Province: Florence

Owners Title: Gonfaloniere

% of Worldwide          3.2%                    Starting Population     1,000                   

Population                                                                                      

% of Worldwide          4.9%                    Starting Income         31,310                  

Income                                                                                          

% of Worldwide GDP      6.5%                    Starting GDP            400,090                 

% of Worldwide          1.0%                    Starting Surplus        310
                     

Surplus                                                                                         

Language: I5

Kingdom: HRE:Italy

Industrial Fief

Starting Owner: Firenze (301)

Starting Overlord : Firenze (301)

Regional Location: Far Southcentral 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. Originally 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.