History of Florence

About 30%, of a population of around 80,000 before the Black Death of 1348, are believed to have been supported by the wool industry: in 1345 Florence was the scene of an attempted strike by wool combers (ciompi), who in 1378 joined in a brief revolt against the oligarchy in the Revolt of the Ciompi. After their suppression, Florence came under the control (1382-1434) of the Albizzi family, angry rivals of the Medici. Cosimo de' Medici was the first Medici family member to in fact control the city covertly.

Cosimo was succeeded by his son Piero, who shortly after was succeeded by Cosimo's grandson, Lorenzo in 1469. Lorenzo was a great art aficionado, commissioning works by Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Botticelli. Lorenzo was also a talented musician and brought some of the most prominent composers and singers of the day to Florence, including Alexander Agricola, Johannes Ghiselin, and Heinrich Isaac.

Following the death of Lorenzo in 1492, he was succeeded by his son Piero II. When the French king Charles VIII invaded the north of Italy, Piero II chose to resist his army.

But when he became aware of the size of the French army at the gates of Pisa, he had to endure the degrading conditions of the French king. This made the Florentines rebel and they cast out Piero II. With his exile in 1494, the beginning of Medici rule ended when the republican government was restored.

During this time the Dominican monk Girolamo Savonarola had become prior of the San Marco monastery in 1490. He was famous for his harsh sermons. He claimed the exile of the Medicis was the work of God, punishing them for their depravity. He seized the opportunity to perform political reforms leading to a more democratic rule.

His monomaniacal persecution of the widespread Florentine pederasty and of other earthly pleasures both influenced and indicated many of the wider religious controversies of the following centuries. But when Savonarola accused Pope Alexander VI of corruption, he was forbidden to speak in public.

When he broke this ban, he was excommunicated. Tired of his extremism, the Florentines turned against him and arrested him. He was convicted as a heretic and burned at the stake on the Piazza della Signoria on 23 May 1498.

Another man of special insight was Niccolò Machiavelli, whose prescriptions for Florence's regeneration under strong leadership have often been seen as a legitimization of political pragmatism and even misconduct. Commissioned by the Medici, Machiavelli also wrote the Florentine Histories, the history of the city.

The Florentines expelled the Medici for a second time and re-established a republic on May 16, 1527.

Restored twice with support of both the Emperor and the Pope, the Medici in 1537 became hereditary dukes of Florence, and in 1569 Grand Dukes of Tuscany, ruling for two centuries. In all Tuscany, only the Republic of Lucca (later a Duchy) and the Principality of Piombino were independent from Florence.

The extinction of the Medici line and the succession of Francis Stephen in 1737, 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 secundo geniture of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty, who were removed for the Bourbon-Parma in 1801 (they deposed in 1807), restored at the Congress of Vienna; Tuscany turned into a province of the United Kingdom of Italy in 1861.

History of Florence - part II

History of Florence - part II