During the decades after unification, much of Florence’s past was seriously jeopardized as a huge debate surrounded the renewal of the city. Many of its finest structures were altered or defaced, its
medieval
walls were largely pulled down, and its ancient centre was laid waste as entire zones were cleared and replaced with squares and other public spaces. Florence’s brief period as
Italy’s
capital in 1865?70 saw a vast increase in the city’s population. Growth continued chaotically into the 20th century, when order and sense were slowly restored to the renovations.
Florence was occupied by the German army in the latter stages of
World War II
. Antifascist resistance was very strong in the city and in the Tuscan region, and fighting was heavy. On leaving Florence, the Germans blew up all the bridges across the Arno but spared the famous
Ponte Vecchio
. After the war, debates again arose regarding the reconstruction of the city. The 1950s saw Florence expand into its
periphery
, and in 1962 a plan was developed partly to guide expansion away from the Florence-Prato conurbation. Despite certain innovative qualities, the plan failed, and the two cities are now all but one,
constituting
one big
urban sprawl
. The population of Florence reached more than 400,000 in the 1980s but soon fell slightly below that level.
In addition to human despoliation, nature has been an occasional adversary of Florentine life, mainly in the form of floods of the Arno. The city’s bridges were destroyed in the 12th century and again in 1333. In 1557 the
Ponte Vecchio
held fast, but the others were destroyed. The most devastating occurrence was the
flood
of November 1966. The city’s cultural
heritage
was grievously damaged by waters coursing through the streets and swirling into buildings, depositing debris, mud, and oil. In some places the water rose as high as 20 feet, submerging sculptures, paintings, mosaics, and manuscripts in the city’s libraries. An army of international experts, financed by contributions from around the world, arrived to try to save the water- and muck-damaged treasures. Major
public works
took place to try to ensure that there would be no repetition of this tragic event. Despite some scares, the Arno has not burst its banks since then.
Since the mid-20th century, Florence has been governed largely by centre-left administrations that have been known for their reformist zeal, honesty, and
efficiency
(with some notable exceptions). The Catholic left in particular has always been able to maintain its solid roots in
civil society
. Through the popular mayor Giorgio La Pira, left-wing Catholics were able to run the city for a number of years in the late 1950s and early ’60s. Since then the subcultures of the left have survived in Florence, despite their erosion elsewhere in Italy, and the old Italian Communist Party (now the
Democrats of the Left
) has managed to maintain a strong presence as well. With its large university population and radical-left traditions, Florence was one of the centres of student and worker revolts in 1968. The city even managed to produce a notable rebellion against the organized
Roman Catholic Church
, public masses being celebrated without official permission at suburban Isolotto.
From the 1980s the main problems of the city were environmental. The huge influx of tourists threatened to swamp the city in every sense, and the city centre began to lose its distinctive character and its artisan workshops. Pollution reached record levels, thanks to mass ownership of motor vehicles and to the peculiar geographic position of the city. Drastic measures were finally taken in the 1980s with the closure of the city centre to private cars. This policy has gone some way toward
alleviating
pressure on the city, but the area is still suffocated by thousands of scooters and buses, and the city still endures a constant tourist onslaught. Florence faces the danger of becoming a commercialized provincial town, full of trinket shops, overpriced bars, and crowded museums. Like
Venice
, it appears to be organized mainly for tourists and students and for Florentines working in the industries directly linked to them. Certainly the
dynamic
economic district running across to
Prato
is not matched by the city itself, which continues to capitalize on the past. The label of “museum-city” is thus perhaps best applied to the Florence of today, despite the highly productive region of which it is the capital.
Blake Ehrlich
Larry A. Silver
John Foot
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica