108-496: Piazza San Giovanni is a city square in Florence , Italy . 43°46′22.64″N 11°15′17.12″E / 43.7729556°N 11.2547556°E / 43.7729556; 11.2547556 This Metropolitan City of Florence location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Florence Florence ( / ˈ f l ɒr ən s / FLORR -ənss ; Italian : Firenze [fiˈrɛntse] )
216-439: A humid subtropical climate ( Cfa ), tending to Mediterranean ( Csa ). It has hot summers with moderate or light rainfall and cool, damp winters. As Florence lacks a prevailing wind, summer temperatures are higher than along the coast. Rainfall in summer is convectional , while relief rainfall dominates in the winter. Snow is rare. The highest officially recorded temperature was 42.6 °C (108.7 °F) on 26 July 1983 and
324-724: A secundogeniture of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty, who were deposed for the House of Bourbon-Parma in 1801. From 1801 to 1807 Florence was the capital of the Napoleonic client state Kingdom of Etruria . The Bourbon-Parma were deposed in December 1807 when Tuscany was annexed by France . Florence was the prefecture of the French département of Arno from 1808 to the fall of Napoleon in 1814. The Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty
432-515: A Guelph rebellion under Lord Guido della Torre . Henry restored the rule of Matteo I Visconti and proceeded to Rome, where he was crowned emperor by three cardinals in place of Pope Clement V in 1312. His further plans to restore the Imperial rule in northern Italy and to expand the empire, invading the Kingdom of Naples , were aborted by his sudden death the next year. Successive emperors in
540-529: A Roman city, and later, after a long period as a flourishing trading and banking medieval commune , it was the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance . It was politically, economically, and culturally one of the most important cities in Europe and the world from the 14th to 16th centuries. The language spoken in the city during the 14th century came to be accepted as the model for what would become
648-585: A fair sector of Florence's economy. The city's income relies partially on services and commercial and cultural interests, such as annual fairs, theatrical and lyrical productions, art exhibitions, festivals and fashion shows, such as the Calcio Fiorentino . Heavy industry and machinery also take their part in providing an income. In Nuovo Pignone, numerous factories are still present, and small-to medium industrial businesses are dominant. The Florence-Prato-Pistoia industrial districts and areas were known as
756-662: A king of their own in opposition to that of Germany. The absenteeism of the Italian monarch led to the rapid disappearance of a central government in the High Middle Ages , but the idea that Italy was a kingdom within the Empire remained and emperors frequently sought to impose their will on the evolving Italian city-states . The resulting wars between Guelphs and Ghibellines , the anti-imperialist and imperialist factions, respectively, were characteristic of Italian politics in
864-626: A legitimization of political expediency and even malpractice. Machiavelli was a political thinker, renowned for his political handbook The Prince , which is about ruling and exercising power. Commissioned by the Medici, Machiavelli also wrote the Florentine Histories , the history of the city. In 1512, the Medici retook control of Florence with the help of Spanish and Papal troops. They were led by two cousins, Giovanni and Giulio de' Medici , both of whom would later become Popes of
972-600: A location in the Piazza del Duomo. In October 2021, Florence was shortlisted for the European Commission 's 2022 European Capital of Smart Tourism award along with Bordeaux , Copenhagen , Dublin , Ljubljana , Palma de Mallorca and Valencia . Food and wine have long been an important staple of the economy. The Chianti region is just south of the city, and its Sangiovese grapes figure prominently not only in its Chianti Classico wines but also in many of
1080-503: A permanent peace were not established until 1183, however, in the Peace of Constance , when Frederick conceded their right to freely elect town magistrates. By this move, Frederick recovered his nominal domination over Italy, which became his chief means of applying pressure on the papacy. Frederick's son Henry VI actually managed to extend Hohenstaufen authority in Italy by his conquest of
1188-405: A position of enormous influence in Italy, Europe, and beyond. Its turbulent political history includes periods of rule by the powerful Medici family and numerous religious and republican revolutions. From 1865 to 1871 the city served as the capital of the Kingdom of Italy . The Florentine dialect forms the base of standard Italian and it became the language of culture throughout Italy due to
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#17327719236051296-576: A possession of the Spanish Empire of Charles's son Philip II of Spain , whereas the title of Holy Roman Emperor and the rights connected to Imperial Italy were transferred to Charles's brother, Ferdinand I . Milan continued to be a state of the Holy Roman Empire so that, in his position as duke of Milan , Philip II was, at least formally, a vassal of Emperor Ferdinand. However, following the reign of Charles V, no Holy Roman Emperor of
1404-493: A programme of spraying church steps with water to prevent tourists from using such areas as picnic spots. While he values the benefits of tourism, he claims that there has been "an increase among those who sit down on church steps, eat their food and leave rubbish strewn on them", he explained. To boost the sale of traditional foods, the mayor had introduced legislation (enacted in 2016) that requires restaurants to use typical Tuscan products and rejected McDonald's application to open
