FLORENCE. 
ARCHIVIO DI STATO. 
Of the many collections in Florence, 1 the only one investigated was the 
Archivio di Stato, in the Palazzo Uffizi. 2 3 A note from the consul will serve as 
an introduction. At the time of the International Historical Congress at Rome, 
a brief general description of those archives was published with the title, In- 
ventario Sommario del Reale Archivio di Stato di Firenze * which is useful, 
although not sufficiently detailed to serve as a basis for study. There are also 
separate manuscript inventories of the many collections included, and for some 
of them elaborate printed descriptions. The regular series of state archives 
is subdivided by periods into those of the Republic, extending generally to 
about 1532, although some series include later documents; of the House of 
Medici, 1532 (circa)- 1734; of the Regency, 1735-1765 ; of the House of Lor¬ 
raine, 1765-1800; and of the House of Lorraine, restored, 1815-1859. 
Repubblica. Judging from the inventory only, it does not seem probable 
that there is any American material for this period, unless perhaps some ref¬ 
erence on Toscanelli or Vespucci. 
Medici. The portion of this collection most apt to contain American mate¬ 
rials is that relating to foreign affairs. The correspondence with England, 
France, and Spain is fairly complete. Numbers 4696 . 6 , 4597.7 (France, 1565- 
1569), 4623.33 (France, 1609-1611), and 5043.26 (Spain, 1586-1592) con¬ 
tained nothing. 4595 . 5 , part 2 (France, 1562-1564), contains two letters, 
folios 62-67, July 6, 1562, on Coligny, and of some possible interest in relation 
with Huguenot colonizing activity. 4642.52 (France, 1629) contains a letter, 
folio 75, from Paris, Mar. 9, 1629, on a new English fleet, and conjecturing as 
to whether it was to be used against France or the Indies. 
As this material is unsystematically arranged, and is of such slight im¬ 
portance for American history, it seemed unnecessary to give a detailed de¬ 
scription of it. 
Reggenza. The inventory of this section does not reveal anything of ap¬ 
parent pertinence unless 984 , tilza 1, no. 4, a plan of the consoli di Mare of 
1770 to improve the condition of Leghorn, may contain something on Ameri¬ 
can trade. 
Lorenese. This section is more systematically arranged, and there is a 
separate inventory for Affari Esteri. It actually includes records of various 
provisional governments, as well as that of the Grand Duke. The corre¬ 
spondence of the ministers in England, France, and Spain during the period 
of the American Revolution contains a great deal on the events of that war. 
This is particularly true of France, where the minister was well acquainted 
with Franklin, from whom he received much of his news and in whom he had 
implicit confidence. Except for this period there seems to be no significant 
1 P. J. Blok, Verslag (1901), pp. 23-37. 
2 The Raccolta di Documenti e Studi della R. Commissione Colombiana, III., Fonti 
Italiane, prints material from the Accademia del Cimento, the Biblioteca Magliabec- 
chiana, and the Biblioteca Riccardiana. 
3 Florence, 1903. 
17* 
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