History of Tuscany

The Etruscan age and cities

The history of Tuscany goes back to the pre-roman period. This region was the home of the Etruscan civilization, and it is from the Etruscans that Tuscany gets his name.

The Etruscans (Etrusci or Tusci, as they were called by the ancient romans) were a population who settled and grew up in Tuscany around 800 BC.

Their language is still widely unknown and not belonging to the Indo-European languages. We only have a little knowledge of the Etruscan lifestyle (as they basically left no history of their own) which basically only comes from the writings of the Romans and Greek authors. Mostly, our knowledge of the Etruscans is limited to their polytheistic religion and their cult of the deads.

The most amazing visitable Etruscan sites are Baratti (and its very large Etruscan necropolis) and Populonia (both in the province of Livorno) which are very close to Piombino (the perfect gateway for Elba Island).

Etruscan Tomb in Populonia

The Roman age

The ancient Romans imposed their supremacy and conquered Tuscany at the beginning of the third century BC. The Etruscans and the Romans shared their lives and influenced each others during a couple of centuries but the Etruscan language disappeared around the last century BC, being absorbed by the predominance of Latin Language, due to the massive arrival of settlers in that territory which changed the history of Tuscany. The most impressive living trace of the Roman presence in Tuscany is represented by the Roads which were built by the Romans to ensure a perfect communication with Rome. The most famouse roman roads in Tuscany were the Aurelia, the Cassia, the Flaminia and the Clodia. Some of the ancient roads are still visible today. Along the Via Aurelia, for istance (a long road which connects Rome to Liguria along the coastline and which path is still used today by highways and freeways) we can still see bridges and ancient remainings of the original Roman road.

After a long and difficult time when civil wars, diseases and starvation were the common denominator, Tuscany finally became one of the most important Roman regions under the emperor Augustus. The emperor Diocletian made a single region joining Tuscany to Umbria and declared Florence (Florentia) as the capital of the government.

Ancient Reconstrucion of Florence

Middle Age and Renaissance

During 1000AC Tuscany went through a magnificent economic growth. Manifacture and commerce developed tremendously within the cities of Pisa, Florence, Lucca, Arezzo and Pistoia that soon became the most advanced capitalistic and commercial cities in Europe.In the 14th Century, Tuscany cities (called comuni, in Italian language) became autonomous as if they were isolated states. That made economy growing even more and there was a high difference between the stagnant rural and feudal situation of the countryside and the sparkling cultural and economic movement of the cities which was important in the whole Europe.In 1348, the diffusion of the Black Death (also known as Black Plague) changed radically the economic and political assets of the region. Rich and nobles families started fights against each other and other cities to conquer their supremacy. Florence conquered Pistoia, Pisa and Arezzo and the Medici family became the most influent family of the region. The rise of the Medici family was a crucial event for the history of Tuscany.During the Renaissance, the Medici established a magnificent politic based on the sponsorship of art and architecture and it's under their reign that the city of Florence became the amazing living masterpiece that we know today.The Medici family reigned until 1737 and their cosmopolitan and cultural opening was intense and left a remarkable and distinctive sign in the whole Tuscany.

Click on the play button to watch a Video on Piazza della Signoria, Florence!

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