Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Struggles between the pro-papal Guelphs (Guelfi) and the pro-Holy Roman Empire
Ghibellines (Ghibellini) started in the mid-13th century, with power yo-yoing between the
two for almost a century. Into this fractious atmosphere were born revolutionary artist Gi-
otto and outspoken poet Dante Alighieri, whose family belonged to the Guelph camp.
After the Guelphs split into two factions, the Neri (Blacks) and Bianchi (Whites), Dante
went with the Bianchi - the wrong side - and was expelled from his beloved city in 1302,
never to return.
In 1348 the Black Death spirited away almost half the population. This dark period was
used as a backdrop by Boccaccio for his
Decameron.
The history of Medici Florence begins in 1434, when Cosimo the Elder (also known
simply as Cosimo de' Medici), a patron of the arts, assumed power. His eye for talent and
tact in dealing with artists saw the likes of Alberti, Brunelleschi, Luca della Robbia, Fra'
Angelico, Donatello and Fra' Filippo Lippi flourish under his patronage.
In 1439 the Church Council of Florence, aimed at reconciling the Catholic and Eastern
churches, brought to the city Byzantine scholars and craftsmen, whom they hoped would
impart the knowledge and culture of classical antiquity. The Council, attended by the
pope, achieved nothing in the end, but it did influence what was later known as the
Renaissance. Under the rule of Cosimo's popular and cultured grandson, Lorenzo il Mag-
nifico (1469-92), Florence became the epicentre of this 'Rebirth', with artists such as
Michelangelo, Botticelli and Domenico Ghirlandaio at work. Lorenzo's court, which was
filled with Humanists (a school of thought begun in Florence in the late 14th century af-
firming the dignity and potential of mankind and embracing Latin and Greek literary
texts), fostered a flowering of art, music and poetry, turning Florence into Italy's cultural
capital.
Florence's golden age was not to last though, effectively dying (along with Lorenzo) in
1492. Just before his death, the Medici bank had failed and two years later the Medici
were driven out of Florence. In a reaction against the splendour and excess of the Medici
court, the city fell under the control of Girolamo Savonarola, a humourless Dominican
monk who led a stern, puritanical republic. In 1497 the likes of Botticelli gladly consigned
their 'immoral' works and finery to the flames of the infamous 'Bonfire of the Vanities'.
The following year Savonarola fell from public favour and was burned as a heretic.
The pro-French leanings of the subsequent republican government brought it into con-
flict with the pope and his Spanish allies. In 1512 a Spanish force defeated Florence and
the Medici were reinstated. Their tyrannical rule endeared them to few and when Rome,
