Tuscany

Tuscany corresponds closely to ancient Etruria, settled in about 1000 bc. Its inhabitants, the Tusci, or Etruscans, who had a well-developed culture noted for its distinctive art and architecture, were conquered by the Romans, who called the land Tuscia. It was held in turn by the Ostrogoths, the Byzantines, and the Lombards. The last were conquered by Charlemagne and placed under a Frankish duke. In 1030 Boniface II of the House of Canossa became Duke of Tuscany. After his assassination, his wife, Beatrice, governed until 1076, when her daughter, Countess Matilda, inherited the lands. Matilda supported the papal party during the investiture struggle, and she bequeathed all her dominions to the papacy. Holy Roman Emperor Henry V, however, claimed the duchy, and for more than a century the “property of Matilda” caused strife between the popes and the emperors. During this period the major cities became independent and prosperous. Pisa was by then a great maritime republic.

In the 14th century the poet Dante, the painter Giotto, the humanist Petrarch, and the writer Boccaccio made Tuscany pre-eminent in the revival of letters and arts. The Tuscan dialect became the literary language of Italy. In 1406 Pisa submitted to Florence, which then became the major power in Tuscany. After 1434 Florence was ruled by the Medici family. Cosimo I de' Medici, who became duke in 1537, expanded the duchy by receiving Siena from Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. This gift bound the Medici to Spain, and for nearly two centuries Tuscany was under Spanish influence.

The House of Medici died out in the male line in 1737. In accordance with the Treaty of Vienna (1735), the grand duchy was then given to Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, later Holy Roman Emperor Francis I. Grand Duke Ferdinand III was dispossessed by the French in 1799, but he was reinstated in 1814 and ruled until 1824. His son, Leopold II, promoted the prosperity of Tuscany. In 1848 he granted a liberal constitution to his subjects, but the tide of revolution that subsequently swept Italy carried everything before it, and in 1859 the grand duchy was occupied by the forces of Victor Emmanuel II, king of Sardinia. In 1860 the people of Tuscany voted for a union with Italy.