Florence Under the Medici

Timeline

1. c. 1530–1540Florence · Grand Duchy of TuscanyAfter the imperial siege of 1530 the Medici were restored; the 1532 Ordinances of Governance established a hereditary duchy, Cosimo I dismantled the remnants of republican institutions, and the Palazzo Vecchio and Uffizi became centers of ducal power.
2. c. 1541–1550Florence · Grand Duchy of TuscanyIn the 1540s Cosimo I received the ducal title in 1540 and strengthened military and administrative power; Florence's wool and silk trade, banking family networks, and art patronage continued the Renaissance legacy, with a population of about 70,000, making it an important courtly and handicraft center of the Italian peninsula.
3. c. 1560–1600Florence · Grand Duchy of TuscanyCosimo I developed Livorno as a new port and strengthened naval power, while Florence's status as an inland political and artistic capital continued, and Medici collections and academy traditions were further institutionalized in the second half of the 16th century.