1. Conventini and the "Sacrilegious war" 1356-1361
The dangerous circumstances in 1356 led to the election of Iacopo Conventini as gonfaloniere. He was considered to be a rather moderate Papist (that is, member of the merchant fraction). As the Signoria was dominated by the Papists, the initial steps of the new government were to secure trade rights in both Genoa and Venice. This move did not relieve the nobility from the pressure mounted by the poorer strata of the city, so two new regiments were added to the Armata di Firenze.
The year 1357 was crucial in the future development of the Repubblica. A major war waged in North Italy resulted in the papal annexation of Modena, cutting the last untolled export route.
By 1359 it was clear, that the merchants of Firenze could not compete in any European centre of trade with even a slight chance of success. The Imperial faction (the landowners and the manufacturers) demanded immediate steps to lower the tolls. Yet another northern war decimated the Papal States` power, so much so, that the Holy Father was forced to acknowledge the independence of the Duke of Urbino, cutting the papal estates in two. When Austria has invaded Milan, the staunch ally of the Pope the Imperial faction knew - the time had come. Marco del Moro publicly petitioned the Signoria to "liberate the City of Modena and reconquer the land of Romagna, long time a Florentine province". The Imperial faction have bribed the ciompi, who staged a mass rally to show their support to the cause. The Papist faction in turn bribed the priests to preach that "attacking His Holiness, the Pope, Heir of St. Peter is heresy, diabolical and against God". This did not conviince the wool-workers, who firmly believed, that the tolls were the cause their povetry.
Thus in the late November of 1359 Iacobo Conventini was forced to declare war on the Papal States, later to be called as the "Sacrilegious war". The Florentine army was quick to invade Romagna, where in the short but bloody Battle of Bologna the Papal Forces (a horde of Swiss mercenaries) were utterly destroyed. In less, than 6 months both Modena and Bologna were under Florentine control.
In the meanwhile the Peace Treaty of Milan (in 1360) forced Milan to release Siena, Pisa and Parma as independent republics, opening a new era in Italian medieval history, known as "the Austrian Intervention".
As the Pope was still reluctant to cede both Modena and Romagna, the Florentine forces invested Rome herself, ending the "Sacrilegious war" in 1361. The remaining two years of Conventini`s rule are of no importance.
2. The Austrian Intervention 1361-1395
The victory generated enough support for the Imperial faction to gain almost complete control over the Signoria, making Marco del Moro the new gonfaloniere. His reign was characterized by clever diplomatic moves which eventually resulted in the reconquest of Pisa. In 1366 the Crown of Aragon and Castille, long in a union were officially became one, thus leading to the independence of Trinarcia. Del Moro managed to form an alliance with the Sicilian Kingdom to break free from the diplomatic isolation resulted after attacking the Pope.
During this period the political map of Italy looked like this: the Milanese and the Savoyard were the allies of the French, controlling the Northwest. Parma, Siena and Pisa were allies of the Austrian, dragged from war to war by them. The southern alliance of Naples, the Papal States and Urbino was counter-balanced by an alliance between Florence and Trinarcia, occasionally including Sardinia. The proud Genoa suffered a terrible losses in the Crimea, so much so, that they were even converted to the Orthodox heresy by Byzantium. Venice kept herself away from Italy by annexing Aquilea and allying the Kingdom of Hungary, an increasingly important factor in the region.
When a Burgundian victory over Austria (1369 )saw the alliance between the Hapsburg and Pisa dismissed, the Imperial faction saw the opportunity to conquer the city of Pisa, one of the best ports in the region.
Marco del Moro (named later as a military genius) have positioned the Armata di Firenze outside Pisan territory before declaring war. As a contemporary merchant wrote "all Italy rebelled against the Florentine. From Lombardia to Calabria rulers of all position have rallied under the banner of the Duke Of Urbino to protect the independence of Pisa". Fortunatey the Neapolitan army was occupied by Trinarcia, leaving only a the Milanese, the Urbinese, the Mantuan and the Papal troops to fight. As the Milanese and the Mantuan laid siege to Modena, while Urbino was attacking Bologna, the gonfaloniere quickly occupied Pisa, annexing them in the Treaty of Pisa (1270). Then the Florentine forces immediately attacked the Urbinese, who were forced to retreat to Ancona. The decisive batte of the war occured under Urbino, where the outnumbered Florentine army brutaly defeated the Urbinese and the Papal forces. A peace was signed, in which the Repubblica nominally conceded defeat - however Pisa was under Florentine rule at last!
