Follonica ( Italian pronunciation: [folˈlɔːnika] ) is a town and comune (township) of province of Grosseto in the Italian region of Tuscany , on the Gulf of Follonica ( Golfo di Follonica ), about 40 kilometres (25 mi) northwest of the city of Grosseto .
34-482: It was founded in 1834 by Grand Duke Leopold II of Tuscany for the workers of a new ironworks plant. However, the area was already settled in Etruscan and Roman times, and a medieval castle ( Castello di Valli ), whose ruins overlook now the modern town from a nearby hill, existed since at least 884. Until 1923 it was a frazione of Massa Marittima . Follonica is a tourist site during the summer, mostly visited by
68-466: A bloodless coup on 27 April 1859, just before the beginning of the war. The Grand Ducal family left for Bologna, papal territory since the Congress of Vienna . Tuscany was occupied by soldiers of Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia for the duration of the conflict. The Armistice of Villafranca , agreed to between Napoleon III of France and Franz Joseph I of Austria on 11 July, provided for the return of
102-560: A concordat with the Church of a very clerical character. He feebly asked Austria if he might maintain the constitution, and the Austrian premier, Prince Felix of Schwarzenberg , advised him to consult the pope, the king of Naples and the dukes of Parma and Modena. On their advice he formally revoked the constitution (1852). Political trials were held, Guerrazzi and many others being condemned to long terms of imprisonment, and although in 1855
136-604: A constituent assembly. There was talk of instituting a central Italian kingdom with Leopold as king, to form part of a larger Italian federation, but in the meanwhile the grand-duke, alarmed at the revolutionary and republican agitations in Tuscany and encouraged by the success of the Austrian troops, was, according to Montanelli, negotiating with Field Marshal Radetzky and with Pius IX, who had now abandoned his liberal tendencies, and fled to Gaeta . Leopold had left Florence for Siena , and eventually for Porto Santo Stefano , leaving
170-469: A force of regulars and volunteers to co-operate with Piedmont in the Lombard campaign . His speech on their departure was uncompromisingly Italian and Liberal. "Soldiers," he said, "the holy cause of Italian freedom is being decided to-day on the fields of Lombardy. Already the citizens of Milan have purchased their liberty with their blood and with a heroism of which history offers few examples... Honour to
204-469: A letter to Guerrazzi in which, on account of a protest from the pope, he declared that he could not agree to the proposed constituent assembly. The utmost confusion prevailed in Florence and other parts of Tuscany. On 18 February 1849 a republic was proclaimed and on that same day Leopold sailed for Gaeta. A third parliament was elected and Guerrazzi appointed dictator. But there was great discontent, and
238-546: A liberal monarch, authorising the Tuscan Constitution of 1848, and allowing a degree of press freedom. The Grand Duke was deposed briefly by a provisional government in 1849, only to be restored the same year with the assistance of Austrian troops , who occupied the state until 1855. Leopold attempted a policy of neutrality with regard to the Second Italian War of Independence but was expelled by
272-595: A period of provisional government Tuscany was incorporated in the Kingdom of Italy . On 21 July Leopold abdicated in favour of his son Ferdinand IV of Tuscany , who never reigned, but issued a protest from Dresden (26 March 1860). Since his abdication, he then lived in exile in Austria for many years. He died in Rome in 29 January 1870, having stayed there since 1869. This was only a few months before Italy could capture
306-469: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Leopold II of Tuscany Leopold II (3 October 1797 – 29 January 1870) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1824 to 1859. He married twice; first to Maria Anna of Saxony , and after her death in 1832, to Maria Antonia of the Two-Sicilies . By the latter, he begat his eventual successor, Ferdinand . Leopold was recognised contemporarily as
340-1012: The Lago di Bientina , which had previously been the largest lake in Tuscany. Completed in 1859, La Botte remains an integral part of the Tuscan water management system. In Dresden on 28 October 1817, and by proxy in Florence on 16 November 1817, Leopold married Princess Maria Anna of Saxony . She was a daughter of Maximilian, Prince of Saxony and Caroline of Bourbon-Parma . Her maternal grandparents were Ferdinand, Duke of Parma and Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria . Leopold and his wife were second cousins as they were both great-grandchildren of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. They had three children: Maria Anna died in Pisa on 24 April 1832. On 7 June 1833, in Naples , Leopold married secondly Maria Antonietta of
374-694: The Louisiana territory (over 2 million square kilometers) back to France in order to secure the Kingdom of Etruria as a client state for Spain; Louisiana was first ceded by France to Spain in 1763 at the end of the Seven Years' War . Louisiana was duly transferred to France on 15 October 1802, after the signing of the Treaty of Aranjuez. Napoleon subsequently sold Louisiana to the United States in
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#1732791916971408-614: The Louisiana Purchase on April 30, 1803, in order to pay for his French armies during the War of the Third Coalition . The first king ( Louis I ) died young in 1803, and his underage son Charles Louis succeeded him. His mother, Maria Luisa of Spain , was appointed regent. However, since Etruria was troubled with smuggling and espionage, Napoleon annexed the territory, thus it was the last non-Bonaparte Italian kingdom on
442-626: The Peninsula to be absorbed into the French Empire. Since Spain's only hope of compensation lay in Portugal , co-operation with the emperor became more important. In 1807, Napoleon dissolved the kingdom and integrated it into France, turning it into three French departments : Arno , Méditerranée and Ombrone . The king and his mother were promised the throne of a new Kingdom of Northern Lusitania (in northern Portugal ), but this plan
476-577: The Two Sicilies . His new wife was the second daughter of Francis I of the Two Sicilies and Maria Isabella of Spain . Marie Antoinette was his first cousin. They had ten children: Kingdom of Etruria The Kingdom of Etruria ( / ɪ ˈ t r ʊər i ə / ih- TROOR -ee-ə ; Italian : Regno di Etruria ) was an Italian kingdom between 1801 and 1807 that made up a large part of modern Tuscany . It took its name from Etruria ,
510-668: The Austrian troops left Tuscany, Leopold's popularity was gone. Some of the Liberals, however, still believed in the possibility of a constitutional grand duke who could be induced for a second time to join Piedmont in a war against Austria, whereas the popular party headed by Ferdinando Bartolommei and Giuseppe Dolfi realised that only by the expulsion of Leopold could the national aspirations be realised. When in 1859 France and Piedmont made war on Austria, Leopold's government failed to prevent numbers of young Tuscan volunteers from joining
544-472: The Franco-Italian border, passes close by the city. The railway linking Reggio Calabria in the south and Turin in the north runs through the city, providing direct railway connections to the cities of Grosseto , Rome , Turin , Naples , Pisa and La Spezia , among others. [REDACTED] Media related to Follonica at Wikimedia Commons This Province of Grosseto location article
578-510: The Franco-Piedmontese forces. Finally an agreement was arrived at between the aristocratic constitutionalists and the popular party, as a result of which the grand-duke's participation in the war was formally demanded. Leopold at first gave way, and entrusted Don Neri Corsini with the formation of a ministry. The popular demands presented by Corsini were for the abdication of Leopold in favour of his son, an alliance with Piedmont and
612-627: The Italians themselves, lately, it has been visited from other people from other countries, such as Germany, France and United Kingdom. The city has been awarded the Bandiera Blu (" Blue Flag ") every year from 2000 to 2007 for the cleanliness of its beaches and seawater . USD Follonica Gavorrano born of the merger between the teams of Gavorrano and Follonica, militant in Serie D . The Via Aurelia highway ( SS 1 ), which runs from Rome to
646-545: The Lorraines to Florence, but Leopold himself was considered too unpopular to be accepted, and on 21 July 1859, he abdicated the throne in favour of his son, Ferdinand. Ferdinand was not, however, any more acceptable to the revolutionaries in control of Florence , and his accession was not proclaimed. Instead, the provisional government proclaimed the deposition of the House of Habsburg (16 August). Born in Florence, Leopold II
680-687: The National Guard ;– a preparation for a constitution; soon afterward the marchese Cosimo Ridolfi (1794–1865) was appointed prime minister. The granting of the Neapolitan and Piedmontese constitutions was followed (17 February 1848) by that of Tuscany, composed by Gino Capponi . The uprisings in Milan and in Vienna aroused patriotic enthusiasm in Tuscany, where war against Austria was demanded; Leopold, yielding to popular pressure, sent
714-528: The arms of Italy! Long live Italian independence!" The Tuscan contingent fought bravely, though unsuccessfully, at Curtatone and Montanara. On 26 June, the first Tuscan parliament assembled but the disturbances consequent on the failure of the campaign in Lombardy resulted in the resignation of the Ridolfi ministry, which was succeeded by that of Gino Capponi. The riots continued, especially at Livorno , which
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#1732791916971748-456: The city. Leopold of Tuscany was a well-meaning, not unkindly man, and fonder of his subjects than were the other Italian despots, but he was weak, and too closely bound by family ties and Habsburg traditions ever to become a real Liberal. Had he not joined the conclave of autocrats at Gaeta, and, above all, had he not summoned Austrian assistance while denying that he had done so, in 1849, he might yet have preserved his throne, and even changed
