Republic of Florence
Republic of Florence Repubblica Fiorentina | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1115–1569 | |||||||||||||||||
Giano della Bella (first) | |||||||||||||||||
• 1434–1464 | Cosimo de' Medici (first de facto Lord of Florence) | ||||||||||||||||
• 1530–1532 | Alessandro de' Medici (last) | ||||||||||||||||
Alessandro | |||||||||||||||||
• 1537–1569 | Cosimo I | ||||||||||||||||
Legislature | Priorato delle Arti | ||||||||||||||||
Council of Ancients | |||||||||||||||||
Council of Consuls | |||||||||||||||||
History | |||||||||||||||||
• First established | 1115 | ||||||||||||||||
• Marquisate restored by Imperial force | 1185–1197 | ||||||||||||||||
1378 | |||||||||||||||||
• Incorporation of Pisa | 1406 | ||||||||||||||||
• Founding of the House of Medici | 1434 | ||||||||||||||||
• Title of Duke of the Florentine Republic created | 1532 | ||||||||||||||||
• Occupation of Siena | 1555 | ||||||||||||||||
• Elevated to Grand Duchy of Tuscany | 1569 | ||||||||||||||||
Currency | Florin (from 1252) | ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
Today part of | Italy |
The Republic of Florence (
During the Republic's history, Florence was an important cultural, economic, political and artistic force in Europe. Its coin, the florin, was the dominant trade coin of Western Europe for large scale transactions and became widely imitated throughout the continent.[4][5] During the Republican period, Florence was also the birthplace of the Renaissance, which is considered a fervent period of European cultural, artistic, political and economic "rebirth".[6]
The republic had a checkered history of coups and countercoups against various factions. The Medici faction gained governance of the city in 1434 under Cosimo de' Medici. The Medici kept control of Florence until 1494. Giovanni de' Medici, who later became Pope Leo X, reconquered the republic in 1512.
Florence repudiated Medici authority for a second time in 1527, during the
The second Duke,
Background
The city of Florence was established in 59 BC by
It is not known precisely when Florence formed its own republican/oligarchical government independent of the marquisate, although the death of Rabodo in 1119 should be a turning point. The first official mention of the Florentine republic was in 1138, when several cities around Tuscany formed a league against the then-margrave of Tuscany, Duke
According to a study carried out by Enrico Faini of the
History
12th century
The newly independent Florence prospered in the 12th century through extensive trade with foreign countries. This, in turn, provided a platform for the demographic growth of the city, which mirrored the rate of construction of churches and
13th century
Florence's population continued to grow into the 13th century, reaching 30,000 inhabitants. As has been said, the extra inhabitants supported the city's trade and vice versa. Several new bridges and churches were built, most prominently the cathedral of
The Ghibellines, who had ruled the city under
The Florentine economy reached a zenith in the latter half of the 13th century, and its success was reflected by the building of the famed
14th century
In 1304, the war between the Ghibellines and the Guelphs led to a great fire that destroyed much of the city. Napier gives the following account:
Battles first began between the Cerchi and Giugni at their houses in the Via del Garbo; they fought day and night, and with the aid of the Cavalcanti and Antellesi the former subdued all that quarter: a thousand rural adherents strengthened their bands, and that day might have seen the Neri's destruction if an unforeseen disaster had not turned the scale. A certain dissolute priest, called Neri Abati, prior of San Piero Scheraggio, false to his family and in concert with the Black chiefs, consented to set fire to the dwellings of his own kinsmen in Orto-san-Michele; the flames, assisted by faction, spread rapidly over the richest and most crowded part of Florence: shops, warehouses, towers, private dwellings and palaces, from the old to the new market-place, from Vacchereccia to Porta Santa Maria and the Ponte Vecchio, all was one broad sheet of fire: more than nineteen hundred houses were consumed; plunder and devastation revelled unchecked amongst the flames, whole races were reduced in one moment to beggary, and vast magazines of the richest merchandise were destroyed. The Cavalcanti, one of the most opulent families in Florence, beheld their whole property consumed, and lost all courage; they made no attempt to save it, and, after almost gaining possession of the city, were finally overcome by the opposite faction.
— Henry Edward Napier, Florentine History, I. 394
The
In fact, with the collapse of the Bonsignori family, several new banking families sprang up in Florence: the
Florence's reign as the foremost banking city of Europe did not last long; the aforesaid families were bankrupt in 1340, not because of
Florence was hit hard by the Black Death. Having originated in the Orient, the plague arrived in Messina in 1347. The plague devastated Europe, robbing it of an estimated one-third of its population.[14] This, combined with the economic downturn, took its toll on the city-state. The ensuing collapse of the feudal system changed the social composition of Europe forever; it was one of the first steps out of the Middle Ages.
