# Florence

By [baziba.eth](https://paragraph.com/@baziba) · 2023-07-01

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Florence
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Florence was a centre of [medieval](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Ages) European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of that era.[\[5\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence#cite_note-6) It is considered by many academics[\[6\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence#cite_note-7) to have been the birthplace of the [Renaissance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance), becoming a major artistic, cultural, commercial, political, economic and financial center.[\[7\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence#cite_note-8) During this time, Florence rose to a position of enormous influence in Italy, Europe, and beyond.[\[8\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence#cite_note-9) Its turbulent political history includes periods of rule by the powerful [Medici](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Medici) family and numerous religious and republican revolutions.[\[9\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence#cite_note-10) From 1865 to 1871 the city served as the capital of the [Kingdom of Italy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Italy). The [Florentine dialect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florentine_dialect) forms the base of [Standard Italian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_language) and it became the language of culture throughout Italy[\[10\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence#cite_note-11) due to the prestige of the masterpieces by [Dante Alighieri](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dante_Alighieri), [Petrarch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrarch), [Giovanni Boccaccio](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Boccaccio), [Niccolò Machiavelli](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niccol%C3%B2_Machiavelli) and [Francesco Guicciardini](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesco_Guicciardini).

The city attracts millions of tourists each year, and UNESCO declared the [Historic Centre of Florence](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historic_Centre_of_Florence) a [World Heritage Site](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Heritage_Site) in 1982. The city is noted for its culture, [Renaissance art and architecture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Renaissance_art) and monuments.[\[11\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence#cite_note-britannica.com-12) The city also contains numerous museums and art galleries, such as the [Uffizi Gallery](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uffizi_Gallery) and the [Palazzo Pitti](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palazzo_Pitti), and still exerts an influence in the fields of art, culture and politics.[\[12\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence#cite_note-Time-13) Due to Florence's artistic and architectural heritage, [_Forbes_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbes) ranked it as the most beautiful city in the world in 2010.[\[13\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence#cite_note-14)

Florence plays an important role in [Italian fashion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_fashion),[\[12\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence#cite_note-Time-13) and is ranked in the top 15 [fashion capitals](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fashion_capital) of the world by [Global Language Monitor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Language_Monitor);[\[14\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence#cite_note-languagemonitor-15) furthermore, it is a major national economic centre,[\[12\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence#cite_note-Time-13) as well as a tourist and industrial hub.

![A collage of Florence showing the Galleria degli Uffizi (top left), followed by the Palazzo Pitti, a sunset view of the city and the Fountain of Neptune in the Piazza della Signoria](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/337e94cfe68239ba7d81eb32fe3af9273de48cd38982e492a5ff90d0408a825b.jpg)

A collage of Florence showing the Galleria degli Uffizi (top left), followed by the Palazzo Pitti, a sunset view of the city and the Fountain of Neptune in the Piazza della Signoria

Florence originated as a Roman city, and later, after a long period as a flourishing trading and banking [medieval commune](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_commune), it was the birthplace of the [Italian Renaissance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Renaissance). It was politically, economically, and culturally one of the most important cities in Europe and the world from the 14th to 16th centuries.[\[11\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence#cite_note-britannica.com-12)

The language spoken in the city during the 14th century came to be accepted as the model for what would become the [Italian language](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_language). Thanks especially to the works of the Tuscans [Dante](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dante_Alighieri), [Petrarch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrarch) and [Boccaccio](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Boccaccio),[\[16\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence#cite_note-17) the Florentine dialect, above all the local dialects, was adopted as the basis for a national literary language.[\[17\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence#cite_note-18)[\[18\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence#cite_note-19)

Starting from the late [Middle Ages](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Ages), Florentine money—in the form of the gold [florin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florin_\(Italian_coin\))—financed the development of industry all over Europe, from Britain to Bruges, to Lyon and Hungary. Florentine bankers financed the English kings during the [Hundred Years' War](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred_Years%27_War). They similarly financed the papacy, including the construction of their [provisional capital of Avignon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avignon_Papacy) and, after their return to Rome, the reconstruction and Renaissance embellishment of Rome.

