Timeline Principal events in the histories of Florence and the house of Rucellai Neolithic period Arno River valley first settled 9th–8th century bce Etruscans establish a settlement (Viesul, now known as Fiesole) on a hill above the valley 59 bce Julius Caesar establishes a Roman colony for retired soldiers on the northern bank of the Arno (Florentia, now known as Florence) 2nd century ce Population: c.10,000 393 City’s first Christian basilica, San Lorenzo, consecrated as its cathedral by Saint Ambrose 405 Siege of Florence, part of a succession of Gothic invasions of the Roman Empire 5th century Church of Santa Reparata constructed within the Roman walls on the site of the present cathedral Late 6th century City falls to the Lombards, becoming part of the Lombardic Duchy of Tuscany 774 City conquered by Charlemagne; Carolingian era ushers in a period of urban revival Late 8th century City walls expanded 978 Badia Fiorentina, a Benedictine Abbey, founded by Willa, widow of Uberto, Margrave of Tuscany 996 First Ponte Vecchio built near the site of the Roman-era bridge 1018 Mercato Nuovo built on the site of the old Roman forum Basilica of San Miniato al Monte built on highest point in Florence Population: c.5,000 1115 Florence achieves de facto self-government with the establishment of a comune (confirmed by the Holy Roman Emperor in 1183) xv Timeline 1128 Construction finished on the Baptistery, built on the site of a sixth- or seventh-century octagonal structure, itself built on a structure dating to the Roman period c.1150 Arte di Calimala (cloth merchants’ guild) established 1212 Arte della Lana (wool merchants’ guild) established Population: c.30,000 1216 Murder of Buondelmonte de’ Buondelmonti seen as inaugu- rating quarrel between the Guelph faction (supporters of the papal cause) and the Ghibellines (supporters of the Holy Roman Emperor) c.1246 Construction of the church of Santa Maria Novella by the Dominicans begins c.1250 Alamanno discovers Roccella tinctoria (the dye source for “poor man’s purple”) in an eastern Mediterranean market 1252 Gold florin first minted 1255 Construction begins on Palazzo del Popolo (now known as the Bargello), the first monumental civic building, built for the com- mander of the civic militia 1261 Alamanno matriculates in the Arte della Lana 1265 Dante born in Florence 1269 Flood 1288 Ospedale di Santa Maria Nuova founded by Folco Portinari, the father of Dante’s Beatrice 1293 Ordinances of Justice institute office ofgonfaloniere 1294 Construction of the church of Santa Croce by the Franciscans begins 1296 Foundation stone of new cathedral laid on the site of Santa Reparata (rededicated to Santa Maria del Fiore in 1412) c.1299 Construction begins on Le Stinche, considered the first purpose- built prison in Europe 1299 Palazzo della Signoria (now known as Palazzo Vecchio), seat of the government, constructed on the site of the old Roman theater 1300 City walls expanded Population: c.100,000, making Florence one of the five largest cities in Europe 1302 Nardo di Giunta, first member of the family to hold public office, named prior of the Signoria (gonfalonier of justice in 1308); the family would give a total of 85 priori and 14 gonfalonieri to the city Dante exiled 1304 Fire destroys hundreds of houses xvi Timeline 1312 Siege of Florence, part of the Wars of the Guelphs and Ghibellines 1315–17 Famine 1318 Bingeri, a captain in the Florentine militia, suppresses the revolt of the Tolomei in Siena; rewarded with an addition to the family blazon: a silver lion rampant against a red background 1321 University of Florence founded 1330 Ufficiali delle donne, degli ornamenti e delle vesti (Officers for Women, Ornaments and Clothes) established 1333 Flood kills more than 3,000 people 1334 Giotto appointedcapomaestro of cathedral complex; foundations of campanile laid 1345 Ponte Vecchio rebuilt Bardi and Peruzzi banking families declare bankruptcy 1348 Black Death results in a 60 percent decline in the population c.1349–53 Boccaccio at work on the Decameron 1355 Cenni di Nardo builds a chapel dedicated to Saint Catherine of Alexandria in the church of Santa Maria Novella 1360 Giovanni di Bicci de’ Medici born in Florence 1374 Death of Petrarch 1376 Construction of the Loggia dei Lanzi begins 1378 Revolt of the Ciompi begins 1389 Cosimo “il Vecchio” de’ Medici born in Florence 1397 Medici Bank established 1403 Giovanni Rucellai born in Florence 1404 Leon Battista Alberti born in exile in Genoa 1406 Florence conquers Pisa, signaling the final defeat of the Ghibellines and giving Florence control of an important seaport 1417 Poggio Bracciolini rediscovers Lucretius’ De rerum natura 1421 Giovanni Rucellai occupies his father’s townhouse on Via della Vigna Nuova 1423 Giovanni Rucellai matriculates in the