Florence

From the Medici to unification

Cosimo de' Medici (Cosimo the Elder; died 1464) became the leading citizen in Florence after his return in 1434 from a year of exile. He achieved this position by virtue of his great wealth (the result of the largest banking network in Europe) and an extensive network of patronage obligations. While he never accepted public office, his faction dominated the city. He lived an increasingly opulent life, as is apparent in the ostentation of the Medici Palace and the patronage of churches such as San Lorenzo and the monastery of St. Mark, with its frescoes by Fra Angelico. Investment in culture, including the patronage of artists and architects and the purchase of books and manuscripts, became a fundamental expression of the Medici's aristocratic way of life; it was continued by Cosimo's son, Piero, and his grandson, Lorenzo (died 1492; dubbed “the Magnificent”). In all but name, Florence was now ruled by a Medici prince, whose position resembled that of the tyrants in other Italian cities such as Milan, Ferrara, Mantua, and Urbino.

Stability was briefly threatened in 1478 by the brutal but abortive Pazzi conspiracy seeking to end the Medici rule. In 1494, shortly after the death of Lorenzo, French armies under King Charles VIII invaded Italy. They were backed against the Medici by the popular party in Florence, which (with French help) succeeded in exiling the Medici and declaring Florence a republic. The consequence, however, was the loss of political autonomy to the larger conflicts of Italian peninsular struggles. Republican Florence was led briefly by a fiery Dominican preacher, Girolamo Savonarola, who boldly condemned the luxury and urbane culture of his predecessors. His strict rule came to an end in 1498, but with it closed a phase of Florentine greatness.

The Medici returned to Florence in triumph in 1512 behind the papal and Spanish armies, reasserting power in a clear and ruthless manner. (Such an unambiguous pursuit of power by leaders at this time was given codification in 1513 by Niccolò Machiavelli in his treatise The Prince.) In addition, the younger son of Lorenzo was elected Pope Leo X; his pontificate (1513–21) was noteworthy for its cultivation of the arts, especially his employment of Raphael. Leo was shortly followed by another Medici pope, Clement VII (1523–34). However, in 1527 the riotous Spanish army of Emperor Charles V overran Rome, and, during this moment of weakness, republicans again expelled the Medici from Florence, only to be punished in 1530 when pope and emperor were reconciled. Then in 1536 the statesman and historian Francesco Guicciardini began to compose his History of Italy, with its ideal vision of the era of Lorenzo the Magnificent and its pessimism concerning more recent events. In 1537 Charles V installed Cosimo de' Medici (Cosimo I; died 1574) as official duke of Florence (grand duke of Tuscany after 1569). Cosimo and his wife, Eleonora of Toledo, patronized the arts and undertook vast building programs, such as the construction of the Uffizi, the renovation of the Palazzo Vecchio, and the reconstruction of the Pitti Palace.

With the rise of Cosimo I to titled nobility and to absolute rule in Florence, the political and cultural vitality of the city had all but ebbed, prompting a modern scholar to refer to the succeeding era as the “forgotten centuries.” Florence's dukes had become minor players in the broader European balance of great powers, and they linked themselves chiefly with the noble houses of France. Marital alliances of Medici family members with members of the French nobility include those of Catherine de Médicis (died 1589), queen of Henry II and later regent of France; Grand Duke Ferdinand I (died 1609), who married Christine of Lorraine; and Marie de Médicis (died 1642), who married King Henry IV of France. The city generally declined under prolonged Medici rule, a process that was marked only by the extended reign of Cosimo III (1670–1723) and the end of the family with the death of his son, Gian Gastone (died 1737).

After the rule of the Medici, Florence was governed from outside, as Francis Stephen of Lorraine, the husband of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, became the grand duke of Tuscany. Following a Napoleonic interlude, Leopold II of Habsburg was the last outside ruler (1824–59). He eventually abdicated in favour of the new Italian king, Victor Emmanuel. Soon after, Florence annexed itself to the new Kingdom of Italy, serving as its capital during the period 1865–70.