Florence was home to the Medici, one of European history's most important noble families. [Lorenzo de' Medici](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenzo_de%27_Medici) was considered a political and cultural mastermind of Italy in the late 15th century. Two members of the family were [popes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope) in the early 16th century: [Leo X](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_X) and [Clement VII](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clement_VII). [Catherine de Medici](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_de_Medici) married King [Henry II of France](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_II_of_France) and, after his death in 1559, reigned as regent in France. [Marie de' Medici](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_de%27_Medici) married [Henry IV of France](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_IV_of_France) and gave birth to the future King [Louis XIII](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XIII_of_France). The Medici reigned as [Grand Dukes of Tuscany](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Dukes_of_Tuscany), starting with [Cosimo I de' Medici](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosimo_I_de%27_Medici) in 1569 and ending with the death of [Gian Gastone de' Medici](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gian_Gastone_de%27_Medici) in 1737.

The [Kingdom of Italy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Italy), which was established in 1861, moved its capital from [Turin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turin) to Florence in 1865, although the capital was moved to [Rome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome) in 1871.

### Roman origins

_Main article:_ [_Florentia (Roman city)_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florentia_\(Roman_city\))

Florence was established by the Romans in 59 BC as a colony for veteran soldiers and was built in the style of an [army camp](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_camp).[\[19\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence#cite_note-20) Situated along the [_Via Cassia_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Via_Cassia), the main route between Rome and the north, and within the fertile valley of the [Arno](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arno), the settlement quickly became an important commercial centre and in AD 285 became the capital of the [Tuscia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuscia) region.

### Early Middle Ages

The [Goth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goths) King [Totila](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totila) razes the walls of Florence during the [Gothic War](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_War_\(535%E2%80%93554\)): illumination from the Chigi manuscript of [Villani's _Cronica_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Villani).

In centuries to come, the city experienced turbulent alternate periods of [Ostrogoth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostrogoths) and [Byzantine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Empire) rule, during which the city was fought over, helping to cause the population to fall to as low as 1,000 people.[\[20\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence#cite_note-21) Peace returned under [Lombard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lombards) rule in the 6th century and Florence was in turn conquered by [Charlemagne](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemagne) in 774 becoming part of the [March of Tuscany](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_of_Tuscany) centred on [Lucca](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucca). The population began to grow again and commerce prospered.

### Second millennium

The Basilica di [San Miniato al Monte](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Miniato_al_Monte)

[Margrave Hugo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh,_Margrave_of_Tuscany) chose Florence as his residency instead of [Lucca](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucca) around 1000 AD. The [Golden Age](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Age) of Florentine art began around this time. In 1100, Florence was a "[commune](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_commune)", meaning a city-state. The city's primary resource was the [Arno river](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arno), providing power and access for the industry (mainly textile industry), and access to the Mediterranean sea for international trade, helping the growth of an industrious merchant community. The Florentine merchant banking skills became recognised in Europe after they brought decisive financial innovation (e.g. [bills of exchange](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bills_of_exchange),[\[21\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence#cite_note-22) [double-entry bookkeeping system](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-entry_bookkeeping_system)) to medieval fairs. This period also saw the eclipse of Florence's formerly powerful rival [Pisa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisa).[\[22\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence#cite_note-23) The growing power of the merchant elite culminated in an anti-aristocratic uprising, led by [Giano della Bella](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giano_della_Bella), resulting in the [Ordinances of Justice](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordinances_of_Justice)[\[23\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence#cite_note-24) which entrenched the power of the elite guilds until the end of the Republic.

