Florence History Timeline: Roman Town to Medici Capital
Updated: 6 days ago
Updated October 2026
Florence keeps pulling me back because so much history sits under my feet. Here are the city's 2,000 years in order, each with a place you can still stand in. For the art itself, see my guide to Renaissance Florence.
Before Florence: Etruscan Fiesole
Long before Florence existed, the Etruscans built a hill town at Fiesole, above the valley. You can still walk its Roman theater and Etruscan walls. Bus 7 takes about 25 minutes from the San Marco area.
59 BC: Roman Florentia
The Romans founded Florentia on the Arno around 59 BC as a settlement for veterans. The grid of streets around Piazza della Repubblica still follows the old Roman forum and camp. Explore what lies beneath in Underground Florence.
Medieval Florence: towers, guilds and Dante
By the 1200s Florence was a rich merchant republic run by guilds. Its gold florin, first minted in 1252, became a trusted currency across Europe. Work began on the cathedral in 1296 and on Palazzo Vecchio soon after. Dante was born here in 1265 and exiled in 1302; follow him in Dante's Florence.
1348: the Black Death
The plague of 1348 killed a large share of the population. Boccaccio set his Decameron in its shadow.
1400s: the Medici and the Renaissance
Cosimo de' Medici and later Lorenzo the Magnificent made the family bank the power behind the republic. Brunelleschi finished the dome in 1436. It was the age of Botticelli, Leonardo and the young Michelangelo, the heart of Florence Renaissance history.
Savonarola, republic and Grand Duchy
In 1498 the friar Savonarola was executed in Piazza della Signoria. After a last republic and the siege of 1530, the Medici returned as dukes, then Grand Dukes of Tuscany from 1569. They built the Uffizi and the Vasari Corridor.
1737 to 1865: Lorraine, Napoleon, Italy
When the last Medici died, Tuscany passed to the House of Lorraine. Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici left the family art to the city on condition it never leave Florence. After Napoleon's era and Italian unification, Florence served as capital of Italy from 1865 to 1871.
The 20th century and the 1966 flood
In 1944 retreating German troops blew up every Florence bridge except Ponte Vecchio. On 4 November 1966 the Arno flooded the city, and volunteers called the Mud Angels came from around the world to rescue its art and books. In 1982 the historic center became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Walking near the river in February 2024, I stopped at one of the marble plaques set into the walls that mark how high the water rose. It is well above head height.
For today's city, see Florence, Italy.
Where to stay among the history
The Duomo area places you inside the Roman grid and medieval core. See where to stay near the Duomo.
Where to see each era today
Etruscan and Roman: the theater and museum at Fiesole, and the Roman street grid around Piazza della Repubblica.
Medieval: the tower houses on Borgo San Jacopo and Via Por Santa Maria, the Bargello and Palazzo Vecchio.
Renaissance: the Duomo, San Lorenzo, the Uffizi and the Accademia.
Grand Ducal: Palazzo Pitti, the Boboli Gardens and the Vasari Corridor.
Capital of Italy: the wide boulevards, the viali, built where the medieval walls stood, and Piazzale Michelangelo, both by Giuseppe Poggi.
Modern: the 1966 flood plaques and the rebuilt bridges along the Arno.
The Medici in five names
Cosimo the Elder (1389 to 1464): the banker who made the family the power behind the republic and paid for San Marco.
Lorenzo the Magnificent (1449 to 1492): poet, patron of Botticelli and the young Michelangelo.
Leo X and Clement VII: two Medici popes.
Cosimo I (1519 to 1574): the first Grand Duke, who built the Uffizi and bought Palazzo Pitti.
Anna Maria Luisa (1667 to 1743): the last of the line, who left the art to Florence forever.
Florence as capital of Italy
From 1865 to 1871, Florence was the capital of the new Kingdom of Italy. The city tore down most of its medieval walls to build the viali, the ring of avenues, and laid out Piazzale Michelangelo. When the capital moved to Rome, Florence was left with large debts, but also with the shape it has today.
Guelphs, Ghibellines and the republic
Medieval Florence was split between the Guelphs, who backed the pope, and the Ghibellines, who backed the emperor. The fighting was bitter and personal, and it was this world that sent Dante into exile in 1302.
Out of the chaos came a republic run by the guilds, with its government in Palazzo Vecchio. The wool and banking guilds grew rich, and their money built the churches and paid for the art we still visit today. The florin, first struck in 1252, became the trusted gold coin of European trade.
Reading the city's history in its streets
Look for the old gates, like Porta Romana and Porta San Frediano, and the plaques recording floods, famous residents and lines of Dante. My Dante's Florence walk, underground Florence and Renaissance masters guide go deeper.
The siege of 1529 to 1530
One of the most dramatic moments in Florentine history came when the city, having driven out the Medici again in 1527, resisted the combined forces of the pope, himself a Medici, and Emperor Charles V.
For ten months, the city held out. Michelangelo, then working at San Lorenzo, was put in charge of the fortifications and strengthened the hill of San Miniato.
The siege ended in August 1530 after the defeat at Gavinana, where the Florentine commander Francesco Ferruccio was killed. The Medici returned, this time for good, and the republic was over. The Calcio Storico match played in Piazza Santa Croce during the siege, in defiance of the besieging army, is still remembered every June.
The Grand Duchy and the Medici legacy
From 1569, the Medici ruled as Grand Dukes of Tuscany. Cosimo I reorganized the state, built the Uffizi as government offices, moved into Palazzo Pitti and had Vasari build the corridor linking the two.
His successors filled the palaces with art, founded scientific academies and supported Galileo. Florence lost political power in Europe but remained a city of craftsmanship, collecting and learning.
Florence in the Second World War
In August 1944, as German forces retreated, they blew up every bridge in Florence except the Ponte Vecchio, which, according to tradition, was spared on Hitler's personal order. To block access to it, they destroyed the medieval buildings at both ends.
The Ponte Santa Trinita, Ammannati's 16th century masterpiece, was rebuilt after the war using stones recovered from the river and the original methods. When you walk around Por Santa Maria and Via de' Guicciardini, the newer buildings show where the old streets were lost.
The Mud Angels
After the 1966 flood, thousands of young volunteers from Italy and around the world came to Florence to rescue books, paintings and archives from the mud. They were called the Angeli del Fango, the Mud Angels.
Their work saved much of the National Central Library and countless works of art, and it helped found the modern science of conservation. Florence remains a world center for restoration today.
Florence today
Florence is now a city of about 360,000 people and one of the most visited in the world. Its historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, inscribed in 1982. Walking through it, I find every century still present, layered one on top of another.
FAQ
When was Florence founded?
As the Roman colony Florentia, around 59 BC.
Was Florence ever the capital of Italy?
Yes, from 1865 to 1871, before Rome.
Who were the Medici?
A banking family who ruled Florence for most of three centuries and paid for much of its Renaissance art.
What happened in the 1966 flood?
The Arno burst its banks on 4 November 1966, flooding the center and damaging thousands of artworks and books.
Why did Florence stop being the capital of Italy?
The capital moved to Rome in 1871 after Rome joined the Kingdom of Italy.
About the author
I'm Jason GaNung, and I write every guide on Florence Life. I have spent extensive time in Florence over many trips, and I have stayed in many of the hotels and villas I cover, so my picks come from my own stays, not press releases. More about me.
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