The
The famous Medici bank was established by
Beginning in 1389, Gian Galeazzo Visconti of Milan expanded his dominion into the Veneto, Piedmont, Emilia and Tuscany. During this period Florence, under the leadership of Maso degli Albizzi and Niccolò da Uzzano was involved in three wars with Milan (1390–92, 1397–98, 1400–02). The Florentine army, commanded by John Hawkwood, contained the Milanese during the first war.[18] The second war started in March 1397. Milanese troops devastated the Florentine contado, but were checked in August of that year.
The war expenses exceeded one million florins and necessitated tax raises and forced loans. A peace agreement in May 1398 was brokered by Venice, but left the struggle unresolved.
The republic bankrolled the emperor-elect
15th century
The Visconti domains were divided between three heirs. Gabriele Maria Visconti sold Pisa to the Republic of Florence for 200,000 florins. Since the Pisans did not intend to voluntarily submit to their long-time rivals, the army under Maso degli Albizzi took Pisa on 9 October 1406 after a long siege, that was accompanied by numerous atrocities.[18]
The state authorities had been approached by the Duchy of Milan in 1422, with a treaty, that prohibited Florence's interference with Milan's impending war with the Republic of Genoa.[20] Florence obliged, but Milan disregarded its own treaty and occupied a Florentine border town. The conservative government wanted war, while the people bemoaned such a stance as they would be subject to enormous tax increases. The republic went to war with Milan, and won, upon the Republic of Venice's entry on their side. The war was concluded in 1427, and the Visconti of Milan were forced to sign an unfavourable treaty.
The debt incurred during the war was gargantuan, approximately 4,200,000 florins.
Medicis' rule
The son of Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici, Cosimo de' Medici succeeded his father as the head of the Medici Bank. He played a prominent role in the government of Florence until his exile in 1433, after a disastrous war with Tuscany's neighbour, the Republic of Lucca.[21] Cosimo's exile in Venice lasted for less than a year, when the people of Florence overturned Cosimo's exile in a democratic vote. Cosimo returned to the acclaim of his people and the banishment of the Albizzi family, who had exiled him.
Cosimo de' Medici
The Renaissance began during Cosimo's de facto rule of Florence, the seeds of which had arguably been laid before
Florence hosted the Great Ecumenical Council in 1439; this council was launched in an attempt to reconcile the Byzantine
Cosimo's fervent patronage transformed Florence into the epitome of a Renaissance city. He employed
Foreign relations, both as a backdrop to Cosimo's rise to power and during first twenty years of his rule, were dominated by the
The political crisis of 1458 was the first serious challenge to the Medici rule. The cost of wars had been borne by the great families of Florence, and disproportionately so by Medici's opponents. A number of them (Serragli, Baroncelli, Mancini, Vespucci, Gianni) were practically ruined and had to sell their properties, and those were acquired by Medici's partisans at bargain prices. The opposition used partial relaxation of Medici control of the republic institutions[30] to demand political reforms, freedom of speech in the councils and a greater share in the decision-making. Medici's party response was to use threats of force from private armies and Milanese troops and arranging a popular assembly dominated by Cosimo's supporters. It exiled the opponents of the regime and introduced the open vote in councils, "in order to unmask the anti-Medician rebels".[29][31]
From 1458 Cosimo withdrew from any official public role, but his control of Florence was greater than ever. In the spring of 1459 he entertained the new pope
Piero de' Medici
Piero the Gouty was the eldest son of Cosimo. Piero, as his sobriquet the gouty implies, suffered from
In August 1466, the conspirators acted. They received support from the
Lorenzo de' Medici
Lorenzo succeeded his father, Piero. Lorenzo, as heir, was accordingly groomed by his father to rule over Florence.
Lorenzo was the greatest artistic patron of the Renaissance.
Lorenzo's brother
Piero 'the Unfortunate'
Piero ruled Florence for a mere two years.[42] Charles VIII of France invaded Italy in September 1494. He demanded passage through Florence to Naples, where he intended to secure the throne for himself. Piero met Charles at the fringes of Florence to try and negotiate. Piero capitulated to all Charles' demands, and upon arriving back in the city in November, he was branded as a traitor. He was forced to flee the republic with his family.
