A bit of history of Florence
Even if Florence’s origins are Etruscan, the city was actually founded by the Romans in 59 B.C.. After the many barbarian invasions which preceded the Roman’s dominion on the city,
Florence become an independent commune. It was governed by rich merchants, powerful members of the clergy, and outstanding noble families. In that time the city was divided in two hostile factions: the Guelphs, who supported the Pope and the Ghibellines, who supported the Emperor. Despite the rivalry between these two political groups,
Florence thanks to its famous wool and silk trade, fastly become a powerful city.
During the 13th century
Florence was one of the most important european boomtowns. This period of economical prosperity came to the end with the Hundred Years War, when the Florentine banks suffered a big crisis (mainly due to the financial insolvency of the King of England Edward III and the catastrophic outbreak of the Black Death of 1348).
The lower classes grew intolerant toward the Major Guilds and finally revolted against them in a popular riot known as “Ciompi” uprising. New Guilds come to life but quickly began to oscillate. The city split in two different parts: on the one hand stayed those who supported the old oligarchy, represented by the Albizi family, while, on the other hand, stayed those who supported a more modest class, represented by the Medici family.
With the dinasty of the Medici family
Florence lived a long period of wealth. In 1434 Cosimo the Elder of Medici family made the city into a Signoria. His grandson Lorenzo the Magnificent strongly contributed to the supremacy and the prestige of
Florence by forging alliances with some powerful families of other cities as Naples and Milan.
Though during the first part of the 16th century
Florence lived some difficult political moments, its grandeur lasted until 1737, when, Gian Gastone, the last member of the family, died leaving no heirs. It was then that Tuscany was assigned to Francesco Stefano of Lorraine, the husband of Maria Teresa, the Empress of Austria. It began a long period of close connection between the region and the Hapsburg-Lorraines family.
Whit the burst of the French Revolution Tuscany came under French control. However, the Lorraines reclaimed power with Ferdinando III until 1860, the year in which the Grand Duchy was annexed to Italy, commanded by the King Vittorio Emanuele II of Savoy. From 1865 to 1870
Florence as Italy’s capital, enjoyed a period of drastic urban changes which improved both its architectural image and its industrial develpoment.
As many other italian cities, during World War II,
Florence was heavily bombed and centuries-old sections of it were completely destroyed. Though almost completely devastated, the city could preserve an old image of its look:
Ponte Vecchio one of the city’s bridges, now become an urban symbol of
Florence was spared by the enemies and, about twenty years later, even survived the 1966 flooding of the river Arno.
| The Origins of Florence - In the past, neolithic tribes of Ligures coming from Northern Italy settled in the Arno valley around the present territory of Florence Around the 9th century BC, the Etruscan founded Fiesole. The Etruscan spreaded in Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio and created the Dodecapoli, the League of the Twelve Cities. In the 6th century BC, however, Rome defeated the Etruscan ... The Origins of Florence
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| The Middle Ages - After two centuries of Lombard domination, in 774 the Carolingian founded the Tuscan march, which ... The Middle Ages
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| The Medici - In 1434, Cosimo de` Medici`s return from exile was the beginning of a long period of peace and prosperity for Florence Along with economic prosperity, Florence experienced also a period of great artistic vitality. The Medici were important bankers and financed many masterpieces by famous artists, such as Donatello, Beato Angelico and Filippo Lippi. In 1469 Lorenzo de` Medici (Lorenzo the Magnificent) became Florence`s new ruler after his father`s death. In 1478 Lorenzo and his brother Giuliano were the victims of ... The Medici
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| The Florentine Republic - Following Pietro de` Medici`s expulsion, in 1494 the Dominican Girolamo Savonarola established a republican government in Florence The friar, who preached the return to sobriety of habits and humility, kindled the Florentine. In 1498, the Franciscans guided an uprising against Savonarola. Following the uprising, the Signoria decided to arrest the friar, who was accused of heresy, hanged and burnt on the stake in ... The Florentine Republic
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| The Grand Duchy - In 1569 Cosimo I de` Medici became Grand Duke of Tuscany. He stayed in power until 1574 and under his rule Tuscany experienced a period of social and economic development. The Grand Duke promoted the reform of Florentine administration and the building of the Palazzo degli Uffizi, which was to house the offices (hence the name) for the Florentine magistrates. His successors Francis and Ferdinand I continued to support Tuscan economy, whereas Cosimo II invited Galileo Galilei ... The Grand Duchy
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| Florence Capital of Italy - During the 19th, Austria, with its expansionist aims, and the increasing desire to create a unitary and independent Italian state menaced the independency of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. After having withstood the uprisings in 1848, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany was not able to oppose to the unification process that began in 1859. On March 15th, 1860, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany announced its accession to the Kingdom of Sardinia. The following year, the Kingdom of Italy was born ... Florence Capital of Italy
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| The 20th Century - Although Florence was not directly involved in World War I, the war had remarkable repercussions on the city: in fact many Florentines died in battle and the winter in 1917 was particularly difficult due to the rigid climate and to the shortage of supply. At the end of the war, an industrial area was created in the northern part of Florence In this period ... The 20th Century
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