{
    "system": "GoGuides Verified Text",
    "api_version": "verified-text-v1",
    "status": "ok",
    "response_type": "verified_text_record",
    "source_key": "britannica_1911",
    "source_title": "Encyclopaedia Britannica (1911)",
    "license_code": "public_domain",
    "attribution": null,
    "license_url": null,
    "chunk_id": "1911:florence:ab3f0cf9720d",
    "title": "FLORENCE",
    "section": null,
    "hash_alg": "sha256",
    "hash_sha256": "d2821c46bbc1198cacda04a4c945d3e8d73d6e7cdb71b3b2971a853b9cf77694",
    "normalizer": {
        "name": "ggnorm",
        "version": "1.0"
    },
    "verified_text": "florence, the county-seat of lauderdale county, alabama, u.s.a., on the n. bank of the tennessee river, at the foot of muscle shoals canal, and about 560 ft. above sea-level. pop. (1880) 1359; (1890) 6012; (1900) 6478 (1952 negroes); (1910) 6689. it is served by the southern, the northern alabama (controlled by the southern), and the louisville & nashville railways, and by electric railway to sheffield and tuscumbia, and the tennessee river is here navigable. florence is situated in the fertile agricultural lands of the tennessee river valley on the edge of the coal and iron districts of alabama, and has various manufactures, including pig-iron, cotton goods, wagons, stoves, fertilizers, staves and mercantile supplies. at florence are the state normal college, the florence university for women, and the burrell normal school (for negroes; founded in 1903 by the american missionary association). florence was founded in 1818, andrew jackson, afterwards president of the united states, and ex-president james madison being among the early property holders. for several years florence and nashville, tennessee, were commercial rivals, being situated respectively at the head of navigation on the tennessee and cumberland rivers. the first invasion of alabama by federal troops in the civil war was by a gunboat raid up the tennessee to florence on the 8th of february 1862. on the 11th of april 1863 another federal gunboat raid was attempted, but the vessels were repulsed by a force under gen. s.a. wood. on the 26th of may following, federal troops entered florence, and destroyed cotton mills and public and private property; but they were driven back by gen. philip d. roddy (1820-1897). on the 11th of december 1863 the town was again raided, but the federals did not secure permanent possession. florence was chartered as a city in 1889. florence (ital. _firenze_, lat. _florentia_), formerly the capital of tuscany, now the capital of a province of the kingdom of italy, and the sixth largest city in the country. it is situated 43 deg. 46' n., 11 deg. 14' e., on both banks of the river arno, which at this point flows through a broad fertile valley enclosed between spurs of the apennines. the city is 165 ft. above sea-level, and occupies an area of 3 sq. m. (area of the commune, 16-1/2 sq. m.). the geological formation of the soil belongs to the quaternary and pliocene period in its upper strata, and to the eocene and cretaceous in the lower. _pietra forte_ of the cretaceous period is quarried north and south of the city, and has been used for centuries as paving stone and for the buildings. _pietra serena_ or _macigno_, a stone of a firm texture also used for building purposes, is quarried at monte ceceri below fiesole. the soil is very fertile; wheat, indian corn, olives, vines, fruit trees of many kinds cover both the plain and the surrounding hills; the chief non-fruit-bearing trees are the stone pine, the cypress, the ilex and the poplar, while many other varieties are represented. the gardens and fields produce an abundance of flowers, which justify the city's title of _la citta dei fiori_. _climate and sanitary conditions._--the climate of florence is very variable, ranging from severe cold accompanied by high winds from the north in winter to great heat in the summer, while in spring-time sudden and rapid changes of temperature are frequent. at the same time the climate is usually very agreeable from the end of february to the beginning of july, and from the end of september to the middle of november. the average temperature throughout the year is about 57 deg. fahr.; the maximum heat is about 96.8 deg., and the minimum 36.5 deg., sometimes sinking to 21 deg. the longest day is 15 hours and 33 minutes, the shortest 8 hours and 50 minutes. the average rainfall is about 37-1/2 inches. epidemic diseases are rare and children's diseases mild; cholera has visited florence several times, but the city has been free from it for many years. diphtheria first appeared in 1868 and continued as a severe epidemic until 1872, since when it has only occurred at rare intervals and in isolated cases. typhoid, pneumonia, tuberculosis, measles and scarlatina, and influenza are the commonest illnesses. the drainage system is still somewhat imperfect, but the water brought from the hills or from the arno in pipes is fairly good, and the general sanitary conditions are satisfactory. churches. _public buildings._--of the very numerous florentine churches the duomo (santa maria del fiore) is the largest and most important, founded in 1298 on the plans of arnolfo di cambio, completed by brunelleschi, and consecrated in 1436; the facade, however, was not finished until the 19th century--it was begun in 1875 on the designs of de fabris and unveiled in 1888. close by the duomo is the no less famous campanile built by giotto, begun in 1332, and adorned with exquisite bas-reliefs. opposite is the baptistery built by arnolfo di cambio in the 13th century on the site of an earlier church, and adorned with beautiful bronze doors by ghiberti in the 15th century. the badia, santo spirito, santa maria novella, are a few among the many famous and beautiful churches of florence. the existence of these works of art attracts students from all countries, and a german art school subsidized by the imperial government has been instituted. the streets and piazze of the city are celebrated for their splendid palaces, formerly, and in many cases