Florence (pop. 367,150) is an Italian city that became famous as the birthplace of the Renaissance. During the Renaissance, from about 1300 to 1600, some of the greatest painters, sculptors, and writers in history lived and worked in Florence.
The city lies on both banks of the Arno River in central Italy, at the foot of the Apennines mountain range. Florence is the capital of both the province of Florence and the region of Tuscany. Its name in Italian is Firenze.
Such great artists as Leonardo da Vinci, Fra Angelico, Giotto, and Michelangelo produced many of Florence’s magnificent paintings and sculptures. Great writers who lived in the city included Giovanni Boccaccio, Dante, and Petrarch.
Florentines also won fame in other fields. The architect Filippo Brunelleschi and the political analyst Niccolo Machiavelli were born in Florence, and the astronomer Galileo did some of his work there.
Today, millions of tourists visit Florence yearly to see its splendid art galleries, churches, and museums. Florentines consider Michelangelo’s famous marble statue, David, as the symbol of the artistic spirit of their city.
The city
covers about 40 square miles (104 square kilometers) in the middle of a rich farming area. The oldest part of Florence lies in a small area divided by the Arno. Most of the city’s famous buildings are on the right bank, north of the river. A broad public square called the Piazza della Signoria is a major public gathering spot and tourist attraction on the right bank. Towering over the piazza is the Palazzo Vecchio, or Palazzo della Signoria, a palace that has been the center of local government since the Middle Ages.
Many old, impressive churches stand on the right bank of the Arno. The Cathedral of Florence, called the Duomo, is in the Piazza del Duomo. The eight-sided Baptistery, with its beautifully decorated bronze doors by Lorenzo Ghiberti and Andrea Pisano, is part of this piazza. The piazza also features a campanile (bell tower) built by Giotto and Pisano.
The tombs of Galileo, Machiavelli, Michelangelo, and other famous Florentines are in the Church of Santa Croce. This church also has frescoes by Giotto. The Church of San Marco and an adjacent museum display a collection of paintings by Fra Angelico and other artists of the 1400’s. The chapel of the Church of San Lorenzo has the large stone figures carved by Michelangelo for the tombs of the powerful Medici family.
Many outstanding art galleries and museums are also on the right bank. The famous Uffizi Palace, which once housed government offices, is now an art gallery. It owns one of the world’s finest collections of paintings and statues. The National Museum of the Bargello exhibits many masterpieces of Renaissance sculpture. The Galleria dell’ Accademia displays medieval and Renaissance sculpture, including Michelangelo’s David.
Florence’s most elegant shopping area lies along the Via Tornabuoni, a street in the western part of the old section of the city. Some shops on this street display the kinds of clothing and leather goods that have made Florence famous for fashions.
Six bridges connect the right bank with the Oltrarno, the section of Florence south of the river. Goldsmith and jewelry shops line one of these bridges, the Ponte Vecchio, which was built in 1345. The other bridges replaced bridges destroyed during World War II (1939-1945) by retreating German troops. The present Ponte Santa Trinita is an exact reconstruction of the original bridge, which had stood since 1570.
The Oltrarno includes many antique, silver, and woodcarving shops, but its most famous attraction is the Pitti Palace. This palace–the largest in Florence–was begun in 1458 as a home for Luca Pitti, a wealthy merchant. It now displays an excellent collection of paintings. The Boboli Gardens, behind the palace, are among the most beautiful gardens in Italy.
Modern apartment buildings stand in Florence’s suburbs, which have developed since the 1950’s. Industry is concentrated north of the city.
The people.
Almost all Florentines are Roman Catholic. The language spoken by the medieval Florentines became the basis of modern Italian.
Most of the families in the oldest part of the city live in old stone buildings that lack central heating. Many of the families in the suburbs make their homes in modern apartment buildings.
Florentines, like most Italians, traditionally eat their largest meal at lunchtime. This meal may include fruit, meat, vegetables, and one of several kinds of noodles called pasta, such as spaghetti or ravioli. Local specialties include ribollito (vegetable soup), Chianti wine, and beefsteak.
Florence has many public markets. Shoppers meet daily in the marketplaces and chat as they shop. The Mercato Nuovo, a merchandising square in the heart of Florence, attracts thousands of tourists each day.
Education and cultural life.
Florence is the home of the University of Florence and several research institutes. The Academy of Fine Arts and the Luigi Cherubini Conservatory of Music are also in the city. Operas are presented at the Teatro Comunale and the Teatro Verdi. Florence has some of Italy’s oldest and most valuable public libraries. For example, the Biblioteca Laurenziana, which opened to the public in 1571, contains several famous ancient texts. Other notable public libraries include the Marucelliana and the Riccardiana.
Economy.
Florentines have made fine handicrafts since the days of the Renaissance. Many of the people make or sell such handicrafts as leather products, jewelry, mosaics, pottery, and articles made of straw. Tourism is an important economic activity of Florence.
Factories in the city produce clothing, drugs, foods, glass, and plastics. Florence is a major communications and railroad center of Italy.
History.
The Etruscans, a tribe that migrated to Italy from Asia, built the first settlement in what is now Florence. They arrived there about 200 B.C., but their settlement was destroyed in 82 B.C. following a Roman civil war. In 59 B.C., the Roman ruler Julius Caesar set up a colony on the Arno. He named the colony Florentia, a Latin word meaning blossoming. The name later became Florence.
Florence remained a small, unimportant town until about A.D. 1000. It then began to develop into a self-governing area called a city-state. Florence’s population grew from perhaps 5,000 in A.D. 900 to about 30,000 in 1200.
The people of Florence developed new processes for refining wool, and the city gained importance for its woolen textiles. Florentine bankers became successful and brought much wealth to the city. The population reached about 100,000 in the early 1300’s. Florence fought many wars during the 1300’s and early 1400’s, gaining and losing territory at various times. Plagues killed many of its people during this period.
During the 1300’s, four Florentines introduced new styles of painting and writing that grew into great achievements of the Renaissance. Giotto painted pictures with realistic figures instead of stiff, formal subjects. In literature, Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio developed Italian as a literary language and helped renew interest in the classics. For the next 300 years, Florence was a center of one of the greatest periods of cultural achievement in history.
The wealthy Medici family gained control of Florence in the early 1400’s. By that time, Florence had become a strong and almost independent city-state. It controlled part of what is now central Italy. The city achieved its greatest splendor under the most famous Medici, Lorenzo the Magnificent, who ruled from 1469 to 1492. Except for brief periods, members of the Medici family governed until 1737. During their rule, Florentine literature, theater, and opera thrived in Florence and were imitated throughout Europe.
Florence was the capital of Italy from 1865 to 1870, when the government moved to Rome. Many improvements were carried out in Florence during its period as the capital. For example, the tree-lined boulevards and large piazzas just outside the historic center of Florence were built at that time.
During World War II (1939-1945), several ancient palaces were destroyed during the fighting for Florence. But most of the city’s art treasures escaped harm.
In 1966, a flood damaged books, manuscripts, valuable works of art, and museums and other buildings in Florence. Many nations aided in the restoration of the art works. Most of the paintings and manuscripts were saved, though some required years of careful work. The city has become a world center for the study of art preservation.
Population growth in Florence led to such problems as that of traffic crowding narrow streets of the old section. In 1970, private cars were banned from the historic center of the city.
Art restoration was an important focus during the 1980’s and 1990’s. A number of Renaissance masterpieces were cleaned and restored.
