A Short History of Florence and the Florentine Republic by Brian Jeffrey Maxson;

Author:Brian Jeffrey Maxson;
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780755640126
Publisher: Bloomsbury UK
Published: 2022-11-07T00:00:00+00:00

Epilogue, 1575–Present

Florence is famous for its golden age between about 1250 and 1550. This book has argued that good reasons remain for viewing those centuries as a unique period in the city’s history. Beginning in the thirteenth century Florentine’s political and cultural might unexpectedly exploded to continental proportions. Families jockeyed for access to real political power. They patronized cultural projects that made arguments for piety, position, power, and status using transcontinental languages. Their scope mirrored similar strengths in the city’s economy and demographics. But things changed in the mid-fourteenth century. Demographic and economic collapse meant more limited political realities, even as the city’s culture continued to profess the grandiose ambitions of previous decades. The unique juxtaposition between the cultural influence and political limits of Florence was born. Over time consensus politics fell to factional fighting. The Medici family emerged victorious. Families supported and resisted Medici’s efforts to consolidate control. Many people avoided either extreme. The Medici moved the city away from its traditional French ties to the regionalism of the Italian League. Yet, transcontinental cultural arguments continued. During the sixteenth century, the Medici consolidated their power over the city. They forced ambitious men to become pro-Medici or leave politics or even Florence itself. Great culture continued but with less direct impact than before. Florence’s cultural reputation, however, continued to increase. By the mid-sixteenth century the Renaissance period had ended. Early Modern Florence settled into secondary roles.

The 450 years between the rule of Duke Cosimo and the present have both changed and preserved the city that once proudly, perhaps at one time even realistically, proclaimed its rightful inheritance to the entirety of the old Roman Republic. The rule of Francesco and then his brother Ferdinando from 1587 continued the trends developed by their father Cosimo. Ferdinando’s reign was particularly noteworthy. Ferdinando was a cardinal when his brother died without a male heir. He relinquished his red robes for a ducal crown. He married his distant relative Christine of Lorraine to strengthen Florentine ties with France, a kingdom then partly ruled by another relative, Catherine de’ Medici. Ferdinando sought to build on his father and brother’s investments in Livorno as an important port city. He built roads to better facilitate trade, travel, and unity across his Tuscan state. He continued to invest in the Florentine silk industry.1 Like his ancestors and fellow Florentines, Ferdinando used culture for a variety of ends, including to legitimate and enhance his political power. Many sculpted likenesses survive, and the city still reflects his urban designs and developments.2

Ferdinando also built upon his father and brother’s diplomatic efforts. Cosimo had maintained only a small court. Ferdinando brought to Florence his already substantial court as a cardinal and used it to augment the family’s public displays. For example, approximately 2,800 guests attended the wedding between Ferdinando and Christine of Lorraine in 1589. Ferdinando continued to cultivate ties with France and through them England. By 1589 Florence was secretly keeping Queen Elizabeth in England informed about Spanish fleets. Simultaneously, Ferdinando maintained the strong ties that his family had developed with the Counter Reformation papacy.

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