1512-443: A result. In 2015, Mayor Dario Nardella expressed concern over visitors who arrive on buses, stay only a few hours, spend little money but contribute significantly to overcrowding. "No museum visit, just a photo from the square, the bus back and then on to Venice ... We don't want tourists like that", he said. Some tourists are less than respectful of the city's cultural heritage, according to Nardella. In June 2017, he instituted
1620-431: A vast patronage network along with his alliance to the new immigrants, the gente nuova (new people). The fact that the Medici were bankers to the pope also contributed to their ascendancy. Cosimo was succeeded by his son Piero , who was, soon after, succeeded by Cosimo's grandson, Lorenzo in 1469. Lorenzo was a great patron of the arts, commissioning works by Michelangelo , Leonardo da Vinci and Botticelli . Lorenzo
1728-469: A year and a day on pain of forfeit. The renewal of fiefdoms incensed the papacy, some of whose own vassals now dug out ancient documents ostensibly proving them to be vassals of the Emperor. Smaller states of Italy saw the Emperor as their protector against larger territories like Savoy and the papacy. Imperial authority strengthened throughout the 18th century, with the duchies of Milan and Mantua passing to
1836-1227: Is a major national economic centre, as well as a tourist and industrial hub. Firenze comes from Florentiae , locative form of Florentia , in turn a name conveying good luck, from Latin : florēre , lit. 'to blossom'. Roman Republic , 59–27 BC Roman Empire , 27 BC–AD 285 Western Roman Empire , 285–476 Kingdom of Odoacer , 476–493 Ostrogothic Kingdom , 493–553 Eastern Roman Empire , 553–568 Lombard Kingdom , 570–773 Carolingian Empire , 774–797 Regnum Italiae , 797–1001 March of Tuscany , 1002–1115 [REDACTED] Republic of Florence , 1115–1532 [REDACTED] Duchy of Florence , 1532–1569 [REDACTED] Grand Duchy of Tuscany , 1569–1801 [REDACTED] Kingdom of Etruria , 1801–1807 [REDACTED] First French Empire , 1807–1815 [REDACTED] Grand Duchy of Tuscany , 1815–1859 [REDACTED] United Provinces of Central Italy , 1859–1860 [REDACTED] Kingdom of Italy , 1861–1943 [REDACTED] Italian Social Republic , 1943–1945 [REDACTED] Italy , 1946–present Florence originated as
1944-466: Is a major production and commercial centre in Italy, where the Florentine industrial complexes in the suburbs produce all sorts of goods, from furniture, rubber goods, chemicals, and food. Traditional and local products, such as antiques, handicrafts, glassware, leatherwork, art reproductions, jewellery, souvenirs, elaborate metal and iron-work, shoes, accessories and high fashion clothes also occupy
2052-469: Is particularly strong, with world-renowned museums such as the Uffizi selling over 1.93 million tickets in 2014. The city's convention centre facilities were restructured during the 1990s and host exhibitions, conferences, meetings, social forums, concerts and other events. In 2016, Florence had 20,588 hotel rooms in 570 facilities. International visitors use 75% of the rooms; some 18% of those were from
2160-672: Is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany . It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 364,073 inhabitants in 2024, and 990,527 in its metropolitan area . Florence was a centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of that era. It is considered by many academics to have been the birthplace of the Renaissance , becoming a major artistic, cultural, commercial, political, economic and financial center. During this time, Florence rose to
2268-446: Is the most significant industry in central Florence. From April to October, tourists outnumber the local population. Tickets to the Uffizi and Accademia galleries are regularly sold out and large groups regularly fill the basilicas of Santa Croce and Santa Maria Novella , both of which charge for entry. Tickets for The Uffizi and Accademia can be purchased online prior to visiting. In 2010, readers of Travel + Leisure magazine ranked
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#17327719236052376-633: The Battle of the Volturnus and the peninsula was, for a short time, reintegrated into the empire. The Kings of the Lombards (Latin: reges Langobardorum , singular [rex Langobardorum] Error: {{Lang}}: invalid parameter: |links= ( help ) ) ruled those Germanic people from their invasion of Italy in 567–68 until the Lombardic identity became lost in the ninth and tenth centuries. After 568,
2484-845: The First Council of the Lateran . Now it had recurred, in a slightly different form. Frederick had to humble himself before Pope Alexander III at Venice. The emperor acknowledged the pope's sovereignty over the Papal States, and in return Alexander acknowledged the emperor's overlordship of the Imperial Church. Also in the Treaty of Venice , a truce was made with the Lombard cities, which took effect in August 1178. The grounds for
2592-731: The Italian Social Republic . Hitler declared it an open city on 3 July 1944 as troops of the British 8th Army closed in. Except for the Ponte Vecchio , in early August, the retreating Germans decided to demolish all the bridges along the Arno linking the district of Oltrarno to the rest of the city, making it difficult for troops of the 8th Army to cross. Florence was liberated by New Zealand , South African and British troops on 4 August 1944 alongside partisans from
2700-510: The Italian language . Thanks especially to the works of the Tuscans Dante , Petrarch and Boccaccio , the Florentine dialect, above all the local dialects, was adopted as the basis for a national literary language. Starting from the late Middle Ages , Florentine money—in the form of the gold florin —financed the development of industry all over Europe, from Britain to Bruges , to Lyon and Hungary . Florentine bankers financed
2808-606: The Medici Pope Clement VII , conquered Florence where he reinstalled the Medici as dukes of Florence after a siege . Charles V was crowned king of Italy with the Iron Crown in medieval fashion and, upon the extinction of the Sforza line of Milan in 1535, claimed direct possession of that territory as an Imperial fief. After Charles divided his possession between a Spanish and Austrian branch, Milan became
