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If Milan can be seen as the model despotic Renaissance state, then Florence portrayed herself as the ideal of civic republicanism.  Throughout the 1300s, Florence grew fearful of the growing power of Milan under the Visconti.  The leaders of the city came to realize that old alliances nor the papacy would help defend her.  They came to see the papacy as much of a threat as Milan.  Florence would position herself as the defender of Italian liberty in the face of tyranny.  And despite their best diplomatic efforts, war with Milan seemed inevitable.  In this episode, I look at the Florentine Republic of the Trecento leading up to the Milanese-Florentine War of the 1390s.

Map of Florence from Paul Strathern's "The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance."
Map of Florence (podpage.com)

Resources:
Map of Italy 1494
The History of the Florentine People (Books V-VIII) by Leonardo Bruni
The Crisis of the Early Italian Renaissance by Hans Baron
Hercules at the Crossroads: The Life, Works, and Thoughts of Coluccio Salutati by  Ronald Witt

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Intro Music: Hayden Symphony #39
Outro Music: Vivaldi Concerto for Mandolin and Strings in D