Arte del Cambio (bankers’ guild); made a partner in the fourth-largest bank in Florence c.1425 Brunelleschi reinvents one-point perspective 1427 Catasto (property tax survey) begins Population: c.37,000 1428 Giovanni Rucellai marries Iacopa Strozzi; buys second house Alberti family exile lifted 1432 Ufficiali di notte (Officers of the Night) established to adjudicate acts of sodomy 1433 Giovanni Rucellai buys third house Cosimo de’ Medici exiled xvii Timeline 1434 Cosimo de’ Medici returns from exile; becomes unofficial ruler of Florence, or Pater Patriae Palla Strozzi exiled Leon Battista Alberti re-enters Florence in the curia of Pope Eugenius IV 1435 Leon Battista Alberti writesOn Painting 1436 Brunelleschi’s dome completed; Duomo consecrated 1439 General Council of Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches held in Florence 1440s Three Rucellai cousins commission a white marble pulpit, designed by Brunelleschi, for the church of Santa Maria Novella 1440 Donatello completes his David; installed in courtyard of Palazzo Medici 1443 Leon Battista Alberti beginsOn the Art of Building 1445 Giovanni Rucellai at the helm of his own bank, one of the largest in Florence, with branches in Pisa, Rome, Lyon, and Constantinople; buys fourth, fifth, and sixth houses 1449 Lorenzo “il Magnifico” de’ Medici born in Florence c.1450 Leon Battista Alberti designs palace facade for Giovanni Rucellai 1452 Ghiberti completes bronze casting of east doors (also known as the Gates of Paradise) for the Baptistery 1454 Amerigo Vespucci born in Florence 1456 Pandolfo Rucellai marries Caterina Pitti 1457 Giovanni Rucellai begins his zibaldone (commonplace book) 1458 Giovanni Rucellai becomes third-richest man in Florence; buys seventh house 1460s Leon Battista Alberti designs loggia for Giovanni Rucellai 1464 Death of Cosimo “il Vecchio” de’ Medici 1466 Bernardo Rucellai marries Nannina de’ Medici Leonardo enters the workshop of Florentine painter Andrea del Verrocchio as an apprentice 1467 Leon Battista Alberti designs burial chapel, modeled after the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, for Giovanni Rucellai 1469 Lorenzo de’ Medici succeeds his father, Piero “the Gouty” Niccolò Machiavelli born in Florence 1470 Leon Battista Alberti designs facade of the church of Santa Maria Novella for Giovanni Rucellai 1474 Giovanni Rucellai declares bankruptcy 1478 Pazzi Conspiracy wounds Lorenzo de’ Medici and kills his brother Giuliano (26 April) xviii Timeline 1480s Bernardo Rucellai begins to develop newly acquired suburban property, naming it the Orti Oricellari 1481 Death of Giovanni Rucellai Savonarola arrives in Florence c.1485 Botticelli paints theBirth of Venus 1487 Giraffe presented to Lorenzo de’ Medici by al-Ashraf Qaitbay, the Sultan of Egypt 1489 Foundation stone of Palazzo Strozzi laid 1492 First legal and physical division of Palazzo Rucellai Death of Lorenzo de’ Medici 1494 French king Charles VIII invades city to lay claim to the Kingdom of Naples; Medici driven from the city 1495 Bernardo Rucellai’s De bello italico commentarius published 1496 Bernardo Rucellai’s De urbe Roma published 1497 Bonfire of the Vanities organized by supporters of Savonarola (7 February) 1498 Savonarola burned at the stake for heresy (23 May) Machiavelli appointed secretary to the committee overseeing military matters and foreign affairs 1504 Michelangelo completes his David 1512 Return of the Medici 1513 Machiavelli’s The Prince in circulation 1516 Giovanni di Bernardo Rucellai’s Rosmunda, the earliest extant Italian tragedy, first performed in the Orti Oricellari for Pope Leo X Death of Bernardo Rucellai Giovanni de’ Medici, second son of Lorenzo “il Magnifico,” enters Florence as Pope Leo X; later excommunicates Martin Luther 1519 Niccolò Machiavelli begins The Art of War in the Orti Oricellari c.1520 The madrigal is developed in the Orti Oricellari 1523 Cardinal Clement VII (born Giulio de’ Medici) becomes Pope, two years after the death of his cousin Pope Leo X 1527 In the wake of the Sack of Rome, Medici rule is overthrown and Republic of Florence is established 1528 Baldassare Castiglione’s Book of the Courtier published 1529 Death of Camilla Rucellai, ardent follower of Savonarola Siege of Florence, part of the War of the League of Cognac, begins 1531 Second legal and physical division of Palazzo Rucellai 1532 Republic ends; Alessandro de’ Medici named Duke of Florence 1536 Dissection of a “monster” takes place in the Orti Oricellari Holy Roman Emperor Charles V visits city xix Timeline 1550 Giorgio Vasari publishes first edition of hisLives of the Artists 1557 Flood (September) 1558 Giovanni Della Casa’s conduct book Galateo published, addressed to Annibale Rucellai 1560 Vasari begins construction on Palazzo degli Uffizi to house the