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The Grand Duchy in Florence



Bronzino - Cosimo I
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 to carry on his studies in the liberal Florence. On the contrary, Cosimo III, Ferdinand II`s successor, adopted repressive measures against the Jews and scientific progress.

In 1737 Gian Gastone, the last representative of the Medici family, died heirless and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany passed in the hands of Francis III, Duke of Lorraine and Maria Theresa of Austria`s husband. When she died in 1743, Anna Maria, Gian Gastone`s sister, left all her possessions and collections to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in sign of gratitude.

Under Grand Duke Leopold, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany was the first sovereign state in the world to abolish torture and the capital punishment (1786). Leopold adopted also a series of modernizing policies and promoted the return to Florence of various works of art that had been transferred to Austria under Francis III.

In 1790, Peter Leopold became the King of Austria and left the Grand Duchy in the hands of his son Ferdinand III. In 1801 Napoleon created the Kingdom of Etruria and in 1809 nominated his sister Elisa Grand Duchess of Tuscany.

The Vienna Congress reassigned the Grand Duchy of Tuscany to Ferdinand III, who promoted some administrative reforms. Ferdinand III died in 1824.

 

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