Tuscany (redirected from Margraviate of Tuscany)

Tuscany (tŭs`kənē), Ital. Toscana, region (1991 pop. 3,538,619), 8,876 sq mi (22,989 sq km), N central Italy, bordering on the Tyrrhenian Sea in the west and including the Tuscan Archipelago. Florence is the capital of the region, which is divided into the provinces of Arezzo, Florence, Grosseto, Livorno, Lucca, Massa-Carrara, Pisa, Pistoia, and Siena (named for their principal cities).

In the late Middle Ages and throughout the Renaissance, Tuscany was a center of the arts and of learning. The Tuscan spoken language became the literary language of Italy after Dante Alighieri, Petrarch, and Boccaccio used it. Notable schools of architecture, sculpture, and painting developed from the 11th cent. in many cities, particularly Florence, Pisa, Siena, and Arezzo. From the 16th cent., however, intellectual and artistic life was almost wholly concentrated in Florence. There are universities at Florence, Pisa, and Siena.

Physical Geography and Economy

This prosperous economic region is mostly hilly and mountainous. There is much fertile soil, especially in the Arno River valley and in the Maremma, a coastal strip. The Apennines are in northern and eastern Tuscany; in the northwest are the Alpi Apuane, where the famous Carrara marble is quarried; and there are also mountains in the south, where iron, magnesium, and quicksilver are produced. In addition, borax is produced in the Maremma, and iron is mined on Elba island. Along the northern coast, which is low and sandy, are fine pine woods. Farm products of the region include cereals, olives, tobacco, and grapes; sheep, goats, and hogs are widely raised. The wine produced in the Chianti district near Siena is world famous.

Tuscany has considerable industry, although farming is still an important chief occupation. Manufactures include cotton and woolen textiles, metal products, chemicals, machinery, motor vehicles, precision instruments, glass, refined petroleum, and fertilizer. The region is also well-known for its artisans, especially those in Florence, and tourism is an important industry.

History

Modern Tuscany corresponds to the larger part of ancient Etruria, and most of our knowledge of Etruscan civilization is derived from findings there. The Romans conquered the region in the mid-4th cent. B.C. After the fall of Rome, it was a Lombard duchy (6th-8th cent. A.D.), with Lucca as its capital, and later a powerful march under the Franks (8th–12th cent.). Matilda (d.1115), the last Frankish ruler, bequeathed her lands to the papacy, an act which long caused strife between popes and emperors.

In spite of the dual claims, most cities became (11th–12th cent.) free communes; some of them (Pisa, Lucca, Siena, and Florence) developed into strong republics. Commerce, industry, and the arts flourished. Guelph (pro-papal) and Ghibelline (pro-imperial) strife, however, was particularly violent in Tuscany, and there were strong rivalries both within and among cities. After a period of Pisan hegemony (12th–13th cent.), Florence gained control over most Tuscan cities in the 14th–15th cent.; Siena (1559) was the last city to fall under Florence's influence.

Under the Medici, the ruling family of Florence, Tuscany became (1569) a grand duchy, and thus again a political entity; only the republic of Lucca and the duchy of Massa and Carrara remained independent. After the extinction of the Medici line, Tuscany passed (1737) to ex-duke Francis of Lorraine (later Holy Roman Emperor Francis I), who was succeeded by Grand Duke Leopold I (1765–90; later Emperor Leopold II) and then by Ferdinand III (1790–1801; 1814–24). The French Revolutionary armies invaded Tuscany in 1799, and it was briefly included in the kingdom of Etruria (1801–7) and was ruled under the duchy of Parma, before it was annexed to France by Napoleon I.

In 1814, Tuscany again became a grand duchy, under the returning Ferdinand III and then under Leopold II (1824–59) and briefly under Ferdinand IV (1859–60). In 1848, Leopold was forced to grant a constitution, and in 1849 he had to leave Tuscany briefly when it was for a short time a republic. However, in 1852 he was able, with the help of Austria, to rescind the constitution. In 1860, Tuscany voted to unite with the kingdom of Sardinia.