2916-487: The Migration Period ; the first ruler attested independently of Lombard tradition is Tato . The actual control of the sovereigns of both the major areas that constitute the kingdom – Langobardia Major in the centre-north (in turn divided into a western, or Neustria , and one eastern, or Austria and Tuskia ) and Langobardia Minor in the centre-south, was not constant during the two centuries of life of
3024-692: The Ostrogoth king Totila was killed, the Byzantine general Narses captured Rome and besieged Cumae . Teia , the new Ostrogothic king, gathered the remnants of the Ostrogothic army and marched to relieve the siege, but in October 552 Narses ambushed him at Mons Lactarius (modern Monti Lattari ) in Campania , near Mount Vesuvius and Nuceria Alfaterna . The battle lasted two days and Teia
3132-710: The Tuscan Committee of National Liberation (CTLN). The Allied soldiers who died driving the Germans from Tuscany are buried in cemeteries outside the city (Americans about nine kilometres or 5 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles south of the city, British and Commonwealth soldiers a few kilometres east of the centre on the right bank of the Arno). At the end of World War II in May 1945, the US Army's Information and Educational Branch
3240-545: The Uffizi Gallery and the Palazzo Pitti , and still exerts an influence in the fields of art, culture and politics. Due to Florence's artistic and architectural heritage, Forbes ranked it as one of the most beautiful cities in the world in 2010. Florence plays an important role in Italian fashion , and is ranked in the top 15 fashion capitals of the world by Global Language Monitor ; furthermore, it
3348-615: The campaigns of the French Revolutionaries in 1792–1797, when a series of sister republics were set up with local support by Napoleon and then united into the Italian Republic under his presidency. In 1805 the Italian Republic became the Kingdom of Italy with Napoleon as the new king. This state was disbanded with the collapse of Napoleonic rule in 1814. After the Battle of Taginae , in which
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3456-732: The king of the Franks , crossed the Alps and invaded the Lombard kingdom , which encompassed all of Italy except the Duchy of Rome , the Republic of Venice and the Byzantine possessions in the south. In June 774, the kingdom collapsed and the Franks became masters of northern Italy. The southern areas remained under Lombard control, as the Duchy of Benevento was changed into the independent Principality of Benevento. Charlemagne called himself king of
3564-500: The urban area of Florence. The Metropolitan Area of Florence, Prato and Pistoia , constituted in 2000 over an area of roughly 4,800 square kilometres (1,850 sq mi), is home to 1.5 million people. Within Florence proper, 46.8% of the population was male in 2007 and 53.2% were female. Minors (children aged 18 and less) totalled 14.10% of the population compared to pensioners, who numbered 25.95 percent. This compares with
3672-742: The 'Third Italy' in the 1990s, due to the exports of high-quality goods and automobile (especially the Vespa ) and the prosperity and productivity of the Florentine entrepreneurs. Some of these industries even rivalled the traditional industrial districts in Emilia-Romagna and Veneto due to high profits and productivity. In the fourth quarter of 2015, manufacturing increased by 2.4% and exports increased by 7.2%. Leading sectors included mechanical engineering, fashion, pharmaceutics, food and wine. During 2015, permanent employment contracts increased by 48.8 percent, boosted by nationwide tax break. Tourism
3780-585: The 12th–14th centuries. The Lombard League was the most famous example of this situation; though not a declared separatist movement, it openly challenged the emperor's claim to power. The century between the Humiliation of Canossa (1077) and the Treaty of Venice of 1177 resulted in the formation of city states independent of the Germanic emperor. A series of wars in Lombardy from 1423 to 1454 reduced
3888-543: The 14th and 15th centuries were bound in the struggle between the rivaling Luxembourg, Habsburg and Wittelsbach dynasties. In the conflict with Frederick the Fair , King Louis IV (reigned until 1347) had himself crowned emperor in Rome by Antipope Nicholas V in 1328. His successor Charles IV also returned to Rome to be crowned in 1355. None of the emperors forgot their theoretical claims to dominion as kings of Italy. Nor did
3996-481: The 6th century and Florence was in turn conquered by Charlemagne in 774 becoming part of the March of Tuscany centred on Lucca . The population began to grow again and commerce prospered. Margrave Hugo chose Florence as his residency instead of Lucca around 1000 AD. The Golden Age of Florentine art began around this time. In 1100, Florence was a " commune ", meaning a city-state. The city's primary resource
4104-547: The Austrian Habsburgs was crowned king of Italy and the title effectively ceased to be used for two centuries and a half. In 1559, the Kingdom of France ended its ambitions over the Imperial fiefs in Italy, abandoning its claims to Savoy and Milan and withdrawing from Tuscany and Genoese Corsica by the terms of the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis . The major imperial fiefs in Italy were known as "Feuda latina", whereas
4212-532: The Blind of Provence both claiming the Imperial throne for a time. The kingdom was also beset by Arab raiding parties from Sicily and North Africa , and central authority was minimal at best. In the 10th century, the situation hardly improved, as various Burgundian and local noblemen continued to dispute over the crown. Order was only imposed from outside, when the German king Otto I invaded Italy and seized both
