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Chapter one

Extract from "History of modern Italy, volume one: the rise of the Principate of Tuscany"

Despite the failure of the Pazzi conspiracy, in 1478 the situation looked very disastrous for the Florentine Republic. The lord of Florence, Lorenzo de Medici, was excommunicated by Systus IV, and the Kingdom of Aragon declare war. His allies and friends were unable to help him: in Milan exploded a civil war, Venice fought the Turks, and France was involved in Burgundian affairs.

In real help of Lorenzo came the new cultural ideas in these years were spreading across Italy and from here to all Europe. Taking inspiration above all from the rediscovery of classicism and ancient Romans istitutions, the Florentine ruler developed a new institutional form which imposed in May of 1478. Lorenzo claimed that Florence controlled the mayority of Tuscan lands, so from that moment the state could legitimacy be called "Tuscany"; and because the Tuscan were formed not only by florentine but also to the rest of the republic's population, he modified the city council ( now called "Senate of Tuscany") enlarging it with capable men (naturally all loyal to the Medici) from the other main Tuscan cities under his control: Pisa, Arezzo, Pistoia... Finally Lorenzo argued that the new reformed republic shall be ruled to the head of the Senate, the first of the senators, a "Principe" (Prince, from the latin "Princeps"), following the example of Augustus. Obviously, Lorenzo de Medici was elected as first Price of Tuscany.

So the Principate of Tuscany was born.
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