even to-day the residences of the noble families of florence. among others we may mention the palazzo vecchio, formerly the seat of the government of the republic and now the town hall, the palazzo riccardi, the residence of the medici and now the prefecture, the palaces of the strozzi, antinori (one of the most perfect specimens of florentine _quattrocento_ architecture), corsini, davanzati, pitti (the royal palace), &c. the palace of the arte della lana or gild of wool merchants, tastefully and intelligently restored, is the headquarters of the dante society. the centre of florence, which was becoming a danger from a hygienic point of view, was pulled down in 1880-1890, but, unfortunately, sufficient care was not taken to avoid destroying certain buildings of historic and artistic value which might have been spared without impairing the work of sanitation, while the new structures erected in their place, especially those in the piazza vittorio emanuele, are almost uniformly ugly and quite out of keeping with florentine architecture. the question aroused many polemics at the time both in italy and abroad. after the new centre was built, a society called the _societa per la difesa di firenze antica_ was formed by many prominent citizens to safeguard the ancient buildings and prevent them from destruction, and a spirit of intelligent conservatism seems now to prevail in this connexion. the city is growing in all directions, and a number of new quarters have sprung up where the houses are more sanitary than in the older parts, but unfortunately few of them evince much aesthetic feeling. the _viali_ or boulevards form pleasant residential streets with gardens, and the system of building separate houses for each family (villini) instead of large blocks of flats is becoming more and more general. libraries. florence possesses four important libraries besides a number of smaller collections. the _biblioteca nazionale_, originally founded by antonio magliabecchi in 1747, enjoys the right, shared by the _vittorio emanuele_ library of rome, of receiving a copy of every work printed in italy, since 1870 (since 1848 it had enjoyed a similar privilege with regard to works printed in tuscany). it contains some 500,000 printed volumes, 700,000 pamphlets, over 9000 prints and drawings (including 284 by albert durer), nearly 20,000 mss., and 40,000 letters. the number of readers in 1904 was over 50,000. unfortunately, however, the confusion engendered by a defective organization has long been a byword among the people; there is no printed catalogue, quantities of books are buried in packing-cases and unavailable, the collection of foreign books is very poor, hardly any new works being purchased, and the building itself is quite inadequate and far from safe; but the site of a new one has now been purchased and the plans are agreed upon, so that eventually the whole collection will be transferred to more suitable quarters. the _biblioteca marucelliana_, founded in 1752, contains 150,000 books, including 620 incunabula, 17,000 engravings and 1500 mss.; it is well managed and chiefly remarkable for its collection of illustrated works and art publications. the _biblioteca mediceo-laurenziana_, founded in 1571, has its origin in the library of cosimo de' medici the elder, and was enlarged by piero, giovanni and above all by lorenzo the magnificent. various princes and private persons presented it with valuable gifts and legacies, among the most important of which was the collection of _editiones principes_ given by count d'elci, in 1841, and the ashburnham collection of mss. purchased by the italian government in 1885. it contains nearly 10,000 mss., including many magnificent illuminated missals and bibles and a number of valuable greek and latin texts, 242 incunabula and 11,000 printed books, chiefly dealing with palaeography; it is in some ways the most important of the florentine libraries. the _biblioteca riccardiana_, founded in the 16th century by romolo riccardi, contains nearly 4000 mss., over 32,000 books and 650 incunabula, chiefly relating to florentine history. the state archives are among the most complete in italy, and contain over 450,000 _filze_ and _registri_ and 126,000 charters, covering the period from 726 to 1856. galleries of fine arts and museums. few cities are as rich as florence in collections of works of artistic and historic interest, although the great majority of them belong to a comparatively limited period--from the 13th to the 16th century. the chief art galleries are the uffizi, the pitti and accademia. the two former are among the finest in the world, and are filled with masterpieces by raphael, andrea del sarto, perugino, ghirlandaio, botticelli, the lippi, and many other florentine, umbrian, venetian, dutch and flemish artists, as well as numerous admirable examples of antique, medieval and renaissance sculpture. the pitti collection is in the royal palace (formerly the residence of the grand dukes), and a fine new stairway and vestibule have been constructed by royal munificence. in the uffizi the pictures are arranged in strict chronological order. in the accademia, which is rich in early tuscan masters, the botticelli and perugino rooms deserve special mention. other pictures are scattered about in the churches, monasteries and private palaces. of the monasteries, that of st mark should be mentioned, as containing many works of fra angelico, besides relics of savonarola, while of the private collections the only one of importance is that of prince corsini. there is a splendid museum of medieval and renaissance antiquities in the bargello, the ancient palace of the podesta, itself one of the finest buildings in the city; among its many treasures are works of donatello, ghiberti, verrochio and other sculptors, and large collections of ivory, enamel and bronze ware. the opera del duomo contains models and pieces of sculpture connected with the cathedral; the etruscan and egyptian museum, the gallery of tapestries, the michelangelo museum, the museum of natural history and other collections