The growth and development of Florence
The growth and development of Florence has occurred in several distinct
stages during which the present landscape of Florence was defined. In each
of these eras the city reached a peak in terms of commerce, its significance
in Italian and European trading, and in population.
During the Roman era the city was under the control of the Roman Republic
and then the Roman Empire. This period lasted from the founding of the city
in 59 B.C. until 405 A.D. The second era in the city's development lasted
from the early 5th century until the early 12th century during which time
control of the city was lost by the Byzantine Emperors in Constantinople.
It was during this era that Christianity gained an unbreakable hold over
the people of Florence. During this second era of development monasteries
inside and outside the city served to preserve the old culture of the city
during times when the town was controlled by various foreign powers.
The next era in the growth of Florence is the most important in the city's
history and includes the period of the Italian Renaissance; this era lasted
from the 13th century until the end of the 16th century. The next of the
important eras in the development of the city was another period of growth
and included a brief period during which Florence was the capital of the
newly unified Italy; this era lasted from the late 1700s through the Napoleonic
occupation and until the capital was moved from Florence to Rome in 1871.
It was during this era that much of presentp;day Florence was built;
during this era Florence once again gained prominence as an important political
and economic center of Italy. In the 19th century, the city became an international
center of intellectual thought and literature.
Following another period of decline, the city grew at the start of the 20th
century; this growth lasted until World War II when the city was damaged
by 18 days of bombing by the Allies; following World War II the city was
rebuilt, but in 1966 disaster again struck the city; the River Arno flooded
the city and left more than 14,000 families homeless, and damaged much Florence's
collection of Renaissance Art.
Click on the era of growth and development that you would like to learn
more about.
The Roman Era
The second era of prosperity in Florence; the
11th, 12th, and 13th century
The Florentine Renaissance
The Napoleonic occupation; the first capitol
of Italy
Florence in the 20th Century
Table of Contents
Continue learning about Florence