782-533: The course of Italian history. At the same time his rule, if not harsh, was demoralising. Along with his wife he was the founding patron of the Istituto Statale della Ss. Annunziata , the first female boarding school in Florence, that would educate aristocratic and noble young ladies. Leopold ordered the construction of La Botte, a water tunnel under the Arno river, which allowed for the final drainage of
816-466: The defeat of Charles Albert at Novara caused consternation among the Liberals. The majority, while fearing an Austrian invasion, desired the return of the grand duke who had never been unpopular, and in April 1849 the municipal council usurped the powers of the assembly and invited him to return, "to save us by means of the restoration of the constitutional monarchy surrounded by popular institutions, from
850-452: The early 1840s unrest spread throughout Italy, even in Tuscany demands for a constitution and other political reforms were advanced; in 1845 and 1846, riots occurred in various parts of the country, and Leopold granted a number of administrative reforms. But Austrian influence prevented him from doing more, even had he wished to do so. The election of Pope Pius IX gave fresh encouragement to Liberalism, and on 4 September 1847 Leopold instituted
884-497: The first twenty years of his reign he devoted himself to the internal development of the state. His was the mildest and least reactionary of all the Italian despotisms of the day, and although always subject to Austrian influence he refused to adopt the Austrian methods of government, allowed a fair measure of liberty to the press, and permitted many political exiles from other states to dwell in Tuscany undisturbed. But when during
918-735: The old Roman name for the land of the Etruscans . The kingdom was created by the Treaty of Aranjuez , signed at Aranjuez, Spain on 21 March 1801. In the context of a larger agreement between Napoleonic France and Spain , the Bourbons of Parma were compensated for the loss of their territory in northern Italy (which had been occupied by French troops since 1796). The King of Spain decided that his cousin Ferdinand, Duke of Parma had to cede his duchy to France, and in return his son Louis I
952-438: The reorganisation of Tuscany in accordance with the eventual and definite reorganisation of Italy. Leopold hesitated and finally rejected the proposals as derogatory to his dignity. On 27 April there was great excitement in Florence, Italian colours appeared everywhere, but order was maintained, and the grand duke and his family departed for Bologna undisturbed. Thus the revolution was accomplished without blood being shed, and after
986-470: The shame and ruin of a foreign invasion." Leopold accepted, although he said nothing about the foreign invasion, and on 1 May sent Count Luigi Serristori to Tuscany with full powers. But at the same time the Austrians occupied Lucca and Livorno, and although Leopold simulated surprise at their action it has since been proved, as the Austrian general d'Aspre declared at the time, that Austrian intervention
1020-458: Was due to the request of the grand duke. On 24 May the latter appointed G Baldasseroni prime minister, on the 25th the Austrians entered Florence and on 28 July Leopold himself returned. In April 1850 he concluded a treaty with Austria suspending the continuation for an indefinite period of the Austrian occupation with 10,000 men; in September he dismissed parliament, and the next year established
1054-668: Was granted the Kingdom of Etruria (which was created from the Grand Duchy of Tuscany ). Shortly after Ferdinand refused to leave, he suddenly died in suspect circumstances. To make way for the Bourbons, the Habsburg Grand Duke of Tuscany Ferdinand III was ousted and compensated with the Electorate of Salzburg by the Treaty of Lunéville . Outside the Treaty of Aranjuez, Spain also secretly agreed to retrocede
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1088-538: Was never realized due to the break between Napoleon and the Spanish Bourbons in 1808. After Napoleon's downfall in 1814, Tuscany was restored to its Habsburg grand dukes. In 1815, the Duchy of Lucca was carved out of Tuscany, on the lands of the former Republic of Lucca , as compensation for the Bourbons of Parma until they resumed their rule in 1847. As stipulated in the Treaty of Paris of 1817, in execution of
1122-435: Was prey to actual civil war, and the democratic party of which Francesco Domenico Guerrazzi and Giuseppe Montanelli were organizers became every day more influential. Capponi resigned, and Leopold agreed reluctantly to a Montanelli-Guerrazzi ministry, which in its turn had to fight against the extreme republican party. New elections in the autumn of 1848 returned a constitutional majority, but it ended by voting in favour of
1156-516: Was the son of Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Princess Luisa Maria Amelia Teresa of the Two Sicilies , who were double first cousins. His maternal grandparents were Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and Maria Carolina of Austria . He accompanied his father while fleeing to Germany when Tuscany was occupied by the French . He and his family returned to Florence after Napoleon 's defeat in 1814. He succeeded his father on 18 June 1824. During
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