Most recent flag or coat of arms
Most recent flag or coat of arms
Video Summary
Video Summary
Maximum Extent
Maximum Extent (Interactive Map)

Data

Name: Republic of Florence

Type: Polity

Start: 1116 AD

End: 1532 AD

Nation: florence

Statistics

All Statistics: All Statistics

Icon Republic of Florence

This article is about the specific polity Republic of Florence and therefore only includes events related to its territory and not to its possessions or colonies. If you are interested in the possession, this is the link to the article about the nation which includes all possessions as well as all the different incarnations of the nation.

If you are looking for the page with the statistics about this polity you can find it here:All Statistics

Was a medieval republic centered on the Italian city of Florence in Tuscany. It emerged in 1115 from the Holy Roman Empire and slowly conquered most of northern Tuscany.

Establishment


  • January 1116: After the death of Matilda of Tuscany in 1115, Florence became an autonomous commune, although formally still under the authority of the Holy Roman Empire.
  • Chronology


    Interactive Chronologies with maps are available in the section Changes Navigation

    1. Lombard Wars


    Were a series of conflicts between the Republic of Venice and the Duchy of Milan and their respective allies, fought in four campaigns in a struggle for hegemony in Northern Italy.

    1.1.First Lombard War

    Was the first of a series of conflicts between the Republic of Venice and the Duchy of Milan over the hegemony in Northern Italy.

  • January 1425: Filippo Maria Visconti, the ambitious Duke of Milan, waged war against Florence, defeating it at Anghiari and Faggiuola.
  • January 1427: In 1425, Florence allied with Venice against Milan. In 1426, Venetian troops marched on Brescia, forcing the Duke of Milan to sign a peace treaty. Florence regained the territories occupied by Milan in 1425.

  • 2. Italian Wars


    Were a series of conflicts covering the period between 1494 to 1559, fought mostly in the Italian peninsula, but later expanding into Flanders, the Rhineland and the Mediterranean Sea. The primary belligerents were the Valois kings of France, and their Habsburg opponents in the Holy Roman Empire and Spain.

    2.1.Italian War of 1499-1504

    Was the second of the so-called Italian Wars. The first phase of the war was fought for control of the Duchy of Milan by an alliance of Louis XII of France and the Republic of Venice against Ludovico Sforza, the second between Louis of France and Ferdinand II of Aragon for possession of the Kingdom of Naples.

    2.1.1.French conquest of Naples

    Was a military campaign by French king Charles VIII against the Kingdom of Naples.

  • November 1494: Charles VIII of France laid siege to the fortress of Sarzanello, asking that he be allowed way for Florence. Piero, lord of Florence, went to meet the king to negotiate, but had to grant him the fortresses of Sarzanello, Sarzana and Pietrasanta, the cities of Pisa and Livorno as support ports for French ships, and the free passage on the territory of Florence.

  • 2.2.Italian War of 1494-1498

    Was the first of the so-called Italian Wars. The war pitted Charles VIII of France, initially aided by Milan, against the Holy Roman Empire, Spain and an alliance of Italian powers led by Pope Alexander VI, known as the League of Venice.

    2.2.1.Expulsion of the French from Italy (1495)

    Was the expulsion of the invading French army from the italian peninsula during the Italian War of 1494-1495.

  • July 1495: Charles VIII left Naples on 20 May and marched north to reach Lombardy, but met the League army at the Battle of Fornovo on 6 July 1495. Strategically it was a partial victory for the League, since that, although it had failed to annihilate the king of France, it had achieved the aim of having him withdraw from the peninsula.

  • 2.3.War of the League of Cognac

    Was one of the so-called Italian Wars. It was fought between the Habsburg dominions of Charles V —primarily the Holy Roman Empire and Spain— and the League of Cognac, an alliance including the Kingdom of France, Pope Clement VII, the Republic of Venice, the Kingdom of England, the Duchy of Milan, and the Republic of Florence.

    2.3.1.Republican revolution in Florence

    Was a revolution in the Duchy of Florence during the War of the League of Cognac.

  • May 1527: The third republican government of Florence began on May 16, 1527 following the very serious crisis that arose in relations between Pope Clement VII (Giulio de' Medici) and the emperor Charles V. The citizens of Florence decided to expel the Medici and restore a Republic following the Piagnone model (i.e. religious puritanism), inspired by the directives of Girolamo Savonarola.

