Editing Florence (section)

=== Middle Ages and Renaissance ===
{{Main|Republic of Florence|Italian Renaissance}}

==== Rise of the Medici ====
[[File:Statue of Leonardo da Vinci (Uffizi).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Leonardo da Vinci]] statue outside the [[Uffizi Gallery]]]]
[[File:Francesco Rosselli (attribution). Pianta della Catena, 1470.jpg|thumb|Painting based on an original from the late 15th century, attributed to Francesco di Lorenzo Rosselli]]
At the height of demographic expansion around 1325, the urban population may have been as great as 120,000, and the rural population around the city was probably close to 300,000.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Day |first1=W.R. |s2cid=161168875 |title=The population of Florence before the Black Death: survey and synthesis |journal=Journal of Medieval History |date=3 January 2012 |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=93–129 |doi=10.1016/S0304-4181(02)00002-7}}</ref> The [[Black Death]] of 1348 reduced it by over half<!-- ~50,000 -->.<ref>"[http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/plague/ Decameron Web, Boccaccio, Plague]". Brown University.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Eimerl |first=Sarel |others=et al |title=The World of Giotto: c. 1267–1337 |url=https://archive.org/details/worldofgiottoc1200eime |url-access=registration |publisher=Time-Life Books |year=1967 |isbn=0-900658-15-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/worldofgiottoc1200eime/page/n187 184]}}</ref> About 25,000 are said to have been supported by the city's [[wool]] industry: in 1345 Florence was the scene of an attempted strike by wool combers (''ciompi''), who in 1378 rose up in a brief revolt against oligarchic rule in the [[Ciompi|Revolt of the Ciompi]]. After their suppression, Florence came under the sway (1382–1434) of the [[House of Albizzi|Albizzi]] family, who became bitter rivals of the Medici.

In the 15th century, Florence was among the largest cities in Europe, with a population of 60,000, and was considered rich and economically successful.<ref>{{cite book |author=Pallanti, Giuseppe |title=Mona Lisa Revealed: The True Identity of Leonardo's Model |year=2006 |publisher=Skira |location=Florence, Italy |pages=[https://archive.org/details/monalisarevealed00pall/page/17 17, 23, 24] |isbn=88-7624-659-2 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/monalisarevealed00pall/page/17}}</ref> [[Cosimo de' Medici]] was the first Medici family member to essentially control the city from behind the scenes. Although the city was technically a democracy of sorts, his power came from a vast [[patronage]] network along with his alliance to the new immigrants, the ''gente nuova'' (new people). The fact that the Medici were bankers to the pope also contributed to their ascendancy. Cosimo was succeeded by his son [[Piero di Cosimo de' Medici|Piero]], who was, soon after, succeeded by Cosimo's grandson, [[Lorenzo de' Medici|Lorenzo]] in 1469. Lorenzo was a great patron of the arts, commissioning works by [[Michelangelo]], [[Leonardo da Vinci]] and [[Sandro Botticelli|Botticelli]]. Lorenzo was an accomplished poet and musician and brought composers and singers to Florence, including [[Alexander Agricola]], [[Johannes Ghiselin]], and [[Heinrich Isaac]]. By contemporary Florentines (and since), he was known as "Lorenzo the Magnificent" (Lorenzo il Magnifico).

Following Lorenzo de' Medici's death in 1492, he was succeeded by his son [[Piero II de' Medici|Piero&nbsp;II]]. When the French king [[Charles VIII of France|Charles&nbsp;VIII]] invaded [[northern Italy]], Piero&nbsp;II chose to resist his army. But when he realised the size of the [[French army]] at the gates of Pisa, he had to accept the humiliating conditions of the French king. These made the Florentines rebel, and they expelled Piero&nbsp;II. With his exile in 1494, the first period of Medici rule ended with the restoration of a republican government.

==== Savonarola, Machiavelli, and the Medici popes ====
[[File:Hanging and burning of Girolamo Savonarola in Florence.jpg|thumb|right|[[Girolamo Savonarola]] being hanged and burned in 1498. The brooding [[Palazzo Vecchio]] is at centre right.]]

During this period, the [[Dominican Order|Dominican friar]] [[Girolamo Savonarola]] had become [[Prior (ecclesiastical)|prior]] of the [[San Marco, Florence|San Marco]] monastery in 1490. He was famed for his penitential sermons, lambasting what he viewed as widespread immorality and attachment to material riches. He praised the exile of the Medici as the work of God, punishing them for their decadence. He seized the opportunity to carry through political reforms leading to a more democratic rule. But when Savonarola publicly accused [[Pope Alexander VI]] of corruption, he was banned from speaking in public. When he broke this ban, he was excommunicated. The Florentines, tired of his teachings, turned against him and arrested him. He was convicted as a heretic, hanged and [[Death by burning|burned]] on the [[Piazza della Signoria]] on 23 May 1498. His ashes were dispersed in the Arno river.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/girolamo-savonarola_%28Dizionario-Biografico%29/ |title=Treccani – la cultura italiana &#124; Treccani, il portale del sapere}}</ref>

Another Florentine of this period was [[Niccolò Machiavelli]], whose prescriptions for Florence's regeneration under strong leadership have often been seen as a legitimization of political expediency and even malpractice. Machiavelli was a political thinker, renowned for his political handbook ''[[The Prince]]'', which is about ruling and exercising power. Commissioned by the Medici, Machiavelli also wrote the ''[[Florentine Histories]]'', the history of the city.

In 1512, the Medici retook control of Florence with the help of Spanish and Papal troops.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Florence/History |title=History of Florence |encyclopedia=Britannica.com |access-date=15 July 2021}}</ref> They were led by two cousins, [[Pope Leo X|Giovanni]] and [[Pope Clement VII|Giulio de' Medici]], both of whom would later become [[Pope]]s of the Catholic Church, (Leo X and Clement VII, respectively). Both were generous patrons of the arts, commissioning works like [[Michelangelo]]'s [[Laurentian Library]] and [[Medici Chapel (Michelangelo)|Medici Chapel]] in Florence, to name just two.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.michelangelo.net/laurentian-library/ |title=Laurentian Library |work=michelangelo.net |access-date=15 July 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-team-art-restorers-using-bacteria-clean-michelangelos-sculptures-180977866/ |title=Italian Art Restorers Used Bacteria to Clean Michelangelo Masterpieces |work=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]] |last=Davis-Marks |first=Isis |date=2 June 2021 |access-date=15 July 2021}}</ref> Their reigns coincided with political upheaval in Italy, and thus in 1527, Florentines drove out the Medici for a second time and re-established a theocratic republic on 16 May 1527, (Jesus Christ was named King of Florence).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ucatholic.com/blog/the-time-when-jesus-was-the-king-of-florence/ |title=The Time When Jesus Was The King Of Florence |last=Ryan |first=Billy |work=ucatholic.com |date=19 August 2020 |access-date=15 July 2021}}</ref> The Medici returned to power in Florence in 1530, with the armies of [[Holy Roman Emperor Charles V]] and the blessings of [[Pope Clement VII]] (Giulio de' Medici).

Florence officially became a monarchy in 1531, when Emperor Charles and Pope Clement named [[Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence|Alessandro de' Medici]] as ''[[Duke of the Florentine Republic]]''. The Medici's monarchy would last over two centuries. Alessandro's successor, [[Cosimo I de' Medici]], was named [[Grand Duchy of Tuscany|Grand Duke of Tuscany]] in 1569; in all Tuscany, only the Republic of Lucca (later a [[Duchy of Lucca|Duchy]]) and the Principality of [[Piombino]] were independent from Florence.