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matters of Italy. Some of the Florentine merchants were 
formerly men of vaft wealth, and lived in a moft magnifi¬ 
cent manner. One of them, about the middle of the 15th 
century, built that noble fabric, which, from the name of 
its founder, is ftill called the Palazzo Pitti. The merchant 
was ruined by the' prodigious expence of this building, 
which was immediately purchafed by the Medici family, 
and has continued ever fince to be the refidence of the 
fovereigns. The gardens belonging to this palace are on 
the declivity of an eminence. On the fummit there is a 
kind of fort, called Belvedere. From this, and from fome 
of the higher walks, we have a complete view of the 
city of Florence, and the beauteous vale of Arno, in the 
middle of which it ttands. In this palace is a library, 
containing about 35,000 volumes, with a great number 
of pictures by Raphael, Rubens, Titian, Andrea-del-Sarto, 
Tintoret, Guercino, &c. The Palazzo Vecchio, or old 
palace, contains a room 172 feet long, and feventy wide, 
for public entertainments ; in which the moft celebrated 
actions of the republic are painted, by Vafari, in frefco ; 
in the corners are four great hiftorical pictures by Cigoli 
Ligozzi and Paflignani. Both palaces have a communi¬ 
cation with the famous Medicean gallery, which is in¬ 
deed an inexhauftible fund of entertainment in antique 
fculpture and painting ; open to the public from day¬ 
light till evening, except between theliours of cue and 
three. Here ftrangers have the readied: accefs; either 
walking about the open corridors at their leifure, or at¬ 
tended in the cabinet by the Cicerones, who look for a 
handfome gratuity at your departure. This gallery con¬ 
tains a wonderful colledlion of paintings, ftatues, butts, 
drawings, bronzes, medals, cameos, intaglios, precious 
ttones, &c. with a numerous and valuable library, both 
of printed books and manuferipts. Here the celebrated 
Venus of Medici, which, in the eftimation of fculptors, 
is laid to be the ftandard of tafte and female beauty and 
proportion, ttands in a room called the Tribunal. The 
infeription on its bafe mentions its being made by Cleo- 
menes an Athenian, the Ion of Apollodorus. It is of 
white marble, and furrounded by other matter-pieces of 
fculpture, the" works of Praxiteles, and other Greek 
matters. The chapel of St. Lorenzo, is, perhaps, the 
find! and moft: expenfive habitation that ever was reared 
for the dead ; it is encrufted with precious ttones, and 
adorned by the workmanfliip of the beft modern fculp¬ 
tors ; and w ill prove a Lifting monument of the magnifi¬ 
cence of the Medici family. 
A celebrated fociety was inftituted here for the im¬ 
provement of the Italian language, who ftyled themfelves 
Academia della Crafca ; the defign of the inftitution being 
to throw out, like bran, ail words which are not good 
Tufcan. The Florentines, however, are remarkable for 
fpeaking the language ill, and with a guttural accent, 
though they write it with the utmoft elegance, which 
gave rife to the proverb, Lingua Tofcana in bocca Romana. 
There are feveral theatres in Florence, all open during 
the Carnival, which begins the day after Chriftmas-day, 
and lafts till Afh-Wednefday; at other times one of them 
only is open, except in Lent and Advent, when that alfo 
is lhut. The two principal are the Pergola, finifhed in 
1755; and the new Opera-houfe, firft opened in 1779. 