4320-684: The Carolingian lands in Italy, which were now for the first time (save the brief rule of Charlemagne 's son Pepin in the first decade of the century), ruled as a distinct unit. The kingdom included all of Italy as far south as Rome and Spoleto , but the rest of Italy to the south was under the rule of the Lombard Principality of Benevento or of the Byzantine Empire . Following Louis II's death without heirs, there were several decades of confusion. The Imperial crown
4428-477: The Catholic Church, (Leo X and Clement VII, respectively). Both were generous patrons of the arts, commissioning works like Michelangelo 's Laurentian Library and Medici Chapel in Florence, to name just two. Their reigns coincided with political upheaval in Italy, and thus in 1527, Florentines drove out the Medici for a second time and re-established a theocratic republic on 16 May 1527, (Jesus Christ
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4536-668: The Empire (first gaining the Kingdom of Sicily in 1713, swapped in 1720 for the Kingdom of Sardinia ). Imperial authority was used by the Austrian Habsburgs to intervene in Italy during the War of Mantuan Succession phase of the Thirty Years' War and to take control of vacant Italian imperial fiefs during the European Wars of Succession of the 18th century: following the extinction of the Spanish Habsburgs in 1700,
4644-452: The Empire. In many aspects, the Imperial claims to feudal overlordship over the Italian territories had become practically meaningless: the effective political authority, as well as the power to raise taxes and spend resources, was in the hands of the Italian princes and dukes. However, the presence of the Imperial feudal network in Italy continued to play a role in the history of the peninsula. It gave to Emperors Sigismund and Maximilian I
4752-539: The English kings during the Hundred Years' War . They similarly financed the papacy, including the construction of their provisional capital of Avignon and, after their return to Rome, the reconstruction and Renaissance embellishment of Rome. Florence was home to the Medici, one of European history's most important noble families. Lorenzo de' Medici was considered a political and cultural mastermind of Italy in
4860-540: The French. In 1687, a new plenipotentiary of Italy was appointed, a position that had been left vacant for over a century prior (the powers of the office had instead been exercised haphazardly by the Aulic Council). In 1690, Prince Eugene of Savoy tried to levy an imperial tax over Italy to pay for war expenses, the first time such a thing had been done. Then, in 1696, Leopold issued an edict mandating all of his Italian vassals to renew their oaths of allegiance within
4968-791: The Habsburg family as vacant imperial fiefs during the War of the Spanish Succession, the end of the War of the Quadruple Alliance reconfirming the statuses of Tuscany, Modena-Reggio , and Parma-Piacenza as imperial fiefs, and the Habsburgs continuing to rule the Italian territories of their hereditary lands (roughly the modern provinces of Trentino-Alto Adige and the Austrian Littoral ). Piedmont-Savoy , on
5076-730: The Habsburg territories (such as the Imperial Free City of Trieste , the County of Gorizia and Gradisca , the Duchy of Milan , and later the Grand Duchy of Tuscany ). Unlike most of the German states, the Imperial Italian contributions bypassed the Reichstag and other institutions and went directly to the Imperial army and treasury. The Italian states were in large part autonomous, but their lack of representation gave
5184-470: The Imperial and Italian thrones for himself in 962. In 951, King Otto I of Germany married Adelaide of Burgundy , the widow of late King Lothair II of Italy . Otto was proclaimed king of Italy at Pavia despite his rival Margrave Berengar of Ivrea . When in 960 Berengar attacked the Papal States , King Otto, summoned by Pope John XII , conquered the Italian kingdom and on 2 February 962 had himself crowned Holy Roman Emperor at Rome. From that time on,
5292-417: The Imperial supremacy in Italy remained contested. The cities first demonstrated their increasing power during the reign of the Hohenstaufen Emperor Frederick Barbarossa (1152–1190), whose attempts to restore imperial authority in the peninsula led to a series of wars with the Lombard League , a league of northern Italian cities, most of the times headed by Milan , and ultimately to a decisive victory for
5400-434: The Italian average of 18.06 percent (minors) and 19.94 percent (pensioners). The average age of Florence resident is 49 compared to the Italian average of 42. In the five years between 2002 and 2007, the population of Florence grew by 3.22 percent, while Italy as a whole grew by 3.56 percent. The birth rate of Florence is 7.66 births per 1,000 inhabitants compared to the Italian average of 9.45 births. As of 2009 , 87.46% of
5508-417: The Italian cities, but these conflicts bore less and less relation to the origins of the parties in question. The Italian campaigns of the Holy Roman emperors decreased, but the kingdom did not become wholly meaningless. In 1310 the Luxembourg King Henry VII of Germany with 5,000 men again crossed the Alps, moved into Milan and had himself crowned king of Italy (with a mock-up of the Iron Crown ), sparking
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#17327719236055616-430: The Italians themselves forget the claims of the emperors to universal dominion: writers like Dante Alighieri (died 1321) and Marsilius of Padua ( c. 1275 – c. 1342 ) expressed their commitment both to the principle of universal monarchy, and to the actual pretensions of Emperors Henry VII and Louis IV, respectively. The Imperial claims to dominion in Italy mostly manifested themselves, however, in
5724-407: The Kingdom of Italy with little central authority. There was also a lack of powerful landed magnates – the only notable one being the Margraviate of Tuscany , which had wide lands in Tuscany , Lombardy , and the Emilia , but which failed due to lack of heirs after the death of Matilda of Canossa in 1115. This left a power vacuum – increasingly filled by the Papacy and by the bishops, as well as by
