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........ a bit of history
activities), began to acquire power. With the passage
from the feudal period to that of the communes, Tus-
cia, by now called Toscana, began a long period marked
by struggles between rival cities: these were the years of
the Guelphs and the Ghibellines, of antagonism between
Florence and Pisa, between Siena and Florence. The city
which gradually succeeded in coming to the fore was
Florence and by the early l4th century it was the most
powerful city in the region. Even proud Pisa was forced
to surrender to this most powerful of Tuscan cities in
1406. With free access to the sea, Florence was now po-
litically and economically independent. The only cities
which still resisted were the small but solid republics of
Siena and Lucca. During the I5th century, the Medici,
rich and intelligent Fiorentine bankers, took over the
power and transformed the communal status of Flor-
ence into a principality, and in the second half of the
16th century, under Cosimo I de’ Medici, it officially
became the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, of which Siena
and Lucca, who had also been forced to surrender, now
made part. This was the beginning of a long period of
great success for the region. The opulence of Florence,
which was also reflected in the other Tuscan cities, per-
mitted the region to live the greatest period in its histo-
ry. During the periods of Humanism and the Renais-
sance, Florence and Tuscany became the cradle of inter-
national culture. In 1737 the last of the Medici Grand
Dukes, Gian-gastone, ceded the sceptre of the Grand
Duchy to the Lorraine dynasty, who continued to
govern with intelligence and broadrnindedness. As a
result of great changes in the international scene at the
end of the 18th century and of Napoleon‘s rise to pow-
er, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany was annexed to the
French Empire until the dictator’s fall. Then came the
Risorgimento and the revolutionary movements for the
Union of Italy, and in 1866 Tuscany was annexed to the
new Kingdom of Italy. Five years later Florence became
the capital of the new nation and remained such until
1870. At the beginning of the 20th century the popu-
lation began to increase and the towns started lo de-
velop; these were the years tormented by the «social
question»: the vindications of the workers, the birth
of fascism. In World War II, Tuscany took an active
part in the struggle for liberation and when the war was
over initiated a reconstruction activity which led to in-
dustrialization.
- Private tours of Florence
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- Limousine Florence Tuscany Italy
mail: limo@limousine-florence.com
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Mercedes S class
Ponte Vecchio
Country
Florence
" Palazzo Vecchio " and Signoria Square
San Gimignano