From the late 18th to the mid-20th century, a large Anglo-American colony was an integral part of the Florentine scene. The poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning, who is buried in Piazzale Donatello, the small English cemetery, noted that the city was “cheap, tranquil, cheerful and beautiful.” The Horne Museum, near Santa Croce, and the Stibbert Museum, in the north, are examples of houses and collections left by foreigners to their adopted city.

Evolution of the modern city

During the decades after unification, much of Florence's past was seriously jeopardized as a huge debate surrounded the renewal of the city. Many of its finest structures were altered or defaced, its medieval walls were largely pulled down, and its ancient centre was laid waste as entire zones were cleared and replaced with squares and other public spaces. Florence's brief period as Italy's capital in 1865–70 saw a vast increase in the city's population. Growth continued chaotically into the 20th century, when order and sense were slowly restored to the renovations.

Florence was occupied by the German army in the latter stages of World War II. Antifascist resistance was very strong in the city and in the Tuscan region, and fighting was heavy. On leaving Florence, the Germans blew up all the bridges across the Arno but spared the famous Ponte Vecchio. After the war, debates again arose regarding the reconstruction of the city. The 1950s saw Florence expand into its periphery, and in 1962 a plan was developed partly to guide expansion away from the Florence-Prato conurbation. Despite certain innovative qualities, the plan failed, and the two cities are now all but one, constituting one big urban sprawl. The population of Florence reached more than 400,000 in the 1980s but soon fell slightly below that level.

In addition to human despoliation, nature has been an occasional adversary of Florentine life, mainly in the form of floods of the Arno. The city's bridges were destroyed in the 12th century and again in 1333. In 1557 the Ponte Vecchio held fast, but the others were destroyed. The most devastating occurrence was the flood of November 1966. The city's cultural heritage was grievously damaged by waters coursing through the streets and swirling into buildings, depositing debris, mud, and oil. In some places the water rose as high as 20 feet, submerging sculptures, paintings, mosaics, and manuscripts in the city's libraries. An army of international experts, financed by contributions from around the world, arrived to try to save the water- and muck-damaged treasures. Major public works took place to try to ensure that there would be no repetition of this tragic event. Despite some scares, the Arno has not burst its banks since then.

Since the mid-20th century, Florence has been governed largely by centre-left administrations that have been known for their reformist zeal, honesty, and efficiency (with some notable exceptions). The Catholic left in particular has always been able to maintain its solid roots in civil society. Through the popular mayor Giorgio La Pira, left-wing Catholics were able to run the city for a number of years in the late 1950s and early '60s. Since then the subcultures of the left have survived in Florence, despite their erosion elsewhere in Italy, and the old Italian Communist Party (now the Democrats of the Left) has managed to maintain a strong presence as well. With its large university population and radical-left traditions, Florence was one of the centres of student and worker revolts in 1968. The city even managed to produce a notable rebellion against the organized Roman Catholic Church, public masses being celebrated without official permission at suburban Isolotto.

In the 1980s and '90s the main problems of the city were environmental. The huge influx of tourists threatened to swamp the city in every sense, and the city centre began to lose its distinctive character and its artisan workshops. Pollution reached record levels, thanks to mass ownership of motor vehicles and to the peculiar geographic position of the city. Drastic measures were finally taken in the 1980s with the closure of the city centre to private cars. This policy has gone some way toward alleviating pressure on the city, but the area is still suffocated by thousands of scooters and buses, and the city still endures a constant tourist onslaught. Florence faces the danger of becoming a commercialized provincial town, full of trinket shops, overpriced bars, and crowded museums. Like Venice, it appears to be organized mainly for tourists and students and for Florentines working in the industries directly linked to them. Certainly the dynamic economic district running across to Prato is not matched by the city itself, which continues to capitalize on the past. The label of “museum-city” is thus perhaps best applied to the Florence of today, despite the highly productive region of which it is the capital.

Blake Ehrlich

Larry A. Silver

John Foot