Viewing Tuscany & Florence
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800 BC First evidence of the Etruscans in Tuscany. 500 BC Etruscan expansion and the growth of an Etruscan colony at Fiesole in the hills above Florence. 205 BC The Romans establish control over Tuscany and exact tributes from the Etruscans. 59 BC Florence (Florentia) is founded as colony for retired army veterans, following laws promulgated by Julius Caesar. 20 BC Siena (Saena) is founded as a Roman military outpost. AD 250 Eastern monks and merchants bring Christianity to Florence. 552 Totila the Goth and a barbarian army attack Florence. 570 The Lombards conquer much of northern Italy and establish a base in Lucca. 800 Charlemagne defeats the Lombards and is crowned Holy Roman Emperor. Tuscany is ruled from Lucca by imperial princes known as Margraves. 1115 Matilda, the last Margrave, bequeaths her territories to the papacy with the exception of Lucca, Florence and Siena. 1125 Florence defeats and absorbs Fiesole. 1186 Work begins on Siena cathedral. 1215 Conflicts between the papacy and Holy Roman Empire (Guelphs and Ghibellines) favour the development of independent city states. 1252 Florence prospers through her textile trade and mints the first gold florin (fiorino): merchant guilds achieve wealth and power. 1260 Siena defeats Florence at the Battle of Montaperti. 1302 Dante is exiled from Florence and begins writing The Divine Comedy. 1348 The Black Death ravages Tuscany and leads to economic collapse. 1350 The Leaning Tower of Pisa is completed. 1360 Birth of Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici, founder of the Medici banking empire. 1389 Birth of Cosimo de' Medici, greatest member of the Medici dynasty. 1402 Competition held to design Florence's Baptistery doors. 1406 Florence defeats Pisa and gains access to the sea. 1422 Two million florins are in circulation across Europe. 1436 Brunelleschi finishes work on Florence's cathedral dome. 1469 Birth of Machiavelli and the accession of Lorenzo de' Medici, or Lorenzo the Magnificent. 1475 Birth of Michelangelo: Donatello sculpts David. 1485 Botticelli paints The Birth of Venus. 1494 Florence surrenders to Charles VIII of France: Savonarola, a zealous monk, seizes control of the city. 1498 Savonarola is burned at the stake for heresy and Florence briefly becomes a republic. 1504 Michelangelo sculpts the statue of David. 1512 Combined papal and Spanish armies defeat Florence and return the Medici to power. 1537 Cosimo I, a Medici, rules Florence as a Spanish and Austrian puppet. 1570 Cosimo proves his own man and founds the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. 1743 The death of the last Medici sees Florence and the Grand Duchy pass eventually to Austrian control. 1799 Napoleon defeats Austria and occupies Florence. 1815 Following Napoleon's defeat most of Tuscany is returned by treaty to the Austrians. 1860 The Austrians are defeated and Tuscany joins a united Italy. 1865 Florence is capital of a united Italy until 1871, when Rome is freed from French and papal rule. 1944 Florentine and Tuscan towns and art treasures are damaged by Allied bombing and the retreating Nazis. 1966 After 40 days of rain the Arno bursts its banks and Florence is ravaged by floods. 1993 A terrorist bomb damages part of the Uffizi. 1996 Florence hosts the G7 economic summit.
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