5832-460: The Kings of Italy were always also Kings of Germany, and Italy thus became a constituent kingdom of the Holy Roman Empire , along with the Kingdom of Germany ( regnum Teutonicorum ) and – from 1032 – Burgundy . The German king ( Rex Romanorum ) would theoretically be crowned in Pavia as a prelude to the visit to Rome to be crowned Emperor by the Pope . In general, the monarch was an absentee, spending most of his time in Germany and leaving
5940-402: The League at the Battle of Legnano in 1176, that had as its leader the Milanese Guido da Landriano , which forced Frederick to make administrative, political, and judicial concessions to the municipalities, officially ending his attempt to dominate Northern Italy. From then, Italy became a patchwork of autonomous duchies and city-states only nominally tied to the Holy Roman Empire. The scene
6048-421: The Lombard kings sometimes styled themselves Kings of Italy (Latin: rex totius Italiæ ). The primary sources for the Lombard kings before the Frankish conquest are the anonymous 7th-century Origo Gentis Langobardorum and the 8th-century Historia Langobardorum of Paul the Deacon . The earliest kings (the pre-Lethings) listed in the Origo are almost certainly legendary. They purportedly reigned during
6156-510: The Lombards and in 800 was crowned emperor in Rome. Members of the Carolingian dynasty continued to rule Italy until the deposition of Charles the Fat in 887, after which they once briefly regained the throne in 894–896. In 951, King Otto I of Germany , already married to Queen Adelaide of Italy , invaded the kingdom and proclaimed himself king. Otto defeated the previous king and conquered Pavia in 961, and then continued on to Rome, where he had himself crowned emperor in 962. The union of
6264-400: The Norman Kingdom of Sicily , which comprised Sicily and all of Southern Italy. Henry's son, Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor – the first emperor since the 10th century to actually base himself in Italy – attempted to return to his father's task of restoring imperial authority in the northern Italian Kingdom, which led to fierce opposition not only from a reformed Lombard League, but also from
6372-510: The Popes, who had become increasingly jealous of their temporal realm in central Italy (theoretically a part of the Empire), and concerned about the hegemonic ambitions of the Hohenstaufen emperors. Frederick II's efforts to bring all of Italy under his control failed as signally as those of his grandfather, and his death in 1250 marked the effective end of the Kingdom of Italy as a genuine political unit. Conflict continued between Ghibellines (Imperial supporters) and Guelfs (Papal supporters) in
6480-537: The U.S. In 2014, the city had 8.5 million overnight stays. A Euromonitor report indicates that in 2015 the city ranked as the world's 36th most visited in the world, with over 4.95 million arrivals for the year. Tourism brings revenue to Florence, but also creates certain problems. The Ponte Vecchio, The San Lorenzo Market and Santa Maria Novella are plagued by pickpockets. The province of Florence receives roughly 13 million visitors per year and in peak seasons, popular locations may become overcrowded as
6588-415: The beginning of the early modern period, the Kingdom of Italy still formally existed but had de facto splintered into completely independent and self-governing Italian city-states . Its territory had been significantly limited – the conquests of the Republic of Venice in the " domini di Terraferma " and those of the Papal States had taken most of northeastern and central Italy outside the jurisdiction of
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#17327719236056696-419: The centre, damaging many art treasures. Around the city there are tiny placards on the walls noting where the flood waters reached at their highest point. Florence lies in a basin formed by the hills of Careggi , Fiesole , Settignano , Arcetri , Poggio Imperiale and Bellosguardo (Florence). The Arno river , three other minor rivers (Mugnone, Ema and Greve) and some streams flow through it. Florence has
6804-429: The city as their third favourite tourist destination. In 2015, Condé Nast Travel readers voted Florence as the best city in Europe. Studies by Euromonitor International have concluded that cultural and history-oriented tourism is generating significantly increased spending throughout Europe. Florence is believed to have the greatest concentration of art (in proportion to its size) in the world. Thus, cultural tourism
6912-400: The crown of the new Kingdom of Italy for himself, putting the Iron Crown on his head at Milan on 26 May 1805. He also directly annexed most of the former Imperial Italy (including Piedmont-Savoy, Genoa and Tuscany) into France. The Empire itself was abolished the next year on 6 August 1806. The Congress of Vienna following Napoleon's defeat did not bring back the Holy Roman Empire nor
7020-409: The crowns of Italy and Germany with that of the so-called "Empire of the Romans" proved stable. Burgundy was added to this union in 1032, and by the twelfth century the term "Holy Roman Empire" had come into use to describe it. The emperor was usually also king of Italy and Germany, although emperors sometimes appointed their heirs to rule in Italy and occasionally the Italian bishops and noblemen elected
7128-408: The death of Gian Gastone de' Medici in 1737. The Kingdom of Italy , which was established in 1861, moved its capital from Turin to Florence in 1865, although the capital was moved to Rome in 1871. Florence was established by the Romans in 59 BC as a colony for veteran soldiers and was built in the style of an army camp . Situated along the Via Cassia , the main route between Rome and
7236-405: The eclipse of Florence's formerly powerful rival Pisa . The growing power of the merchant elite culminated in an anti-aristocratic uprising, led by Giano della Bella , resulting in the Ordinances of Justice which entrenched the power of the elite guilds until the end of the Republic. At the height of demographic expansion around 1325, the urban population may have been as great as 120,000, and
