Starting Population     1,000                   % of Worldwide          3.2%                    

                                                Population                                      

Starting Income         31,310                  % of Worldwide          4.9%                    

                                                Income                                          

Starting GDP            400,090                 % of Worldwide GDP      6.5%                    

Starting Surplus        310                     % of Worldwide          1.0%                    

                                                Surplus                                         

1 fief Province: Flor0110.htm                               Overlord:               Firenze (301)
           

Florence                                                                                        

Kingdom: HRE:Italy

Comments: Florence, or more properly Tuscany, is a large republic on the western coast of central Italy, between the States of the Church, Lombardy, and Genoa. Anciently the home of the Etruscans, it passed into the Roman orbit many centuries before Christ. Overrun by successive waves of barbarians after the fall of Rome, in the 8th century it was incorporated into Charlemagne's Empire as part of the Kingdom of Italy, forming the "Tuscan March,". It later became a county, the most famous ruler of which was the great Matilda, one of the most formidable female military commanders of the 11th (or any other) century. The county has been extinct now for more than a century, and Tuscany consists of more than a dozen imperial cities, which sometimes act in unison, but are more often at odds with each other. Many of the towns are themselves rife with internal disorders.

Northern Tuscany in under the religious authority of the Archbishop of Pisa, while the rest of the province comes directly under the authority of His Holiness the Pope . There are universities at Siena and Arezzo, and new one is to open in Pisa within the year. Despite the discord and disorder which plagues Tuscany, it is among the richest provinces in Christendom. Banking, shipping, and manufacturing (particularly of woolens, armor, and luxury goods) flourish, while the province produces fine wines and excellent olive oil