[1] Ed. H. Suchier (Paderborn, 1878, 5th ed. 1903); modern French by
G. Michaut, with preface by J. Bedier (Tours, 1901); English by
Andrew Lang (1887), by F.W. Bourdillon (Oxford, 1896), and by
Laurence Housman (1902).
FLORENCE, WILLIAM JERMYN (1831-1891), American actor, of Irish descent,
whose real name was Bernard Conlin, was born on the 26th of July 1831 at
Albany, N.Y., and first attracted attention as an actor at Brougham's
Lyceum in 1851. Two years later he married Mrs Malvina Pray Littell (d.
1906), in association with whom, until her retirement in 1889, he won
all his successes, notably in Benjamin Woolf's _The Mighty Dollar_, said
to have been presented more than 2500 times. In 1856 they had a
successful London season, Mrs Florence being one of the first American
actresses to appear on the English stage. In 1889 Florence entered into
partnership with Joseph Jefferson, playing Sir Lucius O'Trigger to his
Bob Acres and Mrs John Drew's Mrs Malaprop on a very successful tour.
His last appearance was with Jefferson on the 14th of November 1891, as
Ezekiel Homespun in _The Heir-at-law_, and he died on the 18th of
November in Philadelphia.
FLORENCE OF WORCESTER (d. 1118), English chronicler, was a monk of
Worcester, who died, as we learn from his continuator, on the 7th of
July 1118. Beyond this fact nothing is known of his life. He compiled a
chronicle called _Chronicon ex chronicis_ which begins with the creation
and ends in 1117. The basis of his work was a chronicle compiled by
Marianus Scotus, an Irish recluse, who lived first at Fulda, afterwards
at Mainz. Marianus, who began his work after 1069, carried it up to
1082. Florence supplements Marianus from a lost version of the English
Chronicle, and from Asser. He is always worth comparing with the extant
English Chronicles; and from 1106 he is an independent annalist, dry but
accurate. Either Florence or a later editor of his work made
considerable borrowings from the first four books of Eadmer's _Historia
novorum_. Florence's work is continued, up to 1141, by a certain John of
Worcester, who wrote about 1150. John is valuable for the latter years
of Henry I. and the early years of Stephen. He is friendly to Stephen,
but not an indiscriminate partisan.
The first edition of these two writers is that of 1592 (by William
Howard). The most accessible is that of B. Thorpe (Eng. Hist. Soc., 2
vols., 1848-1849); but Thorpe's text of John's continuation needs
revision. Thorpe gives, without explanations, the insertions of an
ill-informed Gloucester monk who has obscured the accurate chronology
of the original. Thorpe also prints a continuation by John Taxter
(died c. 1295), a 13th-century writer and a monk of Bury St Edmunds.
Florence and John of Worcester are translated by J. Stevenson in his
_Church Historians of England_, vol. ii. pt. i. (London, 1853); T.
Forester's translation in Bohn's _Antiquarian Library_ (London, 1854)
gives the work of Taxter also. (H. W. C. D.)
FLORENCE, the county-seat of Lauderdale county, Alabama, U.S.A., on the
N. bank of the Tennessee river, at the foot of Muscle Shoals Canal, and
about 560 ft. above sea-level. Pop. (1880) 1359; (1890) 6012; (1900)
6478 (1952 negroes); (1910) 6689. It is served by the Southern, the
Northern Alabama (controlled by the Southern), and the Louisville &
Nashville railways, and by electric railway to Sheffield and Tuscumbia,
and the Tennessee river is here navigable. Florence is situated in the
fertile agricultural lands of the Tennessee river valley on the edge of
the coal and iron districts of Alabama, and has various manufactures,
including pig-iron, cotton goods, wagons, stoves, fertilizers, staves
and mercantile supplies. At Florence are the state Normal College, the
Florence University for Women, and the Burrell Normal School (for
negroes; founded in 1903 by the American Missionary Association).
Florence was founded in 1818, Andrew Jackson, afterwards president of
the United States, and ex-president James Madison being among the early
property holders. For several years Florence and Nashville, Tennessee,
were commercial rivals, being situated respectively at the head of
navigation on the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. The first invasion of
Alabama by Federal troops in the Civil War was by a gunboat raid up the
Tennessee to Florence on the 8th of February 1862. On the 11th of April
1863 another Federal gunboat raid was attempted, but the vessels were
repulsed by a force under Gen. S.A. Wood. On the 26th of May following,
Federal troops entered Florence, and destroyed cotton mills and public
and private property; but they were driven back by Gen. Philip D. Roddy
(1820-1897). On the 11th of December 1863 the town was again raided, but
the Federals did not secure permanent possession. Florence was chartered
as a city in 1889.