7344-418: The emperor greater ability to act more autonomously with the Italian principalities than the German ones, such as when he decided to simply add the Grand Duchy of Tuscany (officially an imperial fief) to his family's lands after the extinction of the Medici ruling line in 1737. Aside from the Prince-Bishopric of Trent , Piedmont-Savoy was the only independent Italian state represented in the Reichstag and also
7452-405: The emperor proclaimed Milan a vacant Imperial fief and added it to his direct Austrian dominions in 1707 (confirmed by the Treaty of Rastatt at the end of the War of the Spanish Succession ); the Gonzaga of Mantua were deposed by the Imperial Diet in 1708 on charges of felony towards the Holy Roman Emperor; following the extinction of the Florentine House of Medici in 1737, Francis of Lorraine
7560-411: The empire, and thus subject to certain obligations and jurisdiction. A special Italian section of the Aulic Council was created in 1559. It handled 1,500 cases from Imperial Italy between 1559 and 1806 (out of 140,000 total), with most of those cases coming from later dates. Italian states provided significant support in all of the Empire's wars in this time, either under their own princes or as part of
7668-411: The granting of titles to the various strongmen who had begun to establish their control over the formerly republican cities. Most notably, the emperors gave their backing to the Visconti of Milan , and King Wenceslaus made Gian Galeazzo Visconti the duke of Milan in 1395. Other families to receive new titles from the emperors were the Gonzaga of Mantua , and the Este of Modena and Reggio . By
7776-502: The increasingly wealthy Italian cities, which gradually came to dominate the surrounding countryside. Upon the death of Emperor Otto III in 1002, one of late Berengar's successors, Margrave Arduin of Ivrea , even succeeded in assuming the Italian crown and in defeating the Imperial forces under Duke Otto I of Carinthia . Not until 1004 could the new German King Henry II of Germany , by the aid of Bishop Leo of Vercelli , move into Italy to have himself crowned rex Italiae . Arduin ranks as
7884-538: The kingdom shared in all the partitions, divisions, civil wars, and succession crises of the Carolingian Empire of which it became a part until, by the end of the ninth century, the Italian kingdom was an independent, but highly decentralised, state. The death of the Emperor Lothair I in 855 led to his realm of Middle Francia being split among his three sons. The eldest, Louis II , inherited
7992-617: The kingdom. An initial phase of strong autonomy of the many constituent duchies developed over time with growing regal authority, even if the dukes' desires for autonomy were never fully achieved. The Lombard kingdom proved to be more stable than its Ostrogothic predecessor, but in 774, on the pretext of defending the Papacy , it was conquered by the Franks under Charlemagne . They kept the Italo-Lombard realm separate from their own, but
8100-519: The last domestic "King of Italy" before the accession of Victor Emmanuel II in 1861. Henry's Salian successor Conrad II tried to confirm his dominion against Archbishop Aribert of Milan and other Italian aristocrats ( seniores ). While besieging Milan in 1037, he issued the Constitutio de feudis in order to secure the support of the vasvassores petty gentry, whose fiefs he declared hereditary. While Conrad stabilised his rule, however,
8208-488: The late 15th century. Two members of the family were popes in the early 16th century: Leo X and Clement VII . Catherine de' Medici married King Henry II of France and, after his death in 1559, reigned as regent in France. Marie de' Medici married Henry IV of France and gave birth to the future King Louis XIII . The Medici reigned as Grand Dukes of Tuscany , starting with Cosimo I de' Medici in 1569 and ending with
8316-468: The lowest was −23.2 °C (−9.8 °F) on 12 January 1985. In 1200 the city was home to 50,000 people. By 1300 the population of the city proper was 120,000, with an additional 300,000 living in the Contado . Between 1500 and 1650 the population was around 70,000. As of 31 October 2010 , the population of the city proper is 370,702, while Eurostat estimates that 696,767 people live in
8424-959: The more recently developed Supertuscan blends. Within 32 km (20 mi) to the west is the Carmignano area, also home to flavourful sangiovese-based reds. The celebrated Chianti Rufina district, geographically and historically separated from the main Chianti region, is also few kilometres east of Florence. More recently, the Bolgheri region (about 150 km or 93 mi southwest of Florence) has become celebrated for its " Super Tuscan " reds such as Sassicaia and Ornellaia . Kingdom of Italy (Holy Roman Empire) Timeline The Kingdom of Italy ( Latin : Regnum Italiae or Regnum Italicum ; Italian : Regno d'Italia ; German : Königreich Italien ), also called Imperial Italy ( Italian : Italia Imperiale ; German: Reichsitalien ),
8532-529: The north, and within the fertile valley of the Arno , the settlement quickly became an important commercial centre and in AD 285 became the capital of the Tuscia region. In centuries to come, the city experienced turbulent alternate periods of Ostrogoth and Byzantine rule, during which the city was fought over, helping to cause the population to fall to as low as 1,000 people. Peace returned under Lombard rule in
8640-533: The number of competing states. The next forty years were relatively peaceful in Italy, but in 1494 the peninsula was invaded by France . After the Imperial Reform of 1495–1512, the Italian kingdom corresponded to the unencircled territories south of the Alps. Juridically the emperor maintained an interest in them as nominal king and overlord, but the "government" of the kingdom consisted of little more than
