44 Facts About Florence

1.

Florence was a centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of that era.

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2.

Florence plays an important role in Italian fashion, and is ranked in the top 15 fashion capitals of the world by Global Language Monitor; furthermore, it is a major national economic centre, as well as a tourist and industrial hub.

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3.

Florence originated as a Roman city, and later, after a long period as a flourishing trading and banking medieval commune, it was the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance.

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4.

Florence was home to the Medici, one of European history's most important noble families.

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5.

Florence was conquered by Charlemagne in 774 and became part of the Duchy of Tuscany, with Lucca as capital.

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6.

The Black Death of 1348 reduced it by over half, 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, who in 1378 rose up in a brief revolt against oligarchic rule in the Revolt of the Ciompi.

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7.

Lorenzo was an accomplished poet and musician and brought composers and singers to Florence, including Alexander Agricola, Johannes Ghiselin, and Heinrich Isaac.

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8.

Florence was famed for his penitential sermons, lambasting what he viewed as widespread immorality and attachment to material riches.

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9.

Florence praised the exile of the Medici as the work of God, punishing them for their decadence.

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10.

Florence seized the opportunity to carry through political reforms leading to a more democratic rule.

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11.

Florence officially became a monarchy in 1531, when Emperor Charles and Pope Clement named Alessandro de Medici as Duke of the Florentine Republic.

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12.

From 1801 to 1807 Florence was the capital of the Napoleonic client state Kingdom of Etruria.

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13.

Florence was the prefecture of the French departement of Arno from 1808 to the fall of Napoleon in 1814.

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14.

Florence replaced 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.

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15.

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 was not to be destroyed due to its historical value.

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16.

Florence was liberated by New Zealand, South African and British troops on 4 August 1944 alongside partisans from the Tuscan Committee of National Liberation.

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17.

Florence has a humid subtropical climate, tending to Mediterranean (Csa).

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18.

The average age of Florence resident is 49 compared to the Italian average of 42.

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19.

In 2013, Florence was listed as the second best world city by Conde Nast Traveler.

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20.

Florence is Italy's 17th richest city in terms of average workers' earnings, with the figure being €23, 265, coming after Mantua, yet surpassing Bolzano.

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21.

Florence is a major production and commercial centre in Italy, where the Florentine industrial complexes in the suburbs produce all sorts of goods, from furniture, rubber goods, chemicals, and food.

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22.

Florence is believed to have the greatest concentration of art in the world.

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23.

In October 2021, Florence was shortlisted for the European Commission's 2022 European Capital of Smart Tourism award along with Bordeaux, Copenhagen, Dublin, Ljubljana, Palma de Mallorca and Valencia.

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24.

Florence was the birthplace of High Renaissance art, which lasted from 1450 to 1527.

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25.

Florence has large numbers of art-filled churches, such as San Miniato al Monte, San Lorenzo, Santa Maria Novella, Santa Trinita, Santa Maria del Carmine, Santa Croce, Santo Spirito, the Annunziata, Ognissanti and numerous others.

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26.

Artists from other regions who worked in Florence include Raphael, Andrea Pisano, Giambologna, Il Sodoma and Peter Paul Rubens.

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27.

Florentine, spoken by inhabitants of Florence and its environs, is a Tuscan dialect and the immediate parent language to modern Italian.

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28.

Florence became a musical centre during the Middle Ages and music and the performing arts remain an important part of its culture.

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29.

Florence, was once such city which experienced a fantastic period in the early seventeenth Century of musico-theatrical innovation, including the beginning and flourishing of opera.

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30.

Florence has been a setting for numerous works of fiction and movies, including the novels and associated films, such as Light in the Piazza, The Girl Who Couldn't Say No, Calmi Cuori Appassionati, Hannibal, A Room with a View, Tea with Mussolini, Virgin Territory and Inferno.

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31.

Florence has appeared as a location in video games such as Assassins Creed II.

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32.

The Republic of Florence appears as a playable nation in Paradox Interactive's grand strategy game Europa Universalis IV.

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33.

Florence has been an important scientific centre for centuries, notably during the Renaissance with scientists such as Leonardo da Vinci.

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34.

Many of the rich families in Renaissance Florence were major purchasers of locally produced fine clothing, and the specialists of fashion in the economy and culture of Florence during that period is often underestimated.

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35.

Florence is regarded by some as the birthplace and earliest centre of the modern fashion industry in Italy.

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36.

Florence has served as the home of the Italian fashion company Salvatore Ferragamo since 1928.

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37.

Florence is known as the "cradle of the Renaissance" for its monuments, churches, and buildings.

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38.

The best-known site of Florence is the domed cathedral of the city, Santa Maria del Fiore, known as The Duomo, whose dome was built by Filippo Brunelleschi.

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39.

Originally called the Palazzo della Signoria, after the Signoria of Florence, the ruling body of the Republic of Florence, it was given several other names: Palazzo del Popolo, Palazzo dei Priori, and Palazzo Ducale, in accordance with the varying use of the palace during its long history.

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40.

Florence contains numerous museums and art galleries where some of the world's most important works of art are held.

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41.

Florence was one of the host cities for cycling's 2013 UCI Road World Championships.

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42.

Since 2017 Florence is represented in Eccellenza, the top tier of rugby union league system in Italy, by I Medicei, which is a club established in 2015 by the merging of the senior squads of I Cavalieri and Firenze Rugby 1931.

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43.

Centre of Florence is closed to through-traffic, although buses, taxis and residents with appropriate permits are allowed in.

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44.

University of Florence was first founded in 1321, and was recognized by Pope Clement VI in 1349.

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