  • 2.3.2.Medici Restoration in Florence

    The Medicis were restored as the rulers of Florence.

  • August 1530: The republican government of Florence lasted until 1530, when it was demolished at the end of the Siege of Florence by Spanish and German troops sent by the emperor following a reconciliation between pope Clement VII and emperor Charles V.

  • 3. Further events (Unrelated to Any War)


  • January 1126: In 1125, the Florentines conquered Fiesole after a siege that lasted several months.

  • January 1183: In 1182 Empoli became part of the dominions of Florence.

  • January 1271: Poggiobonizio was a Ghibelline city, proclaimed an 'imperial city' by Frederick II of Swabia in 1220. In 1270, it was conquered by the Florentine armies with the support of Neapolitan troops. After the conquest, the city assumed the modern name of Poggibonsi.

  • January 1291: In 1290, following Florence's victory in the Battle of Campaldino in 1289, Florence sacked and destroyed Bibbiena, which then came under Florentine influence.

  • January 1301: The area of Firenzuola was under the control of Florence before 1306, as in this year it was decided to found the city as an outpost to counter the Ubaldini family.

  • January 1301: Expansion of the Florentine state throughout the entire area surrounding Florence.

  • January 1338: On March 7, 1337, the lord of Arezzo, Pier Saccone Tarlati, sold Florence the dominion over the city for the subsequent ten years at the price of 25,000 gold florins.

  • January 1338: Countess Englarada, of Franco-Germanic origin, marries the Tuscan count Tigrino, and gives rise to the dynasty of the Guidi di Modigliana counts, who govern Modigliana until 1337 when a popular uprising led by Durante Doni, leads to the expulsion of the Guidi and the constitution in free municipality annexed, in a sort of protectorate, to Florence.

  • January 1341: Firenze conquers Colle Val d'Elsa.

  • January 1342: In 1341 Barga submitted to Florence.

  • January 1348: On March 7, 1337, the lord of Arezzo, Pier Saccone Tarlati, had sold to Florence the dominion over the city for the subsequent ten years. After this period, Arezzo regained its independence.

  • January 1352: From 1351, Prato, initially with limited autonomy, was subjected to the rule of Florence.

  • January 1363: From 1340 to 1361, Volterra had been governed by a feudal-type government under the leadership of the local Belforti family. The progressive erosion of municipal liberties caused by the feudal government led to a civil war. Florence, taking advantage of this situation, intervened as a mediator and subjected Volterra to its hegemony.

  • January 1370: San Miniato, which had temporarily pledged itself to the Florentine Republic since 1347 by entering into vassalage, rebelled by declaring itself for the Emperor. However, the Florentines managed to penetrate the castle of the city and definitively subdue the city on January 14, 1370.

  • August 1377: Modigliana rebelled against the Pope and gave itself to the Florentine republic by deed of the people signed on 2 August 1377.

  • January 1378: The Florentine state conquers various territories in central and northern Tuscany up to 1377.

  • January 1385: In 1384, the French general Enguerrand VII of Coucy conquered Arezzo and sold it to the Florentines.

  • January 1391: Siena looses Montepulciano, which allies with Florence.

  • January 1401: King Ladislaus of Naplese sold Cortona to the Republic of Florence for 60.000 gold florins.

  • January 1401: Castiglion della Pescaia came under the influence of Florence during the 14th century (in 1404, the citizens spontaneously surrendered to the Republic of Florence).

  • January 1403: A civil war that erupted in Pistoia in 1401-1402 resulted ultimately in the subjugation of the Commune of Pistoia to the Republic of Florence.

  • January 1405: After the domination of the Guidi family, in 1404 Bagno entered the Florentine orbit.

  • January 1407: In 1406, the Florentines became lords of Pisa after a costly war. Florentine dominion thus extended over most of Tuscany, except for the Sienese region.

  • January 1411: Albiano was dominated by the Malaspina, from whom the people of Albiano emancipated themselves to entrust themselves to the Republic of Florence as early as the fifteenth century. The Florentine Signoria sent its Commissioner there in 1410.

  • January 1433: Castiglion della Pescaia temporarily rebels against Florence and falls under the domain of Siena (around 1431 or 1432 until around 1433).

  • January 1434: Castiglion della Pescaia, temporarily occupied by Siena following a revolt, returns under the control of Florence.