8748-426: The number of visitors had increased by 5.5% from the previous year. In 2013, Florence was listed as the second best world city by Condé Nast Traveler . Manufacturing and commerce remain highly important. Florence is Italy's 17th richest city in terms of average workers' earnings, with the figure being €23,265 (the overall city's income is €6,531,204,473), coming after Mantua , yet surpassing Bolzano . Florence
8856-567: The only one to be part of the circle system (being within the Upper Rhenish Circle ; the Habsburg possessions of Trieste and Gorizia-Gradisca were within the Austrian Circle , as was Trent). Thus despite being opposed to the Habsburg family, it still emphasized its imperial privileges to establish itself as suzerain over smaller surrounding lordships. In 1713 the dukes of Savoy also became kings through their holdings outside
8964-511: The other hand, remained defiant of Imperial authority despite officially participating in the diet and the duke receiving the title of "Royal Highness" from the Emperor in 1693. The status of Imperial Italy was more or less stable up to 1789. There was even a serious push by the Savoyards (backed by Prussia ) to raise Savoy to electorate status in 1788, which would make it only the second non-German state to become so (after Bohemia , which
9072-465: The plenipotentiaries the emperor appointed to represent him and those governors he appointed to rule his own Italian states. The 250 to 300 lesser feudal lords of the Reichsitalien nonetheless frequently appealed to the imperial courts and jurisdiction to settle conflicts with the prominent princes. The Habsburg rule in several parts of Italy continued in various forms but came to an end with
9180-508: The population belonging to the Archdiocese of Florence . As of 2016, an estimated 30,000 people, or 8% of the population, identified as Muslim. Foreign-born population (31.12.2019) Tourism is, by far, the most important of all industries and most of the Florentine economy relies on the money generated by international arrivals and students studying in the city. The value tourism to the city totalled some €2.5 billion in 2015 and
9288-462: The population was Italian. An estimated 6,000 Chinese live in the city. The largest immigrant group came from other European countries (mostly Romanians and Albanians ): 3.52%, East Asia (mostly Chinese and Filipino ): 2.17%, the Americas: 1.41%, and North Africa (mostly Moroccan ): 0.9%. Much like the rest of Italy most of the people in Florence are Roman Catholic , with more than 90% of
9396-409: The present name) was significantly widened and a large triumphal arch was constructed at the west end. A museum recording the destruction stands nearby today. The country's second capital city was superseded by Rome six years later, after the withdrawal of the French troops allowed the capture of Rome . During World War II the city experienced a year-long German occupation (1943–1944) being part of
9504-498: The prestige of the masterpieces by Dante Alighieri , Petrarch , Giovanni Boccaccio , Niccolò Machiavelli and Francesco Guicciardini . The city attracts millions of tourists each year, and UNESCO declared the Historic Centre of Florence a World Heritage Site in 1982. The city is noted for its culture, Renaissance art and architecture and monuments. The city also contains numerous museums and art galleries, such as
9612-576: The pretext to intervene in Italian affairs. Furthermore, the Imperial rights were notably asserted during the Italian Wars by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (also king of Spain , Naples and archduke of Austria ). He drove the French from Milan after the Battle of Pavia , and prevented an attempt by the Italian princes, with French aid, to reassert their independence in the League of Cognac . His mutinous troops sacked Rome and, coming to terms with
9720-522: The rural population around the city was probably close to 300,000. The Black Death of 1348 reduced it by over half, about 25,000 are said to have been supported by the city's wool industry: in 1345 Florence was the scene of an attempted strike by wool combers ( ciompi ), who in 1378 rose up in a brief revolt against oligarchic rule in the Revolt of the Ciompi . After their suppression, Florence came under
9828-643: The size of the French army at the gates of Pisa, he had to accept the humiliating conditions of the French king. These made the Florentines rebel, and they expelled Piero II. With his exile in 1494, the first period of Medici rule ended with the restoration of a republican government. During this period, the Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola had become prior of the San Marco monastery in 1490. He
9936-645: The smaller ones were known as "Feuda Minora". Italian princes did not send representatives to the Imperial Diet , but their forces also joined the Imperial Army , as in the case of the Hungarian campaign of Maximilian II against Suleiman the Magnificent in 1566. While they were excluded from the Reichstag, the Italian states were still considered vassals of the emperor, like other states of
10044-481: The sway (1382–1434) of the Albizzi family, who became bitter rivals of the Medici. In the 15th century, Florence was among the largest cities in Europe, with a population of 60,000, and was considered rich and economically successful. Cosimo de' Medici was the first Medici family member to essentially control the city from behind the scenes. Although the city was technically a democracy of sorts, his power came from
10152-590: The territories that made up the Kingdom of Italy. The imperial reorganization carried out in 1799–1803 left no room for Imperial claims to Italy – even the Archbishop of Cologne was gone, secularized along with the other ecclesiastical princes. Napoleon's victory in the War of the Second Coalition saw this reconfirmed in the Treaty of Lunéville . In 1805, while the Holy Roman Empire was still in existence, Napoleon, by now Emperor Napoleon I, claimed
