FLORENCE
109
FLORENCE
of his country. In 1440 the Albizzi were outlawed,
and Cosimo found his path clear. He scrupulously re-
tained the old form of government, and refrainetl from
all arbitrary measures. He was open-handed, built
palaces and villas, also churches (.San Marco, San Lor-
enzo); his costly and rare library was open to all; he
patronized scholars and encouraged the arts. With
him began the golden age of the Medici. The republic
now annexed the district of Casentino, taken from the
Yisconti at the Peace of Gavriana (1441). Cosimo's
son Piero was by no means equal to his father; never-
theless the happy ending of the war against Venice,
the former ally of Florence, shed glory on the Medici
name. Piero died in 14G9, whereupon his sons Lor-
enzo and Giuliano were created " princes of the State "
(principi dello Stato). In 147S occurred the conspir-
acy of the Pazzi, to whose ambitious plans Lorenzo
was an obstacle. A plot was formed to kill the two
Medici brothers in the cathedral on Easter Sunday;
Giuliano fell, but Lorenzo escaped. The authors of
the plot, among them Francesco Salviati, Archbishop
of Pisa, perished at the hands of the angry populace.
Sixtus IV, whose nephew Girolamo Riario was also an
accomplice, laid the town under an interdict because of
the murder of Salviati and the Pazzi, and supported by
the King of Naples threatened to go to war. Hostili-
ties had actually begun, when Lorenzo set out for
Naples and by liis diplomatic tact induced Iving Al-
fonso to make peace (1480) ; this obliged the pope also
to come to terms. Meanwhile, despite his almost un-
limited influence, Lorenzo refused to be anything else
than the foremost citizen of Florence. With the ex-
ception of Siena, all Tuscany now acknowledged the
rule of Florence and offeretl the spectacle of an exten-
sive principality governed by a republic of free and
equal citizens. Lorenzo died in 1492. (See the life of
Lorenzo by Roscoe, Liverpool, 1795, and often re-
printed; also the German Ufe by A. von Reumont,
Leipzig, 1874, and Eag. tr. by R. Harrison, London,
1876.)
Lorenzo was succeeded by his son, Piero, but he did not long retain popularity, especially after he had ceded the fortresses of Pietra Santa and Pontremoli to Charles VIII of France, who entered Italy with the avowed purpose of overthrowing the .Ajagonese do- minion in Naples. The popular displeasure reached its acme when Piero pawned the towns of Pisa and Leghorn to the French king. He was driven out and the former republican government restored. Charles YIII entered Florence and endeavoured to have Piero's promises honoured; but the firmness of Piero Capponi and a threatened uprising of the people forced the French king to quit Tuscany (1494). There were at that time three parties in Florence: the Medi- cean party, known as the Palleschi (fiom the palle or little balls in the Medici coat of arms), the oligarchic republicans, called the Arrabiati (enraged), and the democrats or Piagnoni (weepers). The last had for chief tiie Dominican friar, Girolamo Savonarola of Ferrara, who hoped by their aid to restore in Florence piety and a Christian discipline of hfe, i. e. to establish in the city the Ivingdom of Christ. In fact, Christ was publicly proclaimed Lord or Signore of Florence (Rex popuU Florentini). (For the irreligious and rational- istic elements in the city at this period see Gpicciar- DiNi and Machiavelli). Savonarola's intemperate speeches were the occasion of his excommunication, and in 1498 he was publicly burned. The Arrabiati were then in power. In 1512 Cardinal Giovanni de' Medici purchased at a great price the support of the Spanish captain Cardona and sent him to Florence to demand the return of the Medici. Fearing worse evils the people consented, and Lorenzo II, son of Piero, was recalled as prince. Cardinal Giovanni, however, kept the reins of power in his own hands. As Leo X he sent thither Cardinal Giulio de' Meilici (the natural son of Giuliano) , afterwards Clement VII. The family
had now reached the acme of its power and prestige.
The sack of Rome (1527) and the misfortunes of Cle-
ment \'II caused a third exile of the Medici. Ippo-
lito and Alessandro, cousins of the pope, were driven
out.
In the peace concluded between Emperor Charles V and Clement VII it was agreed that the Medici rule should be restored in Florence. The citizens, how- ever, would not listen to this, and prepared for resist- ance. Their army was defeated at Gavinana (1530) through the treachery of their general, Malatesta Ba- glioni. A treaty was then made with the emperor, Florence paid a heavy war-indemnity and recalled the exiles, and the pope granted a free amnesty. On 5 July, 1531, .\lessandro de' Medici returned and took the title of Duke, promising allegiance to the emperor. Clement VII dictated a new constitution, in which among other things thedistinction between the greater and the lesser guilds was removed, .\lessandro was a man of dissolute habits, and was stabbed to death by a distant relative. Lorenzino (1536), no better, but more clever, than .\lessandro. The murderer fled at once from Florence. The party of Alessandro now offered the ducal office to Cosimo de' Medici, son of Giovanni delle Bande Nere. He avenged the death of Alessan-
Spedaij] Deg
Designed by Brunellesco
dro and finally transformed the government into an absolute principality. This he did by gradually equal- izing the political status of the inhabitants of Florence and of the subject cities and districts. This is the last stage in the political history of Florence as a distinct state; henceforth the political history of the city is that of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. When the new Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed in 1861 Florence was chosen as the seat of government and remained such till 1871.
Few cities have affected more profoundly the course of civilization. In many ways mankind has drawn from Florence its highest inspiration, .\mong the great poets Dante was a Florentme, while Petrarch and Boccaccio were sons of Florentines. Among the great painters Giotto found in Florence patron.age and a proper field for his genius. Fra .Angelico (Giovanni da Fiesole) was a Florentine, likewise Masaccio and Dona- tello. Unrivalled sculptors, like Lorenzo Ghiberti and Michelangelo, architects like Brunelleschi, universal savants like Leone Battista .\lberti, shine like brilliant gems in the city's diadem of fame, and mark in some respects the highest attainments of humanity. Flor- ence was long the chief centre of the Renaissance, the leaders of which were either citizens or welcome guests of that city, e. g. Michael Chrysoloras, Giovanni Argi- ropulo, Leonardo Bruni, Cristoforo Landolfo, Niccol6 Niccoli, Pico della Mirandola, and others scarcely less distinguished for their devotion to Greek and Latin literature, philosophy, art, and antiquities. It was capable at the same time of an incretlible enthusiasm for Plato, whom men like Marsilio Ficino wished to
