Florence

Florence was founded as a Roman garrison in 59 BC in an area previously inhabited by an Etruscan settlement whose name is unknown. Florence's Latin name was Florentia, meaning "the Flourishing Town", from Latin: florēre, lit. 'to flourish or blossom'. Florentia and the ethnic variant Florentini are mentioned in the Epitome of Roman History by Florus and Natural History by Pliny the Elder. The old Italian name Fiorenza and modern Italian name Firenze derived from these ancient names. Fiorenza's protonic syllable shift from flo to fio via the intermediary dark l [ɫ], and Firenze's protonic syllable reduction from fio to fi, are features of Tuscan Italian. According to linguists such as Giovan Battista Pellegrini, the modern Italian name Firenze presupposes the locative form of Florentiae, a view disputed by Gerhard Rohlfs.

Florence originated as a Roman city, and later, after a long period as a flourishing trading and banking medieval commune, it was the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance. It was politically, economically, and culturally one of the most important cities in Europe and the world from the 14th to 16th centuries. The language spoken in the city during the 14th century came to be accepted as the model for what would become the Italian language. Thanks especially to the works of the Tuscans Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio, the Florentine dialect, above all the local dialects, was adopted as the basis for a national literary language. Starting from the late Middle Ages, Florentine money in the form of the gold florin financed the development of industry all over Europe, from Britain to Bruges, to Lyon and Hungary. Florentine bankers financed the English kings during the Hundred Years' War. …

Florence lies in a basin formed by the hills of Careggi, Fiesole, Settignano, Arcetri, Poggio Imperiale and Bellosguardo (Florence). The Arno river, three other minor rivers (Mugnone, Ema and Greve) and some streams flow through it. Florence has a Mediterranean climate (Csa). It has hot summers with moderate or light rainfall and cool, damp winters. As Florence lacks a prevailing wind, summer temperatures are higher than along the coast, with an average of 71 days with maximum temperature above 30 °C (86 °F). Rainfall in summer is convectional, while relief rainfall dominates in the winter. Thunder is rare, occurring in 10 days on average in a year and is more common from May to October. Snow is rare, and there are approximately 28.5 days with minimum temperature below the freezing point. The highest officially recorded temperature was 42.6 °C (108. …

Florence was the birthplace of High Renaissance art, which lasted from about 1500 to 1527. Renaissance art put a larger emphasis on naturalism and human emotion. Medieval art was often formulaic and symbolic; the surviving works are mostly religious, their subjects were chosen by clerics. By contrast, Renaissance art became more rational, mathematical, individualistic, and was produced by known artists such as Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael, who started to sign their works. Religion was important, but with this new age came the humanization of religious figures in art, such as in Masaccio's Expulsion from the Garden of Eden and Raphael's Madonna della Seggiola. People of the Renaissance began to perceive themselves as human beings, which manifested in art. …

Tourism is, by far, the most important of all industries, and most of the Florentine economy relies on the money generated by international arrivals and students studying in the city. The value of tourism to the city totalled some €2.5 billion in 2015 and the number of visitors had increased by 5.5% from the previous year. In 2013, Florence was listed as the second best world city by Condé Nast Traveler. Manufacturing and commerce remain highly important. Florence is Italy's 17th richest city in terms of average workers' earnings, with the figure being €23,265 (the overall city's income is €6,531,204,473), coming after Mantua, yet surpassing Bolzano. Florence is a major production and commercial centre in Italy, where the Florentine industrial complexes in the suburbs produce all sorts of goods, from furniture, rubber goods, chemicals, and food. …

Florence is known as the "Cradle of the Renaissance" (la culla del Rinascimento) for its monuments, churches, and buildings. The best-known site of Florence is the domed cathedral of the city, Santa Maria del Fiore, known as The Duomo, whose dome was built by Filippo Brunelleschi. The nearby Campanile (partly designed by Giotto) and the Baptistery buildings are also highlights. The dome, 600 years after its completion, is still the largest dome built in brick and mortar in the world. In 1982, the historic centre of Florence (Italian: centro storico di Firenze) was declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO. The centre of the city is contained in medieval walls that were built in the 14th century to defend the city. …