Florence

Famous People of Florence

Cosimo de Medici: He was called the father of his city-state because of his support of the arts and public buildings. He was a generous patron of the arts and a excellent statesman, he led the negotiations for the Treaty of Lodi. He controlled the government and made Florence the centre of the renaissance culture. As well as controlling the oligarchy he was wealthy enough to hold social events to discuss ideas and art, pay for some of the most beautiful churches and buildings/monuments of Florence.

Historical highlights

During the early renaissance in Florence, the florin was one of the first gold coins to be produced in Western Europe. The florin led Europe to the use of money rather than exchanging one product for another. The florin became the standard currency of Europe during the early renaissance, because of Florence's banking families were so powerful and influential, also because the coin was such a high grade of gold.

Political and Economics

Florence was an oligarchy (The Medici Family). Florence prospered because of its merchants and trade (silk and wool). Florence is the richest city-state, it became so rich that it bought the surrounding cities, Lucca, Arezzo and Livorno this way the Florentines extended their power. Florence began as a republic but it didn't last because of power struggles among various groups. By 1435 one powerful family the Medici Family who were wealthy bankers took control of the city. Under their leadership, Florence became the centre of the Renaissance.

Geographical advantage

Florence was built on the Arno river which is a great trade route. Since Florence is built on the Arno river the soil is very fertile which is great for the sheep. The Arno river is not the only water source surrounding Florence, there is also the Tiber river and other major seas, this means there are many trade routes for Florence which made this city state the richest. The Arno river was also a good source foe the Florentines (fish).

Social systems

Florence's society was based on a class system, but the merchant class became wealthier and were able to move up the social ladder. The merchant class organized themselves into guilds, which represented the wool manufacturers and wool finishers and the silk merchants and bankers. Most workers were peasants and they were not allowed to join guilds. The nobles still owned land and continued to live on estates outside the city. Education was encouraged and the class system was less rigid but, still a nobility class.

Famous People of Florence

Leonardo Da Vinci: He was a painter, architect, inventor, sculptor, and military engineer, he also got the Name renaissance man. His ideas influenced countless artists and made him the leading light of the Italian renaissance. He was the leading artist and intellectual of the renaissance. He is known for his most famous painting called, "the last supper" and the "Mona Lisa".

Geographical advantage

The terrain surrounding florence was very hilly which made it bad for farming, but very good for raising sheep. As a result the city became a natural source for wool and cloth industries. This made merchants in Florence very rich which made Florence very rich because of trading. The hilly terrain protected florence from invaders.

Historical highlights

Warfare was among the city states over territory and trading routes. After decades of fighting the city-states of Florence, Venice, Milan and Naples signed the Treaty of Lodi in 1454 which brought some peace to the area. Cosimo de Medici, "the father of Florence" led the negotiations to this treaty. In this agreement Milan and Naples formed an alliance with Florence and Venice was supported by the papacy. No city-state was allowed to get powerful enough to overthrow any other. This allowed the city-state to focus on their trade and they gained huge wealth.

Culture

When the Medici Family became the leaders of Florence, the city-state became the centre of the renaissance culture. They were patrons of the arts, they supported artists, architects, and scholars which developed a city rich in art, beautiful architecture and scholarly thought. Because of the Medici Family many new building were designed and constructed like, churches, libraries and the Plato academy (this is were scholars gathered to discuss things). As a result of the Medici family art flourished and because of that 60% of the worlds most important pieces of art are in Italy and half of them are in Florence.