widespread immorality and attachment to material riches. He praised the exile of the Medici as the work of God, punishing them for their decadence. He seized the opportunity to carry through political reforms leading to a more democratic rule. But when Savonarola publicly accused
Pope Alexander VI of corruption, he was banned from speaking in public. When he broke this ban, he was excommunicated. The Florentines, tired of his teachings, turned against him and arrested him. He was convicted as a heretic, hanged and
burned on the
Piazza della Signoria on 23 May 1498. His ashes were dispersed in the Arno river. Another Florentine of this period was
Niccolò Machiavelli, whose prescriptions for Florence's regeneration under strong leadership have often been seen as a legitimization of political expediency and even malpractice. Machiavelli was a political thinker, renowned for his political handbook
The Prince, which is about ruling and exercising power. Commissioned by the Medici, Machiavelli also wrote the
Florentine Histories, the history of the city. In 1512, the Medici retook control of Florence with the help of Spanish and Papal troops. They were led by two cousins,
Giovanni and
Giulio de' Medici, both of whom would later become
Popes of the Catholic Church, (Leo X and Clement VII, respectively). Both were generous patrons of the arts, commissioning works like
Michelangelo's
Laurentian Library and
Medici Chapel in Florence, to name just two. Their reigns coincided with political upheaval in Italy, and thus in 1527, Florentines drove out the Medici for a second time and re-established a theocratic republic on 16 May 1527, (Jesus Christ was named King of Florence). The Medici returned to power in Florence in 1530, with the armies of
Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and the blessings of
Pope Clement VII (Giulio de' Medici). Florence officially became a monarchy in 1531, when Emperor Charles and Pope Clement named
Alessandro de' Medici as
Duke of the Florentine Republic. The Medici's monarchy would last over two centuries. Alessandro's successor,
Cosimo I de' Medici, was named
Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1569; in all Tuscany, only the Republic of Lucca (later a
Duchy) and the Principality of
Piombino were independent from Florence.
18th and 19th centuries and his family. Leopold was, from 1765 to 1790, the
Grand Duke of Tuscany. The extinction of the Medici dynasty and the accession in 1737 of
Francis Stephen,
duke of Lorraine and husband of
Maria Theresa of Austria, led to Tuscany's temporary inclusion in the territories of the Austrian crown. It became a
secundogeniture of the
Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty, who were deposed for the
House of Bourbon-Parma in 1801. From 1801 to 1807 Florence was the capital of the
Napoleonic client state
Kingdom of Etruria. The Bourbon-Parma were deposed in December 1807 when Tuscany was annexed by
France. Florence was the
prefecture of the French département of
Arno from 1808 to the fall of
Napoleon in 1814. The Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty was restored on the throne of Tuscany at the
Congress of Vienna but finally deposed in 1859. Tuscany became a region of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861. Florence replaced
Turin as Italy's capital in 1865 and, in an effort to modernise the city, the old market in the Piazza del Mercato Vecchio and many medieval houses were pulled down and replaced by a more formal street plan with newer houses. The Piazza (first renamed Piazza
Vittorio Emanuele II, then
Piazza della Repubblica, the present name) was significantly widened and a large triumphal arch was constructed at the west end. A museum recording the destruction stands nearby today. The country's second capital city was superseded by Rome six years later, after the withdrawal of the French troops allowed the
capture of Rome.
20th century During
World War II the city experienced a year-long German occupation (1943–1944) being part of the
Italian Social Republic. The Germans operated a subcamp of the Stalag 337
prisoner-of-war camp in the city. Hitler declared it an
open city on 3 July 1944 as troops of the
British 8th Army closed in. Except for the
Ponte Vecchio, in early August, the retreating Germans decided to demolish all the bridges along the
Arno linking the district of
Oltrarno to the rest of the city, making it difficult for troops of the 8th Army to cross. Florence was liberated by
New Zealand,
South African and British troops on 4 August 1944 alongside partisans from the
Tuscan Committee of National Liberation (CTLN). The
Allied soldiers who died driving the Germans from Tuscany are buried in cemeteries outside the city (Americans about south of the city, British and Commonwealth soldiers a few kilometres east of the centre on the right bank of the Arno). At the end of World War II in May 1945, the US Army's Information and Educational Branch was ordered to establish an overseas university campus for demobilised American service men and women in Florence. The first American university for service personnel was established in June 1945 at the School of Aeronautics. Some 7,500 soldier-students were to pass through the university during its four one-month sessions (see
G. I. American Universities). In November 1966, the
Arno flooded parts of the centre, damaging many art treasures. Around the city there are tiny placards on the walls noting where the flood waters reached at their highest point. == Geography ==