Savonarola
After the fall of the Medici,
16th century
Piero Soderini
In 1502, the Florentines chose Piero Soderini as their first ruler for life.[48] Soderini succeeded where Savonarola had failed, when the Secretary of War, Niccolò Machiavelli, recaptured Pisa in 1509. It was at this time that Machiavelli introduced a standing army in Florence, replacing the traditional use of hired mercenaries.[43]
Giovanni de' Medici
Soderini was repudiated in September 1512, when
Soon after retaking Florence, Cardinal Giovanni de' Medici was recalled to Rome. Pope
Lorenzo II's government proved unpopular in Florence.[51] According to U.S. President and historian John Adams, "at this time the citizens of the state of Florence were in secret very discontented, because the Duke Lorenzo, desiring to reduce the government to the form of a principality, appeared to disdain to consult any longer with the magistrates and his fellow-citizens as he used to do, and gave audiences very seldom, and with much impatience; he attended less to the business of the city, and caused all public affairs to be managed by Messer Goro da Pistoia, his secretary."[51] In 1519, Lorenzo died from syphilis, shortly before his wife gave birth to Catherine de' Medici, the future Queen of France.[52]
Giulio de' Medici
Following the death of Lorenzo II,
On the death of Pope Leo X in 1521, Adams writes there was a "ready inclination in all of the principal citizens [of Florence], and a universal desire among the people, to maintain the state in the hands of the Cardinal de' Medici; and all this felicity arose from his good government, which since the death of the Duke Lorenzo, had been universally agreeable."[51]
When Cardinal Giulio was elected Pope Clement VII, he appointed
In May 1527, Rome was sacked by the Holy Roman Empire. The city was destroyed, and Pope Clement VII was imprisoned. During the tumult, a faction of Republicans drove out the Medici from Florence. A new wave of Puritanism swept through the city. Many new restricting fundamentalist laws were passed.[55]
In 1529, Clement VII signed the Treaty of Barcelona with
"Dukes of the Republic of Florence"
Following the Republic's surrender in the Siege of Florence, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor issued a proclamation explicitly stating that he and he alone could determine the government of Florence.[57] On 12 August 1530, the Emperor created the Medici hereditary rulers (capo) of the Republic of Florence.[58] The title "Duke of the Florentine Republic" was chosen because it would bolster Medici power in the region.
Alessandro de' Medici
Alessandro continued to rule Florence for another two years until he was murdered on 1 January 1537 by his distant relative Lorenzino de' Medici.
Cosimo I de' Medici
As Alessandro left no legitimate issue, the question of succession was open. Florentine authorities selected
In 1548, Cosimo was given a part of the
End of the Republic
In 1569, Cosimo was elevated to the rank of the
Medici rule continued into the Grand Duchy of Tuscany until the family became extinct in 1737.
Administrations of the Republic
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Florence was governed by a council called the signoria, which consisted of nine men. The head of the signoria was the gonfaloniere, who was chosen every two months in a lottery, as was his signoria. To be eligible, one had to have sound finances, no arrears or bankruptcies, he had to be older than thirty, had to be a member of Florence's seven main guilds (merchant traders, bankers, two clothe guilds, and judges). The lottery was often pre-determined, and the results were usually favourable to influential families.[64] The roster of names in the lottery were replaced every five years.[65]
The main organs of government were known as the tre maggiori. They were: the twelve good men, the standard bearers of the gonfaloniere, and the signoria. The first two debated and ratified proposed legislation, but could not introduce it. The gonfaloniere's initial two month-term in office was expanded upon the fall of Savonarola in 1498, to life, much like that of the Venetian doge.[66] The signoria held meetings each day in the Palazzo della Signoria. Various committees controlled particular aspects of government, e.g. the Committee of War. For administrative purposes, Florence was divided into four districts, which were divided into four sub-districts. The main purpose of these counties was to ease the gathering of local militias.[67]
To hold an elective office, one had to be of a family that had previously held office.[48] The Medici family effectively ruled Florence on a hereditary basis, from 1434 to 1494, and 1512–1527.
After
- the consigliere, a four-man council elected for a three-month term, headed by the "Duke of the Florentine Republic".
- the Senate, composed of forty-eight men, chosen by the Balía, was vested with the prerogative of determining Florence's financial, security, and foreign policies. Additionally, the senate appointed the commissions of war and public security, and the governors of Pisa, Arezzio, Prato, Voltera and Cortona and ambassadors.[68]
- the Council of Two Hundred was a petitions court; membership was for life.