### Middle Ages and Renaissance

_Main articles:_ [_Republic of Florence_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Florence) _and_ [_Italian Renaissance_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Renaissance)

#### Rise of the Medici

[Leonardo da Vinci](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci) statue outside the [Uffizi Gallery](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uffizi_Gallery)

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.[\[24\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence#cite_note-25) The [Black Death](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Death) of 1348 reduced it by over half,[\[25\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence#cite_note-26)[\[26\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence#cite_note-27) about 25,000 are said to have been supported by the city's [wool](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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 [Revolt of the Ciompi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciompi). After their suppression, Florence came under the sway (1382–1434) of the [Albizzi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_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.[\[27\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence#cite_note-28) [Cosimo de' Medici](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosimo_de%27_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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piero_di_Cosimo_de%27_Medici), who was, soon after, succeeded by Cosimo's grandson, [Lorenzo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenzo_de%27_Medici) in 1469. Lorenzo was a great patron of the arts, commissioning works by [Michelangelo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelangelo), [Leonardo da Vinci](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci) and [Botticelli](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandro_Botticelli). Lorenzo was an accomplished poet and musician and brought composers and singers to Florence, including [Alexander Agricola](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Agricola), [Johannes Ghiselin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Ghiselin), and [Heinrich Isaac](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piero_II_de%27_Medici). When the French king [Charles VIII](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_VIII_of_France) invaded [northern Italy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Italy), Piero II chose to resist his army. But when he realised the size of the [French army](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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 II. With his exile in 1494, the first period of Medici rule ended with the restoration of a republican government.

[Girolamo Savonarola](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girolamo_Savonarola) being hanged and burned in 1498. The brooding [Palazzo Vecchio](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palazzo_Vecchio) is at centre right.

During this period, the [Dominican friar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominican_Order) [Girolamo Savonarola](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girolamo_Savonarola) had become [prior](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prior_\(ecclesiastical\)) of the [San Marco](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Marco,_Florence) 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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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 [burned at the stake](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_by_burning) on the [Piazza della Signoria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piazza_della_Signoria) on 23 May 1498. His ashes were dispersed in the Arno river.[\[28\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence#cite_note-29)

Another Florentine of this period was [Niccolò Machiavelli](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niccol%C3%B2_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_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prince), which is about ruling and exercising power. Commissioned by the Medici, Machiavelli also wrote the [_Florentine Histories_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florentine_Histories), the history of the city.

In 1512, the Medici retook control of Florence with the help of Spanish and Papal troops.[\[29\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence#cite_note-30) They were led by two cousins, [Giovanni](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Leo_X) and [Giulio de' Medici](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Clement_VII), both of whom would later become [Popes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope) of the Catholic Church, (Leo X and Clement VII, respectively). Both were generous patrons of the arts, commissioning works like [Michelangelo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelangelo)'s [_Laurentian Library_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurentian_Library) and [_Medici Chapel_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medici_Chapel) in Florence, to name just two.[\[30\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence#cite_note-31)[\[31\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence#cite_note-32) 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).[\[32\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence#cite_note-33) The Medici returned to power in Florence in 1530, with the armies of [Holy Roman Emperor Charles V](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Roman_Emperor_Charles_V) and the blessings of [Pope Clement VII](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Clement_VII) (Giulio de' Medici).

Florence officially became a monarchy in 1531, when Emperor Charles and Pope Clement named [Alessandro de Medici](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alessandro_de_Medici) as [_Duke of the Florentine Republic_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_of_the_Florentine_Republic). The Medici's monarchy would last over two centuries. Alessandro's successor, [Cosimo I de Medici](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosimo_I_de_Medici), was named [Grand Duke of Tuscany](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Tuscany) in 1569; in all Tuscany, only the Republic of Lucca (later a [Duchy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duchy_of_Lucca)) and the Principality of [Piombino](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piombino) were independent from Florence.

### 18th and 19th centuries

[Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_II,_Holy_Roman_Emperor) and his family. Leopold was, from 1765 to 1790, the [Grand Duke](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_duke) of Tuscany.