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Tuscany

 Italian Toscana

Region (pop., 2001 prelim.: 3,460,835), west-central Italy. It covers 8,877 sq mi (22,992 sq km), and its capital is Florence. Originally settled by Etruscans c. 1000 BC, Tuscany came under Roman rule in the 3rd century BC. It was a Lombard duchy in the 6th century AD. It comprised several independent city-states in the 12th–13th centuries, which were subsequently united under the Medici family of Florence. Tuscany passed to the house of Lorraine in 1737 and to Sardinia and the Kingdom of Italy in the 1860s. The region suffered severe damage in World War II and extensive floods in 1966. Its mineral resources include the world-famous Carrara marble. Its agricultural products include olives, olive oil, wines, and livestock. Tourism is important at its historical centres, including Florence and Pisa.

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Tuscany

a region of central Italy, on the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian Seas: corresponds roughly to ancient Etruria; a region of numerous small states in medieval times; united in the 15th and 16th centuries under Florence; united with the rest of Italy in 1861. Capital: Florence. Pop.: 3 516 296 (2003 est.). Area: 22 990 sq. km (8876 sq. miles)

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Tuscany 

(Toscana), a region in central Italy, on the northwest Italian Peninsula, on the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian seas. Area, 23,000 sq km. Population, 3.5 million (1973).

Tuscany comprises the provinces of Massa e Carrara, Lucca, Pistoia, Florence, Leghorn (Livorno), Pisa, Arezzo, Siena, and Grosseto; Florence is its principal city and economic center. The region includes several small islands, including Elba. Most of the region is mountainous, dominated by the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines (peaks exceeding 2,000 m) and their foothills and by the Apuanian Alps (Monte Pisanino, 1,945 m). Tuscany’s extinct volcanoes, including Monte Amiata (1,734 m), are associated with faults. The coastal lowland of the Maremma consists mainly of drained swamps. Approximately 38 percent of Tuscany is covered by forest.

Tuscany is an economically developed region. Industry employs 47.4 percent of the working population, and agriculture employs 13.1 percent (1970). Minerals and ores mined in the area include cinnabar (near the city of Amiata), iron ore (Elba), brown coal (San Giovanni Valdarno), pyrites (Gavorrano), and marble (Carrara). In 1972, 8 billion kW-hr of electricity was produced, primarily at thermal electric power plants. Industries include metallurgy (mainly in Piombino), machine building (Florence, Pistoia, Massa, Prato, Leghorn), petroleum refining, textiles (Florence, Prato), and the production of chemicals and paper. Over one-half of the agricultural land is sown with wheat and other grains, sugar beets, and tobacco. Approximately one-fifth is devoted to orchards, vineyards, and olive groves, and about one-fifth is meadow and pasture. Swine and sheep are raised. Tuscany’s principal tourist centers are Florence, Pisa, and Siena.

T. A. GALKINA

In ancient times, Tuscany was known as Tuscia or Etruria. In the early third century B.C. it was conquered by the Romans. In the late fifth century A.D. the region was captured by the Ostrogoths, in the sixth century by the Byzantines, and later by the Lombards. At the end of the eighth century Tuscany belonged to Charlemagne, and in the ninth century it became a margravate. At the end of the tenth century it became part of the Holy Roman Empire. The city-states of Florence, Lucca, Siena, Pisa, Arezzo, and Pistoia arose during the 11th and 12th centuries, each with a developed system of trade and handicrafts. In the early 15th century Tuscany was brought under the control of the Medici, the rulers of Florence. In 1569 the Medici became the grand dukes of Tuscany, which embraced the republics of Florence and Siena. In 1737, Tuscany came under the rule of the house of Lorraine, an offshoot of the Austrian Hapsburgs. In 1800, during the Napoleonic Wars, the duchy was occupied by French troops; by the Treaty of Lunéville (1801), the Kingdom of Etruria was formed in Tuscany. In 1807–08, Etruria was annexed by France and remained part of the empire until 1815.

In 1847 the Duchy of Lucca was joined to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. The revolutionary movement, which assumed major proportions in Tuscany in 1848 and 1849, was suppressed by Austrian troops. Popular uprisings during the Revolution of 1859–60 led to the overthrow of Leopold II, grand duke of Tuscany, in 1859. In March 1860 a plebiscite was held; the duchy was dissolved, and Tuscany became part of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which became the Kingdom of Italy in 1861. In 1943, during World War II, Tuscany was occupied by fascist German troops but was liberated in 1944 by the resistance movement.

Tuscany is a major center of the democratic movement in modern Italy; Communists and other leftists receive a significant share of the vote in parliamentary and municipal elections.