This is very elegant, but the ftage is not fo fpacious as 
in the Pergola. There is a little theatre, di Santa Maria 
lata, for burlettas; and another, which is larger, w’herein 
comedies are'performed. The manufactures of Florence 
are chiefly filks and fatins, of excellent fabric. In 1348, 
Florence abounded with excellent filk and woollen ma¬ 
nufactories, and was extremely populous. In this fatal 
year, a molt terrible plague had nearly depopulated Italy; 
infomuch that in the city of Florence alone, 90,000 per- 
fons are laid to have died of it. This is an evident proof 
of its extenfive population at that remote period. In 
1366, this city had the Angular reputation of putting into 
circulation the pureft and moft fterling goid coin or any 
ftate in the known world. Thefe were the florins, which 
FLO 4<>3 
henceforth became the ftandard of exchange in every 
commercial country of Europe. Even Edward the Black 
Prince, in his ftipulations with Peter king of Caftile, de¬ 
manded that all fums ftiould be paid him in gold florins 
of Florence ; and his father Edward 111 . in treating with 
John duke of Milan for the marriage of his daughter 
with his fecond fon Lionel duke of Clarence, ftipmlated 
that the marriage portion in money ftiould be paid in 
50,000 gold florins of Florence. But the woollen manu¬ 
facture, to which it owed the greateft opulence and fplen- 
dour, now fcarcely fupplies the common people. Their 
jewelry alfo is fallen to decay. At Doccia, three leagues 
from the city, is a manufacture of porcelain. The Flo¬ 
rentines have been long famous for their mofaic work, 
which is very different from the Roman; it is made of the 
finer marbles, agates, jafpers, and other natural hard ttones, 
fawn thin, and inlaid in form of birds, flowers, &c. The 
wine of the neighbourhood is excellent, and they have a 
confiderable trade for it both in Italy and other countries. 
Anciently, the city of Florence, with its diftriCts, formed 
a republic, having purchafed its freedom of the emperor 
Rodolphus, for the fum of 60,000 guilders. In 1530, 
the republican conftitution was deftroved, and Alexander 
de Medicis appointed duke, by the emperor Charles V. 
under the title of grand duke of Tufcany. On the death 
of Gafton Medicis, in 1737, Florence, with the reft of 
the duchy, fell to the duke of Lorrain, who afterwards 
became emperor. The Florentin is one of the moft fer¬ 
tile countries of Italy : the following character and de- 
feription of the inhabitants is given by Mrs. Mariana 
Starke, in her I.etters, publifhed in 1800; and who re¬ 
fitted upwards of feven years on the fpot:—“ The modern 
Florentines, like their Etrufcan anceftors, are fond of 
learning, arts, and fciences; and, what is ftill more efti- 
mable and endearing to foreigners, they are, generally 
fpeaking, good-humoured, warm-hearted, and friendly ; 
fuch, at lead, have I found them for feven fucceflive 
years. The peafants, confidered collectively, are piire in 
their morals, and paftoral in their lives; and the peculiar 
comelinefs of both fexes is very ftriking, particularly in 
the environs of Florence. It is only among the peafantry 
that one can form a juft idea of Italian beauty ; and per¬ 
haps I might add, it is only among the peafantry one can 
form a juft idea of the Italian character; inhabitants of 
populous cities being nearly alike, whether in London, 
Paris, Vienna, or Italy. The men are tall, robuft, finely 
proportioned, and endowed with that entire felf-pofteftion 
which at once excites refpeCt, and perhaps a more favour¬ 
able opinion of them than they really deferve. The wo¬ 
men are of a middle ftature, and well made. They have 
large languiftiing black eyes, accompanied by that ex- 
prellive brow which conftitutes the moft remarkable and 
captivating part of an Italian countenance. Their man- 
tiers are uncommonly graceful ; and inftead of curtfving, 
they gently bow their bodies, and kifs the hand of a 
fuperior.” 
Florence claims the honour of having given education 
to Dante, Boccaccio, Petrarch, Corilla, Americo Vef- 
pucci, Machiavelli, Galileo, Buonarroti, and a greater 
number of diftinguiftied artifts than any other place in 
Europe. The academy della CrufCa, fo long and illuf- 
trioufly eftablifhed at Florence, is now united with two 
others, namely, the Fiorentina and the Apatifti, under 
the name of Reale Accademia Fiorentina. —Florence is fitu- 
ated 125 miles north-north-weft of Rome. Lat.43.47.N. 
Ion. 28.56. E. Ferro.—See the article Tuscany. 
FLO'RENCE,yi An ancient Englilh gold coin : every 
pound weight of old ftandard gold was to be coined into 
fifty florences, to be current at fix flfillings each ; all- 
which made in tale fifteen pounds; or into a proportion¬ 
ate number of half florences or quarter pieces; by inden¬ 
ture of the Mint, 18 Edw. III. 
FLOREN'NES, a town of Germany, in the circle of 
Weftphalia, and biftiopric of Liege : ten miles foutli of 
Charleroy, and fixteen fouth-weft of Namur. 
FLO'RENSACj, 