The newly conquered territories of Modena and Romagna raised an important question. The nobility of the region (Emilian, by origin) was utterly hostile to Florentine rule, organising revolt after revolt. In order to solve this, the Signoria have expelled every single nobleman of Emilian origin, replacing them with Tuscan settlers.
The economic conditions of the state considerably improved, leading to the election of a moderate Papist, Luigi Piombante. His rule (1372-1386. was elected twice, but died during his second term) was a rule of peace. He spent all of his efforts in integrating the newly conquered territories. The nominal participation in various Trinarcian wars should not deceive the historian - not a single Florentine soldier died iin them. During his second term the Austrian oppression of Siena and Parma became increasingly difficult to endure. The Republic of Siena was forced -horribile dictu- to give up her independence, while Parma was forced to pledge loyalty to the Austrian crown.
All this changed, when Austria (Heilige Romischer Kaiser then) was attacked by France, Milan and Hungary. The newly elected Eustachio degli Albizzi, a formidable diplomat, was easily persuaded by the Imperial faction to claim Siena. Along with Urbino, the Papal States, Naples and Trinarcia he forged the Leauge of Rome (1392) to expell the Austrians form Italy. Siena was quickly invested and conquered. Then the Florentine army under the command of Alberto del Moro was sent to aid the French at Milan, where the entire Austrian army was wiped out. Parma was sieged too, but the Austrian did not concede the loss of these territories, so the Florentine eventually laid siege to Lienz, resulting in the Treaty of Venice (1395, ceding both provinces to Florence.
3. A Most Formidable Book and the consequences - the establishment of the Kingdom of Tuscany 1395-1401
Eustachio degli Albizzi stayed in office as acting gonfaloniere, while the army marched home from Austria. As Florence had virtually no forces except the Armata di Firenze, still in Austria, the risk of revolt grew, when the Sienese Ambrosius Sienesis, a professor of law at the University of Siena wrote a most disturbing book titled "On the Sources of Authority" In this book the scholar derived from the Bible and other authoritative sources, that the rule of the city of Florence over other cities is illegal, against God`s will, and clearly tyranny, as neither the inhabitants of Siena, nor a higher power tasked them to govern these provinces. The Duke of Milan, always inimical to the Repubblica used all his influence to spread these teachings, which where approved by the Pope in 1397. This was a huge blow for the devoutly religious Papist faction, as it was a huge threat against the Repubblica. In the absence of the army (long time an Imperial stronghold) thy resolved to solve the problem by obtaining license from the Pope himself to rule these territories. While initially they wanted to get license for the Repubblica Fiorentina, a certain Paolo Vasari claimed to be the descendant of the Margraves of Tuscany, thus the true ruler of the Repubblica. The Papists unanimously supported his claim, and the Pope in 1399 declared him King of Tuscany, and entrusted the Archbishop of Tuscany to crown him in Florence.
When the Armata di Firenze arrived home, they were bribed to accept the situation. This did not happen with Alberto del Moro, he was killed along with his whole family. His eldest son, Matteo, then ambassador to the Trinarcian King survived an assassination attempt, and fled to Hungary.
By 1401 the economic situation of the Kingdom of Tuscany was grave. The provinces off Pisa and Firenze were to bear the whole burned of maintaining a huge army and administration, while the particularly rebellious Modenese mounted an insurrection almost every year. The death of Paolo I Vasari led to a succession crisis, in which the army`s candidate fought with the Papist one. An ensuing civil war was prevented by Matteo del Moro, who recruited an army from the ciompi and in the Battle of Bridges fought inside the city obliterated the corrupted army.
In a famous scene he offered to restore the Repubblica with all the old institutions, but the poor starta wished him to rule as King of Tuscany (those historians, who considered this a comedy were until nowadays persecuted). In 1401 the Pope Pius II crowned Matteo del Moro King of Tuscany, Duke of Parma.
Thus ends the first part of the history of Florence. We have seen a tiny republic transferred to a medium-sized kingdom, who knows, where does this path lead?