FLORENCE (Ital. _Firenze_, Lat. _Florentia_), formerly the capital of
Tuscany, now the capital of a province of the kingdom of Italy, and the
sixth largest city in the country. It is situated 43 deg. 46' N., 11
deg. 14' E., on both banks of the river Arno, which at this point flows
through a broad fertile valley enclosed between spurs of the Apennines.
The city is 165 ft. above sea-level, and occupies an area of 3 sq. m.
(area of the commune, 16-1/2 sq. m.). The geological formation of the
soil belongs to the Quaternary and Pliocene period in its upper strata,
and to the Eocene and Cretaceous in the lower. _Pietra forte_ of the
Cretaceous period is quarried north and south of the city, and has been
used for centuries as paving stone and for the buildings. _Pietra
serena_ or _macigno_, a stone of a firm texture also used for building
purposes, is quarried at Monte Ceceri below Fiesole. The soil is very
fertile; wheat, Indian corn, olives, vines, fruit trees of many kinds
cover both the plain and the surrounding hills; the chief
non-fruit-bearing trees are the stone pine, the cypress, the ilex and
the poplar, while many other varieties are represented. The gardens and
fields produce an abundance of flowers, which justify the city's title
of _la citta dei fiori_.
_Climate and Sanitary Conditions._--The climate of Florence is very
variable, ranging from severe cold accompanied by high winds from the
north in winter to great heat in the summer, while in spring-time sudden
and rapid changes of temperature are frequent. At the same time the
climate is usually very agreeable from the end of February to the
beginning of July, and from the end of September to the middle of
November. The average temperature throughout the year is about 57 deg.
Fahr.; the maximum heat is about 96.8 deg., and the minimum 36.5 deg.,
sometimes sinking to 21 deg. The longest day is 15 hours and 33 minutes,
the shortest 8 hours and 50 minutes. The average rainfall is about
37-1/2 inches. Epidemic diseases are rare and children's diseases mild;
cholera has visited Florence several times, but the city has been free
from it for many years. Diphtheria first appeared in 1868 and continued
as a severe epidemic until 1872, since when it has only occurred at rare
intervals and in isolated cases. Typhoid, pneumonia, tuberculosis,
measles and scarlatina, and influenza are the commonest illnesses. The
drainage system is still somewhat imperfect, but the water brought from
the hills or from the Arno in pipes is fairly good, and the general
sanitary conditions are satisfactory.
Churches.
_Public Buildings._--Of the very numerous Florentine churches the Duomo
(Santa Maria del Fiore) is the largest and most important, founded in
1298 on the plans of Arnolfo di Cambio, completed by Brunelleschi, and
consecrated in 1436; the facade, however, was not finished until the
19th century--it was begun in 1875 on the designs of de Fabris and
unveiled in 1888. Close by the Duomo is the no less famous Campanile
built by Giotto, begun in 1332, and adorned with exquisite bas-reliefs.
Opposite is the Baptistery built by Arnolfo di Cambio in the 13th
century on the site of an earlier church, and adorned with beautiful
bronze doors by Ghiberti in the 15th century. The Badia, Santo Spirito,
Santa Maria Novella, are a few among the many famous and beautiful
churches of Florence. The existence of these works of art attracts
students from all countries, and a German art school subsidized by the
imperial government has been instituted.
The streets and piazze of the city are celebrated for their splendid
palaces, formerly, and in many cases even to-day the residences of the
noble families of Florence. Among others we may mention the Palazzo
Vecchio, formerly the seat of the government of the Republic and now the
town hall, the Palazzo Riccardi, the residence of the Medici and now the
prefecture, the palaces of the Strozzi, Antinori (one of the most
perfect specimens of Florentine _quattrocento_ architecture), Corsini,
Davanzati, Pitti (the royal palace), &c. The palace of the Arte della
Lana or gild of wool merchants, tastefully and intelligently restored,
is the headquarters of the Dante Society. The centre of Florence, which
was becoming a danger from a hygienic point of view, was pulled down in
1880-1890, but, unfortunately, sufficient care was not taken to avoid
destroying certain buildings of historic and artistic value which might
have been spared without impairing the work of sanitation, while the new
structures erected in their place, especially those in the Piazza
Vittorio Emanuele, are almost uniformly ugly and quite out of keeping
with Florentine architecture. The question aroused many polemics at the
time both in Italy and abroad. After the new centre was built, a society
called the _Societa per la difesa di Firenze antica_ was formed by many
prominent citizens to safeguard the ancient buildings and prevent them
from destruction, and a spirit of intelligent conservatism seems now to
prevail in this connexion. The city is growing in all directions, and a
number of new quarters have sprung up where the houses are more sanitary
than in the older parts, but unfortunately few of them evince much
aesthetic feeling. The _viali_ or boulevards form pleasant residential
streets with gardens, and the system of building separate houses for
each family (villini) instead of large blocks of flats is becoming more
and more general.