  • January 1439: Sarzana falls under the domination of the Republic of Genoa.

  • January 1441: Since 1440, the lands of Poppi were part of the Florentine state.

  • January 1442: Sansepolcro was sold to Florence for 25,000 ducats by Pope Eugenio IV.

  • January 1452: By the second half of the 15th century, Bagnone is certainly under the control of Florence, as the Florentine Republic grants fiefs in this area.

  • January 1468: Submission of Sarzana to Florence.

  • March 1477: Submission of Fivizzano to Florence: Fivizzano, a municipality located in the province of Massa-Carrara in Tuscany, submitted to the dominion of Florence.

  • January 1479: Siena conquers Colle Val d'Elsa and Castellina in Chianti from Florence.

  • January 1484: Colle Val d'Elsa returns to Florence's control thanks to the mediation of Lorenzo the Magnificent.

  • January 1485: Corvaia and Pietrasanta were part of the Genoese state until 1484 when they were conquered by the Republic of Florence.

  • January 1511: Sestino, a Tuscan village near Arezzo, remained under the control of the Papal States until 1510, when it fell under the governance of the Florentine Republic.

  • May 1532: Florence had been under informal Medici control since the early XV century. In 1532, Pope Clement VII, who was born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici, appointed Alessandro de' Medici as duke over the Republic of Florence. The Duchy of Florence was thus established.

  • Disestablishment


  • May 1532: Florence had been under informal Medici control since the early XV century. In 1532, Pope Clement VII, who was born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici, appointed Alessandro de' Medici as duke over the Republic of Florence. The Duchy of Florence was thus established.
  • Selected Sources


