Editing Florence (section)

=== 20th century ===
[[File:SanMiniatoAlMonte-Cimetiere.jpg|thumb|''Porte Sante'' cemetery, burial place of notable figures of Florentine history]]

During [[World War II in Europe|World War II]] the city experienced a year-long German occupation (1943–1944) being part of the [[Italian Social Republic]]. Hitler declared it an [[open city]] on 3 July 1944 as troops of the [[British Eighth Army|British 8th Army]] closed in.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/2681509 |title=July 3, 1944 newspaper archive|newspaper=Canberra Times |date=3 July 1944 }}</ref> Except for the [[Ponte Vecchio]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Agosto 1944: la battaglia di Firenze « Storia di Firenze |url=https://www.storiadifirenze.org/?temadelmese=agosto-1944-la-battaglia-di-firenze |access-date=22 February 2024 |website=www.storiadifirenze.org}}</ref> in early August, the retreating Germans decided to demolish all the bridges along the [[Arno]] linking the district of [[Oltrarno]] to the rest of the city, making it difficult for troops of the 8th Army to cross.

[[File:1-5MahrattaLightInfantryFlorence1944.jpg|thumb|1/5 Mahratta Light Infantry, Florence, 28 August 1944]]

Florence was liberated by [[2nd New Zealand Division|New Zealand]], [[6th Armoured Division (South Africa)|South African]] and British troops on 4 August 1944 alongside partisans from the [[Tuscan Committee of National Liberation]] (CTLN). The [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] soldiers who died driving the Germans from Tuscany are buried in cemeteries outside the city (Americans about {{convert|9|km|mi|frac=2|spell=in|abbr=off|disp=or}} south of the city, British and Commonwealth soldiers a few kilometres east of the centre on the right bank of the Arno).

At the end of World War II in May 1945, the US Army's Information and Educational Branch was ordered to establish an overseas university campus for demobilised American service men and women in Florence. The first American university for service personnel was established in June 1945 at the School of Aeronautics. Some 7,500 soldier-students were to pass through the university during its four one-month sessions (see [[G. I. American Universities]]).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://giuniversity.wordpress.com/florence/ |title=University Study Center, Florence « The GI University Project |publisher=Giuniversity.wordpress.com |date=4 July 2010 |access-date=16 November 2012}}</ref>

In November 1966, the [[1966 Flood of the River Arno in Florence|Arno flooded]] parts of the centre, damaging many art treasures. Around the city there are tiny placards on the walls noting where the flood waters reached at their highest point.