The debate over the founding of the city of Florence.
Who founded the city?
Was it Fiesole?
Was it Rome?
Tradition has it that Florence was founded by the veterans of Julius
Caesar'd army in 59 BCE.
The shape of the city is that of a Roman castrum (garrison town).
Roman Castrum:
Cardo Maximus: the major north-south street
Decumanus: the major east-west street
Where these two major roads intersected was generally the Forum, the center of civic life in any Roman city.
In modern Florence this is the piazza della Repubblica.
Key Moments in Florentine History
Foundation by veterans of Caesar's army
Zenobius made Bishop (393 CE) by Ambrose, Bishop of Milan
Destruction by Totila the Ostrogoth [not Attila]
Reconstruction of city: Charlemagne (801)
Foundation of La Badia: Willa (978) (influence of St. Romuald, founder of the Camaldoli Order)
Foundation of San Miniato al Monte
What Happened in 1215?
The signing of the Magna Carta in Englad
The introduction of Aristotle to the curriculum of the University of Paris
The Fourth Lateran Council in Rome
The murder of Buondelmonte dei Buondelmonti
on Easter Sunday.
The Legend of Buondelmonte
Buondelmonte is engaged to a woman of the Amidei family.
Buondelmonte breaks engagement to become engaged with a woman of the Donati family.
Mosca dei Lamberti gives his counsel: "Cosa fatta capo ha" ["A thing done has an end"].
On Easter Sunday, 1215, Buondelmonte is
murdered at the foot of the statue of Mars as he entered Florence via the
Ponte Vecchio.
The Division of the City of Florence
Following the murder of Buondelmonte, the two families engage in open warfare.
The Amidei seek assistance from the Emperor --> Ghibelline.
The Donati and Buondelmonti seek assistance from the Pope à Guelf.
From this time on Florence was divided
into two political factions, the Guelfs and the Ghibellines
Major Events in Italy and Florence: 1250-1302
1248: Guelfs leaders exiled from Florence
1250: Death of Emperor Frederick II; exiled Guelf leaders return to Florence and exile leading Ghibellines
1250-60: Florence: The "Primo Popolo," Captain of the People, the 12 "Anziani" ("old men")
1260: Battle of Montaperti: Defeat of the Florentine Guelfs by exiled Ghibellines and Sienese; Ghibellines return to power in Florence
1265: Florence: Dante born
1266: Benevento: Defeat of Ghibellines (led by Manfred) by Guelfs led by Charles of Anjou; Guelfs return to power in Florence
1267: Naples: Conradin (grandson of Frederick II) executed by Charles of Anjou
1267-1282: Charles of Anjou podestà
1282: Establishment of Priorate: 6 Priors (the sesti of the city) + Podestà (one-year term)
1289: Campaldino: Florence defeats Arezzo
1293: Ordinances of Justice: new social-political order. 7th Prior: the Standard-Bearer of Justice
1294-95: Split in Guelf Party: Blacks (Neri) led by Donati family and Whites (Bianchi) led by Cerchi family
1295: Dante enrolls in guild of Physicians and Apothecaries
1299-1301: strife in the city. Boniface VIII, Corso Donati (leader of the Black Guelfs), Charles of Valois the "Peacemaker" (brother of Phillip IV "The Fair", king of France)
May 1, 1300: Corso was involved in brawl and exiled from Florence
June 15-August 15, 1300: Dante serves as Prior
1301: Dante is sent to Rome on an embassy to Pope Boniface VIII
Late 1301 Corso reenters city and succeeds in exiling 600 White Guelfs (including Dante)
Date of proclamation of exile: January 27, 1302
Coinage:
Frederick II mints the gold Augustale: 1231 (first since Charlemagne)
Silver Florin minted in Florence: 1235
Gold Florin first minted in Florence: 1252
Bridges over the Arno:
Ponte Vecchio (from Roman period, via Cassia)
Ponte alla Carraia (1218)
Ponte alle Grazie (1237)
Ponte Santa Trinita (1252)
Trade Guilds: Wool, Physicians & Apothecaries, Money Changers,
etc.
Churches: Santa Maria del Fiore (St. Mary of the Flower: Duomo),
Santa Croce (Holy Cross: Franciscan), Santa Maria Novella (New St. Mary's:
Dominicans), San Marco, Santo Spirito (Holy Spirit: Augustinians), Orsanmichele
(Garden of St. Michael)
Municipal and other buildings: Bargello (town hall, 1255), Palazzo
Vecchio (new town hall, 1298), Santa Maria Nuova (hospital), Loggia del
Bigallo (place to leave foundlings), Misericordia (confraternity of mercy,
provides various civic services)
Domestic architecture: tower of Donati family, house and tower of the Foresi family, palace of Davanzati family