are all important in different ways. population. the total population of florence in 1905, comprising foreigners and a garrison of 5500 men, was 220,879. in 1861 it was 114,363; it increased largely when the capital of italy was in florence (1865-1872), but decreased or increased very slightly after the removal of the capital to rome, and increased at a greater rate from 1881 onwards. at present the rate of increase is about 22 per 1000, but it is due to immigration, as the birth rate was actually below the death rate down to 1903, since when there has been a slight increase of the former and a decrease of the latter. administration. florence is the capital of a province of the same name, and the central government is represented by a prefect (_prefetto_), while local government is carried on by a mayor (_sindaco_) and an elective town council (_consiglio comunale_). the city is the seat of a court of cassation (for civil cases only), of a court of appeal, besides minor tribunals. it is the headquarters of an army corps, and an archiepiscopal see. education. there are 22 public elementary schools for boys and 18 for girls (education being compulsory and gratuitous), with about 20,000 pupils, and 56 private schools with 5700 pupils. secondary education is provided by one higher and four lower technical schools with 1375 pupils, three _ginnasii_ or lower classical schools, and three _licei_ or higher classical schools, with 1000 pupils, and three training colleges with over 700 pupils. higher education is imparted at the university (_istituto di studii superiori e di perfezionamento_), with 600 to 650 students; although only comprising the faculties of literature, medicine and natural science, it is, as regards the first-named faculty, one of the most important institutions in italy. the original _studio fiorentino_ was founded in the 14th century, and acquired considerable fame as a centre of learning under the medici, enhanced by the presence in florence of many learned greeks who had fled from constantinople after its capture by the turks (1453). although in 1472 some of the faculties and several of the professors were transferred to pisa, it still retained importance, and in the 17th and 18th centuries it originated a number of learned academies. in 1859 after the annexation of tuscany to the italian kingdom it was revived and reorganized; since then it has become to some extent a national centre of learning and culture, attracting students from other parts of italy, partly on account of the fact that it is in florence that the purest italian is spoken. the revival of classical studies on scientific principles in modern italy may be said to have begun in florence, and great activity has also been displayed in reviving the study of dante; dante lectures being given regularly by scholars and men of letters from all parts of the country, above the church of or san michele as in the middle ages, under the auspices of the _societa dantesca_. palaeography, history and romance languages are among the other subjects to which especial importance is given. besides the _istituto di studii superiori_ there is the _istituto di scienze sociali_ \"_cesare alfieri_,\" founded by the marchese alfieri di sostegno for the education of aspirants to the diplomatic and consular services, and for students of economics and social sciences (about 50 students); an academy of fine arts, a conservatoire of music, a higher female training-college with 150 students, a number of professional and trade schools, and an academy of recitation. there are also many academies and learned societies of different kinds, of which one of the most important is the _accademia della crusca_ for the study of the italian language, which undertook the publication of a monumental dictionary. charities, etc. several of the florence hospitals are of great antiquity, the most important being that of santa maria nuova, which, founded by folco portinari, the father of dante's beatrice, has been thoroughly renovated according to modern scientific principles. there are numerous other hospitals both general and special, a foundling hospital dating from the 13th century (santa maria degli innocenti), an institute for the blind, one for the deaf and dumb, &c. most of the hospitals and other charitable institutions are endowed, but the endowments are supplemented by private contributions. commerce and industry. florence is the centre of a large and fertile agricultural district, and does considerable business in wine, oil and grain, and supplies the neighbouring peasantry with goods of all kinds. there are no important industries, except a few flour-mills, some glass works, iron foundries, a motor car factory, straw hat factories, and power-houses supplying electricity for lighting and for the numerous tramcars. there are, however, some artistic industries in and around the city, of which the most important is the ginori-richard porcelain works, and the cantagalli majolica works. there are many other smaller establishments, and the florentine artificer seems to possess an exceptional skill in all kinds of work in which art is combined with technical ability. another very important source of revenue is the so-called \"tourist industry,\" which in late years has assumed immense proportions; the city contains a large number of hotels and boarding-houses which every year are filled to overflowing with strangers from all parts of the world. (l. v.*)",
    "source_url": "https://archive.org/details/EB1911WMF",
    "observed_at": "2026-02-08 18:42:51",
    "integrity": {
        "hash_check": "match",
        "hash_scope": "full_normalized_text",
        "computed_sha256": "d2821c46bbc1198cacda04a4c945d3e8d73d6e7cdb71b3b2971a853b9cf77694"
    },
    "machine_use": {
        "read": true,
        "cite": true,
        "decision": "verified_public_domain_text"
    },
    "documentation": {
        "white_paper_url": "https://www.goguides.com/white-paper.php",
        "pdf_url": "https://www.goguides.com/whitepapers/goguides-ai-source-clearance-white-paper.pdf"
    }
}