From the Etruscans to the Middle Ages

Florence was founded as a Roman colony Florentia in 59 BC — "the Flourishing." But the hill of Fiesole had been an Etruscan center centuries earlier. The Roman city lay on the Via Cassia and had a forum (today's Piazza della Repubblica), an amphitheater, and baths. After the fall of Rome, Florence was ruled by Goths, Byzantines, and Lombards until the city flourished as a free commune in the 11th century.

Guelphs and Ghibellines

In the 12th and 13th centuries, Florence was torn by power struggles between the Guelphs (papal supporters) and Ghibellines (imperial supporters) — family feuds, street battles, and exiles were commonplace. Dante Alighieri was a Guelph — when the Guelphs split into Blacks and Whites, Dante ended up on the losing side and was exiled from Florence in 1302. He never returned and died in 1321 in Ravenna. The "Divine Comedy" is also a work of exile and longing for Florence.

The Cloth Trade Era

Florence's wealth was based on wool and silk. The guild of wool weavers (Arte della Lana) and the bankers made the city one of the richest in Europe in the 13th–14th centuries. The Florin (Fiorino d'oro) became the leading currency of European trade — the equivalent of the dollar in the Middle Ages.