  • Anonymous writer (1875), Storia di Arezzo, Volume I, Arezzo (Italy), pp. 394-404
  • Anonymous writer (1875): Storia di Arezzo, Volume I, Arezzo (Italy), p. 236
  • Archivio storico italiano (1905), Volume XXXV, Florence (Italy), p. 212
  • Barsacchi, M. (2007): Cacciate Lorenzo! La guerra dei Pazzi e l'assedio di Colle Val d'Elsa (1478-1479), Siena (Italy), p.148
  • Barsacchi, M. (2007): Cacciate Lorenzo! La guerra dei Pazzi e l'assedio di Colle Val d'Elsa (1478-1479), Siena (Italy), p.57
  • Bini, M. (2005): Firenze, l'occhio e la mano: esperienze di lettura e interpretazione grafica dell'ambiente urbano fiorentino, Florence (Italy), 2005, p. 18
  • Castelli, torri, campanili. Retrieved June, 2nd, 2021, from https://www.bagnodiromagnaturismo.it/-/bagno-rocca-di-corzano-castelli_torri
  • Davidsohn, R. (1909): Storia di Firenze: le origini, Volume 2, Florence (Italy), p. 878
  • Engelhardt, D. / Henkelmann, T./ Krämer, A. (1987). Prato. In: Florenz und die Toscana, Basel (Switzerland), p. 177
  • Fabbri, L. (1994), Autonomismo Comunale ed Egemonia Fiorentina a Volterra tra ’300 e ’400, Rassegna volterrana n. 70, Volterra (Italy), pp. 97-110
  • Fabi, M. (1852): Corografia d'Italia: ossia gran dizionario storico-geografico-statistico, delle città, borghi, villaggi, castelli ecc. della penisola, Milan (Italy), p. 349
  • Firenzuola - Storia e curiosità. Retrieved July, 15th, 2021, from https://www.appenninoromagnolo.it/comuni/firenzuola_storia.asp
  • Frambotto,P. (1646): L'Historia di Milano , Milan (Italy), p. 936
  • Guasti, C. (1866): I Capitoli del comune di Firenze: inventario e regesto, Volume 1, Florence (Italy), p. 731
  • Herlihy, D. (1972): Pistoia Nel Medioevo E Nel Rinascimento 1200-1430, Pistoia (Italy), p. 229
  • La via del Diaspro rosso di Barga. Retrieved July, 17th, 2021, from https://www.visitbarga.com/escursioni/la-via-del-diaspro-rosso-di-barga/
  • Machiavelli, N. (1532), Istorie fiorentine, Florence (Italy), book VI chapter 3
  • Modigliana - Storia e curiosità. Retrieved July, 15th, 2021, from https://www.appenninoromagnolo.it/comuni/modigliana_storia.asp
  • Moroni Romano, G. (1856): Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica da san Pietro sino ai nostri giorni, Vol. LXXVIII, Venice (Italy), p. 134
  • Moroni Romano, G. (1856): Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica da san Pietro sino ai nostri giorni, Vol. LXXVIII, Venice (Italy), p. 59
  • Moroni Romano, G. (1856): Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica da san Pietro sino ai nostri giorni, Vol. LXXVIII, Venice (Italy), pp. 34-39
  • Naldi, A. (2001), Mille e una Toscana, Empoli (Italy), p. 153
  • Nencini, P. (1994): Colle di Val d'Elsa: diocesi e città tra '500 e '600, Castelfiorentino (Italy), p. 100
  • Poole, R.L. (1902), Historical Atlas of Modern Europe, Oxford (United Kingdom), Plate LXVIII
  • Poole, R.L. (1902): Historical Atlas of Modern Europe, Oxford (United Kingdom), Plate LXVIII
  • Pratelli, F. (1990), Storia di Poggibonsi, Poggibonsi (Italy), pp. 173-199
  • Rastrelli, M (1781): Storia d'Alessandro de' Medici primo duca di Firenze, Florence (Italy), Volume 1, p. 95
  • Repetti, E. (1833), Dizionario geografico, fisico, storico della Toscana: contenente la descrizione di tutti i luoghi del granducato, ducato di Lucca, Garfagnana e Lunigiana, Volume 1, Florence (Italy), p. 602
  • Repetti, E. (1833), Dizionario geografico, fisico, storico della Toscana: contenente la descrizione di tutti i luoghi del granducato, ducato di Lucca, Garfagnana e Lunigiana, Volume 1, Florence (Italy), p. 63
  • Repetti, E. (1833), Dizionario geografico, fisico, storico della Toscana: contenente la descrizione di tutti i luoghi del granducato, ducato di Lucca, Garfagnana e Lunigiana, Volume 1, Florence (Italy), p. 826
  • Repetti, E. (1833), Dizionario geografico, fisico, storico della Toscana: contenente la descrizione di tutti i luoghi del granducato, ducato di Lucca, Garfagnana e Lunigiana, Volume 1, Florence (Italy), pp. 249-253
  • Repetti, E. (1833), Dizionario geografico, fisico, storico della Toscana: contenente la descrizione di tutti i luoghi del granducato, ducato di Lucca, Garfagnana e Lunigiana, Volume 1, Florence (Italy), pp. 602-605
  • Repetti, E. (1843), Dizionario geografico, fisico, storico della Toscana: contenente la descrizione di tutti i luoghi del granducato, ducato di Lucca, Garfagnana e Lunigiana, Volume 5, Florence (Italy), p. 185
  • Repetti, E. (1845), Supplemento al Dizionario geografico, fisico, storico della Toscana, Florence (Italy), p. 9
  • Repetti, E. (1855), Dizionario corografico della Toscana, Milan (Italy), p. 1052
  • Riccardi, N. (2021): L’isolamento politico di Pier Saccone Tarlati, Notizie di Storia, Volume 45, Arezzo (Italy), p.5
  • Setton, K. M. (), The Papacy and the Levant, 1204-1571, Volume 2, Philadelphia (USA), pp. 491-501
  • Sforza, G.(1874): Saggio d'una bibliografia storica della Lunigiana Vol.1, Modena (Italy), p. 114
  • Stivieri, N. (1870): Storia di Venezia: dalla sua origine fino ai giorni nostri, Milan (Italy), p. 100
  • Stivieri, N. (1870): Storia di Venezia: dalla sua origine fino ai giorni nostri, Milan (Italy), pp. 100-101
  • Strathern, P. (2007): The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance, London (United Kingdom), pp. 308-321
  • Tiribilli-Giuliani, D. (1855), Sommario storico delle famiglie celebri toscane, Florence (Italy), p. 2 of the chapter "Borromeo"
  • https://www.storiadifirenze.org/?p=4162#:~:text=Il%207%20gennaio%201411%20Ladisalo,in%20possesso%20nel%20giugno%201409.
  • All Phersu Atlas Regions

    Africa

    Americas

    Asia

    Europe

    Oceania