Republic of Florence

The Republic of Florence existed from 1115 to 1569, formed after the Florentine people rebelled against the Margraviate of Tuscany following the death of Matilda of Tuscany and organized themselves as a commune in place of her successors. Centered on the Tuscan city of Florence and governed as an oligarchic republic through the Signoria of Florence, the city-state expanded over time to incorporate Pisa in 1406, Volterra in 1361, Arezzo in 1384 and eventually Siena in 1555. Florence minted the florin in 1252, which became the dominant trade coin for large transactions across Western Europe, and the republic was the birthplace of the Renaissance; the Medici family, under Cosimo de' Medici, gained control of its governance in 1434 while formal republican institutions continued. The republic formally ended in 1569, when Pope Pius V elevated Cosimo I de' Medici to Grand Duke of Tuscany, transforming Florence into the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.