The extinction of the Medici dynasty and the accession in 1737 of [Francis Stephen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_I,_Holy_Roman_Emperor), [duke of Lorraine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorraine_\(duchy\)) and husband of [Maria Theresa of Austria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Theresa_of_Austria), led to Tuscany's temporary inclusion in the territories of the Austrian crown. It became a [secundogeniture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secundogeniture) of the [Habsburg-Lorraine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Lorraine) dynasty, who were deposed for the [House of Bourbon-Parma](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Bourbon-Parma) in 1801. From 1801 to 1807 Florence was the capital of the [Napoleonic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon) client state [Kingdom of Etruria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Etruria). The Bourbon-Parma were deposed in December 1807 when Tuscany was annexed by [France](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_French_Empire). Florence was the [prefecture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prefectures_in_France) of the French département of [Arno](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arno_\(department\)) from 1808 to the fall of [Napoleon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_I) in 1814. The Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty was restored on the throne of Tuscany at the [Congress of Vienna](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congress_of_Vienna) but finally deposed in 1859. Tuscany became a region of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861.

Florence replaced [Turin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turin) as Italy's capital in 1865 and, in an effort to modernise the city, the old market in the Piazza del Mercato Vecchio and many medieval houses were pulled down and replaced by a more formal street plan with newer houses. The Piazza (first renamed Piazza [Vittorio Emanuele II](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Emmanuel_II_of_Italy), then [Piazza della Repubblica](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piazza_della_Repubblica_\(Florence\)), the present name) was significantly widened and a large triumphal arch was constructed at the west end. This development was unpopular and was prevented from continuing by the efforts of several British and American people living in the city.\[[_citation needed_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)\] A museum recording the destruction stands nearby today.

The country's second capital city was superseded by Rome six years later, after the withdrawal of the French troops allowed the [capture of Rome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capture_of_Rome).

### 20th century

_Porte Sante_ cemetery, burial place of notable figures of Florentine history

During [World War II](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_in_Europe) the city experienced a year-long German occupation (1943–1944) being part of the [Italian Social Republic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Social_Republic). Hitler declared it an [open city](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_city) on 3 July 1944 as troops of the [British 8th Army](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Eighth_Army) closed in.[\[33\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence#cite_note-34) In early August, the retreating Germans decided to demolish all the bridges along the [Arno](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arno) linking the district of [Oltrarno](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oltrarno) to the rest of the city, making it difficult for troops of the 8th Army to cross. However, at the last moment Charles Steinhauslin, at the time consul of 26 countries in Florence, convinced the German general in Italy that the [Ponte Vecchio](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponte_Vecchio) was not to be destroyed due to its historical value.\[[_citation needed_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)\] Instead, an equally historic area of streets directly to the south of the bridge, including part of the [Corridoio Vasariano](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasari_Corridor), was destroyed using mines. Since then the bridges have been restored to their original forms using as many of the remaining materials as possible, but the buildings surrounding the Ponte Vecchio have been rebuilt in a style combining the old with modern design. Shortly before leaving Florence, as they knew that they would soon have to retreat, the Germans executed many [freedom fighters](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuscan_Committee_of_National_Liberation) and political opponents publicly, in streets and squares including the Piazza Santo Spirito.\[[_citation needed_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)\]

1/5 Mahratta Light Infantry, Florence, 28 August 1944

Florence was liberated by [New Zealand](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2nd_New_Zealand_Division), [South African](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6th_Armoured_Division_\(South_Africa\)) and British troops on 4 August 1944 alongside partisans from the [Tuscan Committee of National Liberation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuscan_Committee_of_National_Liberation) (CTLN). The [Allied](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allies_of_World_War_II) soldiers who died driving the Germans from Tuscany are buried in cemeteries outside the city (Americans about nine kilometres or 5+1⁄2 miles 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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._I._American_Universities)).[\[34\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence#cite_note-35)

In November 1966, the [Arno flooded](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1966_Flood_of_the_River_Arno_in_Florence) 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.

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*Originally published on [baziba.eth](https://paragraph.com/@baziba/florence)*