Libraries.
Florence possesses four important libraries besides a number of smaller
collections. The _Biblioteca Nazionale_, originally founded by Antonio
Magliabecchi in 1747, enjoys the right, shared by the _Vittorio
Emanuele_ library of Rome, of receiving a copy of every work printed in
Italy, since 1870 (since 1848 it had enjoyed a similar privilege with
regard to works printed in Tuscany). It contains some 500,000 printed
volumes, 700,000 pamphlets, over 9000 prints and drawings (including 284
by Albert Durer), nearly 20,000 MSS., and 40,000 letters. The number of
readers in 1904 was over 50,000. Unfortunately, however, the confusion
engendered by a defective organization has long been a byword among the
people; there is no printed catalogue, quantities of books are buried in
packing-cases and unavailable, the collection of foreign books is very
poor, hardly any new works being purchased, and the building itself is
quite inadequate and far from safe; but the site of a new one has now
been purchased and the plans are agreed upon, so that eventually the
whole collection will be transferred to more suitable quarters. The
_Biblioteca Marucelliana_, founded in 1752, contains 150,000 books,
including 620 incunabula, 17,000 engravings and 1500 MSS.; it is well
managed and chiefly remarkable for its collection of illustrated works
and art publications. The _Biblioteca Mediceo-Laurenziana_, founded in
1571, has its origin in the library of Cosimo de' Medici the Elder, and
was enlarged by Piero, Giovanni and above all by Lorenzo the
Magnificent. Various princes and private persons presented it with
valuable gifts and legacies, among the most important of which was the
collection of _editiones principes_ given by Count d'Elci, in 1841, and
the Ashburnham collection of MSS. purchased by the Italian Government in
1885. It contains nearly 10,000 MSS., including many magnificent
illuminated missals and Bibles and a number of valuable Greek and Latin
texts, 242 incunabula and 11,000 printed books, chiefly dealing with
palaeography; it is in some ways the most important of the Florentine
libraries. The _Biblioteca Riccardiana_, founded in the 16th century by
Romolo Riccardi, contains nearly 4000 MSS., over 32,000 books and 650
incunabula, chiefly relating to Florentine history. The state archives
are among the most complete in Italy, and contain over 450,000 _filze_
and _registri_ and 126,000 charters, covering the period from 726 to
1856.
Galleries of Fine Arts and Museums.
Few cities are as rich as Florence in collections of works of artistic
and historic interest, although the great majority of them belong to a
comparatively limited period--from the 13th to the 16th century. The
chief art galleries are the Uffizi, the Pitti and Accademia. The two
former are among the finest in the world, and are filled with
masterpieces by Raphael, Andrea del Sarto, Perugino, Ghirlandaio,
Botticelli, the Lippi, and many other Florentine, Umbrian, Venetian,
Dutch and Flemish artists, as well as numerous admirable examples of
antique, medieval and Renaissance sculpture. The Pitti collection is in
the royal palace (formerly the residence of the grand dukes), and a fine
new stairway and vestibule have been constructed by royal munificence.
In the Uffizi the pictures are arranged in strict chronological order.
In the Accademia, which is rich in early Tuscan masters, the Botticelli
and Perugino rooms deserve special mention. Other pictures are scattered
about in the churches, monasteries and private palaces. Of the
monasteries, that of St Mark should be mentioned, as containing many
works of Fra Angelico, besides relics of Savonarola, while of the
private collections the only one of importance is that of Prince
Corsini. There is a splendid museum of medieval and Renaissance
antiquities in the Bargello, the ancient palace of the Podesta, itself
one of the finest buildings in the city; among its many treasures are
works of Donatello, Ghiberti, Verrochio and other sculptors, and large
collections of ivory, enamel and bronze ware. The Opera del Duomo
contains models and pieces of sculpture connected with the cathedral;
the Etruscan and Egyptian museum, the gallery of tapestries, the
Michelangelo museum, the museum of natural history and other collections
are all important in different ways.