10260-630: Was after the crushing of Bohemian estates in 1620 dominated by German-speaking aristocrats). This came to nothing as the French Revolution of 1789 would quickly shatter the old order. During the French Revolutionary Wars , the Austrians were driven from Italy by Napoleon , who set up republics throughout northern Italy, and by the Treaty of Campo Formio of 1797, Emperor Francis II relinquished any claims over
10368-487: Was an accomplished poet and musician and brought composers and singers to Florence, including Alexander Agricola , Johannes Ghiselin , and Heinrich Isaac . By contemporary Florentines (and since), he was known as "Lorenzo the Magnificent" (Lorenzo il Magnifico). Following Lorenzo de' Medici's death in 1492, he was succeeded by his son Piero II . When the French king Charles VIII invaded northern Italy , Piero II chose to resist his army. But when he realised
10476-502: Was excommunicated. The Florentines, tired of his teachings, turned against him and arrested him. He was convicted as a heretic, hanged and burned on the Piazza della Signoria on 23 May 1498. His ashes were dispersed in the Arno river. Another Florentine of this period was Niccolò Machiavelli , whose prescriptions for Florence's regeneration under strong leadership have often been seen as
10584-449: Was famed for his penitential sermons, lambasting what he viewed as widespread immorality and attachment to material riches. He praised the exile of the Medici as the work of God, punishing them for their decadence. He seized the opportunity to carry through political reforms leading to a more democratic rule. But when Savonarola publicly accused Pope Alexander VI of corruption, he was banned from speaking in public. When he broke this ban, he
10692-535: Was initially disputed among the Carolingian rulers of West Francia ( France ) and East Francia ( Germany ), with first the western king ( Charles the Bald ) and then the eastern ( Charles the Fat ) attaining the prize. Following the deposition of the latter, local nobles – Guy III of Spoleto and Berengar of Friuli – disputed over the crown, and outside intervention did not cease, with Arnulf of Eastern Francia and Louis
10800-557: Was invested with the Grand Duchy of Tuscany by Imperial diploma; a similar use of Imperial rights allowed the Habsburgs to assert sovereignty over the Duchy of Parma between 1735 and 1748, although this caused a dispute with the Papacy, which claimed it as a Papal fief . Emperor Leopold I increasingly asserted his rights over the imperial fiefdoms of Italy from the 1660s with the decline of Spanish power and more overt intervention of
10908-403: Was killed in the fighting. Ostrogothic power in Italy was eliminated, but according to Roman historian Procopius of Caesarea , Narses allowed the Ostrogothic population and their Rugian allies to live peacefully in Italy under Roman sovereignty. The absence of any real authority in Italy immediately after the battle led to an invasion by the Franks and Alemanni , but they too were defeated in
11016-581: Was named Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1569; 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 dynasty and the accession in 1737 of Francis Stephen , 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
11124-518: Was named King of Florence). The Medici returned to power in Florence in 1530, with the armies of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and the blessings of Pope Clement VII (Giulio de' Medici). Florence officially became a monarchy in 1531, when Emperor Charles and Pope Clement named Alessandro de' Medici as Duke of the Florentine Republic . The Medici's monarchy would last over two centuries. Alessandro's successor, Cosimo I de' Medici ,
11232-630: Was one of the constituent kingdoms of the Holy Roman Empire , along with the kingdoms of Germany , Bohemia , and Burgundy . It originally comprised large parts of northern and central Italy . Its original capital was Pavia until the 11th century. Following the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and the brief rule of Odoacer , Italy was ruled by the Ostrogoths and later the Lombards . In 773, Charlemagne ,
11340-514: Was ordered to establish an overseas university campus for demobilised American service men and women in Florence. The first American university for service personnel was established in June 1945 at the School of Aeronautics. Some 7,500 soldier-students were to pass through the university during its four one-month sessions (see G. I. American Universities ). In November 1966, the Arno flooded parts of
11448-548: Was restored on the throne of Tuscany at the Congress of Vienna but finally deposed in 1859. Tuscany became a region of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861. Florence replaced Turin as Italy's capital in 1865 and, in an effort to modernise the city, the old market in the Piazza del Mercato Vecchio and many medieval houses were pulled down and replaced by a more formal street plan with newer houses. The Piazza (first renamed Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II , then Piazza della Repubblica ,
11556-596: Was similar to that which had occurred between Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor at Canossa a century earlier. The conflict was the same as that resolved in the Concordat of Worms : Did the Holy Roman Emperor have the power to name the pope and bishops? The Investiture controversy from previous centuries had been brought to a tendentious peace with the Concordat of Worms and affirmed in
11664-492: Was the Arno river , providing power and access for the industry (mainly textile industry), and access to the Mediterranean sea for international trade, helping the growth of an industrious merchant community. The Florentine merchant banking skills became recognised in Europe after they brought decisive financial innovation (e.g. bills of exchange , double-entry bookkeeping system ) to medieval fairs. This period also saw
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