The Two First Centuries of Florentine History - The Republic and Parties at the Time of Dante (Paperback)

My sole aim was to investigate in what manner the Republic was formed, the nature of its constitution, the why and wherefore of its continual transformations, the first causes and genuine motives of the factions by which the city was torn, and likewise to ascertain how it came about that - despite all this turbulence and strife - commerce and industry, the fine arts and letters should have been able to achieve such marvelous results. These researches are not pursued beyond the times of Dante and Henry VII (of Germany), inasmuch as that term actually marks the close of the period during which the Republic took shape and built up its constitution. This was followed by a new phase of equally high importance but very different character, during which the Republic entered, instead, on a course of decomposition.