Ciompi Revolt in Florence (1378-1382) and Its Suppression

Timeline

1. 1377–1378Florence · TuscanyAlthough Florence's wool industry still prospered after the Black Death, wartime debts, heavy taxes, and guild monopolies worsened conditions for the ciompi and lower artisans without guild status. In early 1378, priori such as Salvestro de' Medici pushed to ease the burden on the lesser guilds, but failed to satisfy the ciompi's demands for representation, and social tensions continued to rise.
2. 1378Palazzo della Signoria · FlorenceAfter their petitions were delayed, the ciompi and lower-guild crowds armed and gathered, assaulting the Signoria and forcing the authorities to concede. The rebels demanded new guilds, government reorganization, and accountability for the powerful; under pressure the city government agreed to a reform framework, and the conflict entered a brief phase of seizure of power.
3. 1378Florence · TuscanyMichele di Lando became gonfaloniere di giustizia; the city government added three new guilds including the ciompi's, and expanded the lesser guilds' seats in the legislative body. However, the radical ciompi demanded further wealth redistribution and permanent representation, creating a rift with Lando and the more moderate lower classes, and the reform regime quickly lost unity.
4. 1378–1381Florence · TuscanyAfter August 1378 Lando was replaced by more conservative forces, and the radical ciompi failed to consolidate their institutional gains. The major guilds and noble families gradually regained control of the priori and guild registration; though the Ciompi guild nominally survived, its actual political influence steadily shrank.
5. 1382Florence · TuscanyThe city government formally revoked the Ciompi guild and its political privileges, arrested and exiled its principal leaders, and restored the republican governance structure dominated by the major guilds. The Ciompi Revolt of 1378-1382 ended in failure, but its symbolic significance in the history of European urban labor's struggle for representation has long been discussed by historians.