Florence weathered the decline of the Western Roman Empire to emerge as a financial hub of Europe, home to several banks including that of the politically powerful Medici family. The city’s wealth supported the development of art during the Italian Renaissance, and tourism attracted by its rich history continues today.
A chronology of the major historical events of Florence
- 59 BCE – Roman colony founded (approximate date)
- 1st century CE – Catholic Diocese of Florence established
- 405 – Siege of Florence
- 541 – Florence sacked by forces of Ostrogoth Totila
- 570 – Tuscany is taken by the Lombards, who set up their administration in Pavia and Lucca
- 781 & 786 – Charlemagne, King of the Franks, visits Florence. Was part of the Carolingian (later Holy Roman) Empire ruled by Margraves based in Lucca
- 1078 – City walls built
- 1080 – Stone Ponte Vecchio (old bridge) built
- 1115 – death of the last Margrave, Matilda, the formation of the first Comune (the city-state) in which Republic of Florence is run by a 100-strong assembly
- 1128 – Battistero di San Giovanni (Baptistery of St. John) completed. Construction began in 1059 in the Florentine Romanesque style.
- 1230 – December 30: Eucharistic Miracle of Florence. Fr. Uguccione had left several drops of consecrated wine in the chalice. The next day he discovered living blood coagulated. He showed this to all who were present, to other clergy and to the Bishop. Then it was revealed to all the Florentines.
- 1235 – the Florin is first minted in silver, and then in 1252, in gold; the Florin is used as a standard coin in Europe
- 1250-60 – the Primo Popolo regime is dominated by the trade guilds
- 1265 – birth of Dante Alighieri in Florence
- 1285 – Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova founded – is the oldest hospital in the world still in operation.
- 1289 – Slavery abolished
- 1294 – Basilica of Santa Croce (Holy Cross) rebuilt for the Franciscan order. The original structure dates from 1212 when St. Francis of Assisi visited, later with a group he choose an inhospitable area outside the walls. The burial place for Florence’s great and good: Michelangelo. Rossini, Machiavelli, and the Pisan-born Galileo Galilei.
- 1296 – construction of the Duomo (Cathedral) in Florentine Gothic style, is begun under Arnolfo di Cambio
- 1299 – Palazzo Vecchio (old Palace) construction begins. This is the town hall.
14th–16th centuries
- 1302 – Dante is exiled by Charles of Valois
- 1321 – University of Florence founded
- 1345 – Ponte Vecchio (old bridge) rebuilt
- 1348 – Black Death plague
- 1353 – Public clock installed in Palazzo Vecchio tower
- 1360 – Cathedral Campanile (bell tower) designed by Giotto in Florentine Gothic architecture. First stone laid July 19, 1334, stands 277.9 feet.
- 1382 – Loggia dei Lanzi (or della Signoria) built in corner of Piazza della Signoria adjoining the Uffizi Gallery consisting of wide arches open to the street. To this day, many statues are displayed here as it is undercover from the elements.
- 1434 – Cosimo di Giovanni de’ Medici in power – (Sept 27, 1389 – Aug 1, 1464) Italian banker & politician who established the Medici family as effective rulers of Florence during much of the Italian Renaissance. His power derived from his wealth as a banker, and he was a patron of arts, learning and architecture
- 1436 – Duomo di Santa Maria del Fiore (St. Mary of the Flower) consecrated. The dome of the cathedral was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-April 15, 1446) and built between 1420–1436, it stands 376 feet (114.5m) tall.
- 1469 – birth of Machiavelli
- 1469-92 – rule of Lorenzo (the Magnificent) de’ Medici – artistic high-point of Florence
- 1475 – birth of Michelangelo
- 1478 – Pazzi conspirators attempt to murder Giuliano & Lorenzo de’ Medici in the cathedral. Giuliano is killed, Lorenzo escapes by hiding in the sacristy.
- 1492 – Lorenzo the Magnificent dies and is succeeded by Piero the Unfortunate
- 1494 – Charles VIII of France invades Italy – receives surrender of Florence at Sarzana
- Republic of Florence restored, ruled nominally by Girolamo Savonarola
- 1498 – Savonarola burned at the stake May 23 in Piazza della Signoria after four years of rule
- 1504 – Michelangelo’s David sculpture installed in the Piazza della Signoria, near the entrance to Palazzo Vecchio. David was moved to the Galleria dell’Accademia to protect it from damage and further weathering mainly due to soot in August 1873. Today an original size replica stands in its place.
- 1512 – Florentine Republic dissolved after defeat by Papal forces under Medici control
- Piero Soderini and Nicolo Machiavelli exiled
- 1513 – Machiavelli publishes The Prince
- 1527 – June 21: Machiavelli dies
- 1565 – Fountain of Neptune inaugurated in Pizza della Signoria. Commissioned by Cosimo I de’ Medici in 1559. He was Duke of Florence from 1537-1569 and responsible for a vast number of architectural and artistic elements that still exist today.
- 1570 – Cosimo I creates Tuscan state free from Pope and Holy Roman Empire
- 1581 – Uffizi art museum built
- 1595 – second Eucharistic Miracle of Florence. On Good Friday a fallen candle started a fire. Six fragments of consecrated hosts fell on the smoldering carpet, but we found intact and joined together. In 1628 Archbishop Marzio Medici examined the fragments and found them incorrupt. The reliquaries of this and the miracle of 1230 are held in St. Ambrose church.
17th–19th centuries
- 1743 – death of Anna Maria Luisa, last of the Medici, the Medici inheritance is bequeathed to Florence and becomes the basis of the Uffizi Gallery collection. Florence is then ruled by the house of Lorraine under Francis Stephen, who becomes Emperor I of Austria.
- 1784 – Galleria dell’Accademia established. The David arrived in 1873, but waited nine years in a wooden box, for the construction of the Tribune designed by architect Emilio De Fabris to host it. Today’s Galleria dell’Accademia was established in 1882.
- 1799-1814 – Tuscany is occupied by Napoleon’s French troops
- 1848 – Firenze Santa Maria Novella railway station opens
- 1865-70 – Florence is made capital of the newly united Kingdom of Italy. King Vittorio Emmanuele is installed in Palazzo Pitti
20th century
- 1901 – Population estimate: 236,635
- 1943 – German occupation begins. September 25 Aerial bombing by Allied forces.
- 1944 – August 3: Germans blow up all the bridges in Florence except the Ponte Vecchio because commanding General appreciated history more.
- – August 11: German occupation ends
- 1982 – Historic Center of Florence designated an UNESCO World Heritage Site
- 2022 – Population estimates: 383,000; Metro area 710,000
