Tuscany

History

Tuscany is perhaps one of the Italian regions with the longer and fascinating history: from prehistory, through the Etruscans and Romans to the present day, Tuscany was the center of Italian history, with a particular prestige, expecially for its role of the late medieval age and throughout the Renaissance period, during which time Florence has been the world capital of culture.

Some traces of human presence date back to the second millennium BC: many were, in fact, findings, in various zone of the region, of remains of villages on stilts, probably of the bronze and iron age. In fact, the Villanova civilization reaches its peak, between the tenth and eighth centuries BC

From the ninth century BC the Etruscans settle in the region, ruling it for over six centuries: the Etruscan civilization began extensive process of bonification of the territories, at that time still wetlands, building bridges and roads and founded some of the most important Tuscan cities including Arezzo, Chiusi, Volterra, Populonia Vetulonia and Roselle and probably Prato

During the Roman domination, from the third century BC onwards, the region experienced a slow decline both economically and culturally, although in a first period has enjoyed a relatively prosperity, thanks largely to the development of handicrafts, mining and iron working, businesses: the entire region declined economically, culturally and socially. The Romans, in fact, given the wide fertile plains of Tuscany, considered the region like a big barn. Roman cities are Fiesole, Florentia and Cosa currently one of the best preserved Roman cities in Tuscany.

Conquered, like the rest of Ital,y by the Ostrogoths and the Byzantines, it was occupied and proclamed duchy, with its capital in Lucca, by the Lombards, in the second half of the sixth century.

With the subsequent conquest by Charlemagne, Lucca became a county until Tuscany became a Mark part of the largest mark of Canossa.

During the tenth century under the Otto of Saxony, the boundaries were extended to the north towards Liguria and the capital of the mark was moved from Lucca to Florence.

In the eleventh century, the Marquee passed to the family of Attoni, lords of Canossa, becoming part of a feudal system that included Tuscany, Emilia and Lombardy. With the death of Boniface II, the mark passed to his wife, Beatrice of Lorraine, then to his daughter, Matilda of Tuscany, who at her death (1115), left the Marquis of Tuscany to the Church, thus starting a series of claims between It and the empire, for the control of the region, which, especially with cities like Florence and Siena, was the economic and cultural center of the entire Europe. The history of Tuscany of the period was marked by many struggles between the Guelphs and Ghibellines, ranged, respectively, with the church and empire.

There were numerous wars between the two rival factions which culminate, in an initial phase, with the victory of the Guelphs and the expulsion of the Ghibellines: from that moment the history of Tuscany takes a particular turn. The Guelph party is divided further into whites and blacks: the first, while defending the papacy, also saw no obstacle to the rule of the Emperor, while the latter considered it necessary to entrust the temporal power of the Pope as he was a "Misso Domenici" (Sent by the Lord).

From this division derived further clashes that lead to the expulsion, at first of the Blacks, and, then, to their return and the exile of the Whites.

In this scene of bloody fighting, the Medici family, of the Guelphs faction, also thanks to the diminished interest of imperial dynasties and the Pope to Italian affairs, takes a lot of power in the city Florence, so much that in 1434 Cosimo the Elder becomes the first ruler of Florence.

Under Lorenzo the Magnificent, grandson of Cosimo, the lordship of Florence reached, perhaps, its peak, from an artistic and economic point of view: it is thanks to his intervention, for example, that in Rome today you can admire masterpieces of Michelangelo as the Sistine Chapel and Pieta.

At his death, the government of Florence passed to his son Piero who vilely gave some Florentine territories to Charles VIII of France. The city of Florence drove him out in 1494 and for short period it was under the control of Savonarola.

The Medici returned to Florence only 26 years later, with John, who in 1513 was elected as Pope Leo X, moving de facto the government of the city and most of Tuscany, from Florence to Rome.

The unification process of Tuscany was completed by Cosimo I, appointed, in 1537, "head of the primary government of the city of Florence and its domain", with the victory over Siena on one side and political, administrative, judicial and financial reforms on the other.

In 1569, Pope Pius V created the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, from which remained excluded Massa Carrara, Lucca and Piombino, the Stato dei Presidi and the county of Pitignano. The pro-French policy of Ferdinand I (1587-1609) inserted the Grand Duchy in European politics; agriculture was increased with extensive land bonifications.

With weak political action of Cosimo V (1610-21), of the regency council (1621-28),and then of Ferdinand II (1628-70), the region became increasingly decaying. The Medici dynasty died out with Giangastone in 1737.

After the War of Polish Succession, which ended with the Treaty of Utrecht, the Grand Duchy, was assigned to Francis Stephen of Lorraine. The new dynasty began immediately a long list of reforms that promoted an intense recovery of administrative and business activities: from the rehabilitation and resettlement of unhealthy zones to the formation of private property, through legal and ecclesiastical reform.

Lorraine dynasty ruled the region until 1859, except during the Napoleonic period, the end of which, with the Restoration, Grand Duke Ferdinand II established a mild government that allowed Florence to be shelter for refugees persecuted in other parts of Italy, as Tommaseo , Colletta, D'Azeglio; due to this reason the city became a vibrant center of culture with a liberal and Catholic character.

The region was unrelated to the independence movements of the early nineteenth century, precisely because of the mildness of the government of the family of Lorraine, while there was a considerable spread of the myth neo-Guelph; students and teachers, volunteers, participated in the first war of independence, beating with great value at Curtatone and Montanara.

Prevalsero, nel 1849, gli elementi radicali: costretto a fuggire il granduca Leopoldo II, a Firenze fu instaurata la dittatura del Guerrazzi. Il granduca fu ricondotto a Firenze dall' esercito austriaco e ciò gli alienò le superstiti simpatie di cui godeva.

At the outbreak of the War of Independence (in 1859), Leopold II was forced by a popular movement to abandon Florence and Tuscany, after a short period of Ricasoli dictatorship, in the name of Vittorio Emanuele II, voted for annexation to Savoy Reign, with the plebiscite of 15 March 1860.

In 1865 King Vittorio Emanuele and the national government moved to Florence and during the five years it was capital, Florence took over much of its present appearance.