The Grand Duchy of Tuscany: From the Medici to the Lorraine
Grand Duchy of Tuscany - Zoffany, Tribune in the Uffizi
In 1737 Gian Gastone, the last representative of the Medici family, died heirless. The Grand Duchy was then assigned to Francis Stephen of Lorraine, the husband of Maria Theresa of Austria.
The Habsburg-Lorraine carried out of modernizing policy, which included the drainage of the Valdichiana and Maremma. Thanks in particular to Peter Leopold, Tuscany experienced an economical and cultural boom. The Grand Duchy was the first sovereign state to abolish torture and the death penalty.
In the Napoleonic age the French governed Tuscany, but in 1815 the Vienna Congress re-assigned it to the Habsburg-Lorraine. In 1847 the Grand Duchy extended its power over Lucca.
In 1860 a plebiscite determined the annexation of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany to the Kingdom of Italy.