Population.
The total population of Florence in 1905, comprising foreigners and a
garrison of 5500 men, was 220,879. In 1861 it was 114,363; it increased
largely when the capital of Italy was in Florence (1865-1872), but
decreased or increased very slightly after the removal of the capital to
Rome, and increased at a greater rate from 1881 onwards. At present the
rate of increase is about 22 per 1000, but it is due to immigration, as
the birth rate was actually below the death rate down to 1903, since
when there has been a slight increase of the former and a decrease of
the latter.
Administration.
Florence is the capital of a province of the same name, and the central
government is represented by a prefect (_prefetto_), while local
government is carried on by a mayor (_sindaco_) and an elective town
council (_consiglio comunale_). The city is the seat of a court of
cassation (for civil cases only), of a court of appeal, besides minor
tribunals. It is the headquarters of an army corps, and an
archiepiscopal see.
Education.
There are 22 public elementary schools for boys and 18 for girls
(education being compulsory and gratuitous), with about 20,000 pupils,
and 56 private schools with 5700 pupils. Secondary education is
provided by one higher and four lower technical schools with 1375
pupils, three _ginnasii_ or lower classical schools, and three _licei_
or higher classical schools, with 1000 pupils, and three training
colleges with over 700 pupils. Higher education is imparted at the
university (_Istituto di studii superiori e di perfezionamento_), with
600 to 650 students; although only comprising the faculties of
literature, medicine and natural science, it is, as regards the
first-named faculty, one of the most important institutions in Italy.
The original _Studio Fiorentino_ was founded in the 14th century, and
acquired considerable fame as a centre of learning under the Medici,
enhanced by the presence in Florence of many learned Greeks who had
fled from Constantinople after its capture by the Turks (1453).
Although in 1472 some of the faculties and several of the professors
were transferred to Pisa, it still retained importance, and in the
17th and 18th centuries it originated a number of learned academies.
In 1859 after the annexation of Tuscany to the Italian kingdom it was
revived and reorganized; since then it has become to some extent a
national centre of learning and culture, attracting students from
other parts of Italy, partly on account of the fact that it is in
Florence that the purest Italian is spoken. The revival of classical
studies on scientific principles in modern Italy may be said to have
begun in Florence, and great activity has also been displayed in
reviving the study of Dante; Dante lectures being given regularly by
scholars and men of letters from all parts of the country, above the
church of Or San Michele as in the middle ages, under the auspices of
the _Societa Dantesca_. Palaeography, history and Romance languages
are among the other subjects to which especial importance is given.
Besides the _Istituto di studii superiori_ there is the _Istituto di
scienze sociali_ "_Cesare Alfieri_," founded by the marchese Alfieri
di Sostegno for the education of aspirants to the diplomatic and
consular services, and for students of economics and social sciences
(about 50 students); an academy of fine arts, a conservatoire of
music, a higher female training-college with 150 students, a number of
professional and trade schools, and an academy of recitation. There
are also many academies and learned societies of different kinds, of
which one of the most important is the _Accademia della Crusca_ for
the study of the Italian language, which undertook the publication of
a monumental dictionary.
Charities, etc.
Several of the Florence hospitals are of great antiquity, the most
important being that of Santa Maria Nuova, which, founded by Folco
Portinari, the father of Dante's Beatrice, has been thoroughly
renovated according to modern scientific principles. There are
numerous other hospitals both general and special, a foundling
hospital dating from the 13th century (Santa Maria degli Innocenti),
an institute for the blind, one for the deaf and dumb, &c. Most of the
hospitals and other charitable institutions are endowed, but the
endowments are supplemented by private contributions.
Commerce and Industry.
Florence is the centre of a large and fertile agricultural district,
and does considerable business in wine, oil and grain, and supplies
the neighbouring peasantry with goods of all kinds. There are no
important industries, except a few flour-mills, some glass works, iron
foundries, a motor car factory, straw hat factories, and power-houses
supplying electricity for lighting and for the numerous tramcars.
There are, however, some artistic industries in and around the city,
of which the most important is the Ginori-Richard porcelain works, and
the Cantagalli majolica works. There are many other smaller
establishments, and the Florentine artificer seems to possess an
exceptional skill in all kinds of work in which art is combined with
technical ability. Another very important source of revenue is the
so-called "tourist industry," which in late years has assumed immense
proportions; the city contains a large number of hotels and
boarding-houses which every year are filled to overflowing with
strangers from all parts of the world. (L. V.*)