FLORENCE
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FLORENCE
Philip the Fair of France, to visit Florence as peace-
maker. He at once recalled the Donati, or Neri, and
set aside the remonstrances of the Bianchi, who were
once more expelled, Dante among them. The exiles
negotiated successively with Pisa, Bologna, and the
chiefs of the Ghibelline party for assistance against the
■Neri; for a while they seemed to infuse new life into
the GhibeUine cause. Before long, however, both par-
ties split up into petty factions. In 1304 Benedict XI
essayed in vain to restore peace by causing the recall
of the exiles. The city then became the wretched
scene of incendiary attempts, murders, and robberies.
In 1306 the Ghibellines were once more driven out,
thanks to Corso Donati (// Barone), who aimed at
tyrannical power and was soon hated by rich and poor
alike. Aided by his father-in-law, Uguccione della
Faggiuola, leader of the Ghibellines in Romagna, he at-
tempted to overthrow the Signoria, accusing it of cor-
ruption and venality. The people assenabled and the
guild-masters condemned him as a traitor; he shut
himself up in his fortress-like house, but soon after-
wards fell from his horse and was killed (13 Sept.,
1308).
In 1310 Emperor Henry VII invaded Italy, and obliged successively the cities of Lombardy to recog- nize his imperial authority. The Florentine exiles (particularly Dante in his Latin work " De Mon- archic ")i also the Pisans, ardently denounced Flor- ence to the emperor as the hotbed of rebellion in Italy. Great was, therefore, the terror in Florence. All the exiles, save Dante, were recalled ; but in order to have an ally against the emperor, whose overlordship they refused to acknowledge, they did homage to Robert, King of Naples. On his way to Rome (1312) Henry found the gates of Florence closed against him. He besieged it in vain, while Florentine money fanned the flames of further revolt in all the cities of Lombardy. On his return journey in October he was again obliged to abandon his siege of Florence. At Pisa he laid Florence under the ban of the empire, deprived it of all rights and privileges, and permitted the counter- feiting of its coinage, the famous " florins of San Gio- vanni". Pisa and Genoa were now eager for revenge on their commercial rival, when suddenly Henry died. The Pisans then elected as podestS. the aforesaid ex- iled Florentine, Uguccione della Faggiuola, who be- came master of several other towns of which Lucca was the most important (1314). In 1315 he defeated the Florentines near Montecatini, and already beheld Florence in his power and himself master of Tuscany. Unfortunately, at this juncture Lucca, under C!astruc- cio Castracane, rebelled against him and drove him out, nor was he ever able to return. Castruccio, himself a Ghibelline, was a menace to the liberty of the Tuscan League, always Guelph in character. After a guer- rilla warfare of three years, the army of the League under Raimondo Cardona was defeated at Altopascio (1325), though the Florentines succeeded in making
food their retreat. To ensure the safety of the city, 'lorence offered Charles, Duke of Calabria, son of King Robert of Naples, the Signoria for ten years. He came, and greatly curtailed the privileges of the citi- zens. Happily for Florence he died in 1329. There- upon, Florence, having regained its freedom, remod- elled its government, and created five magistracies: (1) guild-masters (priori) or supreme administrative power; (2) the Gonfalonieri charged with the military operations; (3) the capitani di parte (Guelphs, com- mon people); (4) a board of trade (Giudici di com- mercio); (5) consuls for the guilds (Consoli delle arti). Moreover, two councils or assemblies were established, one composed of three hundred Guelphs and the hum- bler citizens, the other of various groups of rich and poor under the presidency of the podest^. These councils were renewed every four months.
Later Medieval History. — It has always been a cause for wonder that amid so many political, econom-
ical, and military vicissitudes the prosperity of Flor-
ence never ceased to grow. Majestic churches arose
amid the din of arms, and splendid palaces were built
on all sides, though their owners must have been at all
times uncertain of peaceful possession. At the date
we have now reached forty-six towns and walled cas-
telli, among them Fiesole and Empoli, acknowledged the
authority of Florence, and every year its mint turned
out between 350,000 and 400,000 gold florins. Its
coinage was the choicest and most reliable in Europe.
The receipts of its exchequer were greater than those
of the Kings of Sicily and Arugon. Merchants from
Florence thronged the markets of the known world,
and established banks wherever they went. In
the city itself there were 110 churches. It openly
l^AfADE OF THE CATHEDRAL (S. MaRIA DEL FlORE), FLORENCE
Designed by Brunellesco aimed at sovereignty over all Tuscany. Arms and money won for it Pistoia (1329) and Arezzo (1336). It aided Venice (1338) against Mastino della Scala, a peril to Florence since he became master of Lucca. Knowing well the commercial greed of the Florentines, Mastino, to free himself from their opposition, offered to sell them Lucca. But the Pisans could not allow their ancient enemy to come so near; they took up arms, captured Lucca, and defeated the Florentines at La Ghiaia (1.341). Seeing now that their militia needed a skilful leader, the Florentines offered the command and a limited dictatorship, first to Jacopo Gabrielli d'.Agabio, and when he proved unfit, to a P'rench freebooter, (iauthier de Brienne (1342), who styled himself Duke of Athens on the strength of his descent from the dukes of Achaia. He played his part so skilfully that he was proclaimed Signore for life. In this way Florence imitated most other Italian cities, which in their weariness of popular government had by this time chosen princes to rule over them. Gauthier de Brienne, however, became despotic, fa- voured the nobility and the populace (always allies in Florence), and harassed the rich middle-class families (Altoviti, Medici, Rucellai, Ricci). The populace soon tired of him, and joined by the peasants (genti del contado), they raised the cry of 'liberty" on 20 July, 1343. Gauthier's soldiers were slain, and he was forced to leave the city. But the newly recovered liberty of Florence was dearly bought. Its subject