See also
Notes
- Lorenzo II, Duke of Urbino, though some historians suggest that Clement himself was the father.[59]
References
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- ^ a b c d "History of Florence". Aboutflorence.com. Archived from the original on 1 August 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2009.
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- ^ "Fiorino". Retrieved 15 March 2023.
- ^ "Renaissance". History.com. Archived from the original on 19 October 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
- ^ a b Goudriaan (2018), pp. 8–9.
- ^ Strathern (2007), p. 321.
- ^ See: Jean-Claude Maire Vigueur and Andrea Zorzi ("Il gruppo dirigente fiorentino nell'età consolare" n "Archivio Storico", CLXII (2004), p. 210)
- ^ "Attractions in San Gimignano, Italy". Lonely Planet. Archived from the original on 17 September 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
- ^ Bartlett, Kenneth (2005). "Chapter 7". The Italian Renaissance. Vol. II. p. 37.
- ^ a b Strathern (2007), p. 18.
- ^ Strathern (2007), p. 19.
- ^ Strathern (2007), p. 20.
- ^ Strathern (2007), pp. 20–21.
- ^ Strathern (2007), p. 26.
- ^ Strathern (2007), p. 301.
- ^ a b c Brucker, p. 252
- ^ a b c Najemy (2006), pp. 193–194.
- ^ Strathern (2007), p. 41.
- ^ a b Strathern (2007), p. 42.
- ^ Strathern (2007), p. 83.
- ^ Strathern (2007), p. 84.
- ^ Strathern (2007), pp. 88–89.
- ^ Strathern (2007), p. 90.
- ^ Strathern (2007), p. 94.
- ^ Strathern (2007), p. 106.
- ^ Strathern (2007), p. 117.
- ^ a b Brucker, p. 253
- ^ Najemy (2006), p. 293.
- ^ Najemy (2006), pp. 293–296.
- ^ Najemy (2006), pp. 296–298.
- ^ Strathern (2007), p. 127.
- ^ Strathern (2007), p. 130.
- ^ Strathern (2007), p. 131.
- ^ Strathern (2007), p. 133.
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- ^ Strathern (2007), pp. 134–135.
- ^ Strathern (2007), p. 145.
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- ^ Strathern (2007), p. 213.
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- ^ Strathern (2007), p. 261.
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- ^ "Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici, duca di Urbino | Italian ruler". Encyclopædia Britannia. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
- ^ Strathern (2007), p. 292.
- ^ "Alessandro | duke of Florence". Archived from the original on 29 July 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
- ^ Strathern (2007), pp. 308–309.
- ^ Strathern (2007), pp. 311–315.
- ^ Hale (2001), p. 118.
- ^ a b Hale (2001), p. 119.
- ^ Fletcher (2016), pp. 16, 280–281.
- ^ Langdon (2006), p. 34.
- ^ Landon (2013), p. 74.
- ^ Hattendorf & Unger (2003), p. 172.
- ^ a b van Veen (2013), p. 190.
- ^ Strathern (2007), p. 15.
- ^ Hale (2001), pp. 17–18.
- ^ Strathern (2007), p. 235.
- ^ Hale (2001), pp. 15–16.
- ^ Hale (2001), p. 121.
Sources
- Crum, Roger J.; Paoletti, John T., eds. (2008). Renaissance Florence: A Social History. Cambridge University Press.
- Fletcher, Catherine (2016). The Black Prince of Florence: The Spectacular Life and Treacherous World of Alessandro de' Medici. Bodley Head.
- Goudriaan, Elisa (2018). Florentine Patricians and Their Networks: Structures Behind the Cultural Success and the Political Representation of the Medici Court (1600–1660). Brill.
- ISBN 1-84212-456-0.
- Hattendorf, John B.; Unger, Richard W., eds. (2003). War at Sea in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The Boydell Press.
- Landon, William J. (2013). Lorenzo di Filippo Strozzi and Niccolo Machiavelli. University of Toronto Press.
- Langdon, Gabrielle (2006). Medici Women: Portraits of Power, Love and Betrayal from the Court of Duke Cosimo I. University of Toronto Press.
- Najemy, John M. (2006). A history of Florence 1200–1575. ISBN 978-1-4051-1954-2.
- Strathern, Paul (2007) [2003]. The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance. p. 321. ISBN 978-0-099-52297-3.
- van Veen, Henk Th. (2013). Cosimo I De' Medici and His Self-Representation in Florentine Art and Culture. Cambridge University Press.