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Tuscany or Toscana, region in northern Italy, formerly a sovereign grand duchy, bordered on the north by the regions of Liguria and Emilia-Romagna, on the east by Marche and Umbria, on the south by Lazio (Latium), and on the west by the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian seas. It is divided into the maritime provinces of Grosseto, Livorno (Leghorn), Lucca, and Pisa; the inland provinces of Arezzo, Florence, Pistoia, and Siena; and the province of Massa-Carrara, extending north from the sea between Liguria Region and the Apennines. The regional capital is Florence.
Tuscany is chiefly mountainous; in addition to the Apennines it has two mountain groups, the Apuane Alps and a group in the south, the Colline Metallifere. The rivers are the Arno, Cecina, Ombrone, and upper Tiber; all flow into the Tyrrhenian Sea. Except in the Maremma, a marshy region in the south, the climate is mild. Agricultural products are wheat, corn, wine grapes, olives, and tobacco. Area, 22,993 sq km (8,878 sq mi); population 3,638,211 (2007 estimate).
Tuscany nearly corresponds to ancient Etruria (see Etruscan Civilization). Its inhabitants, the Tusci, or Etruscans, were conquered by the Romans, who called the land Tuscia. It was held in turn by the Ostrogoths, the Byzantines, and the Lombards. The last were conquered by Charlemagne and placed under a Frankish duke. In 1030 Boniface II of the house of Canossa became duke of Tuscany. After his assassination, his wife, Beatrice, governed until 1076, when her daughter, Countess Matilda, inherited the lands. Matilda supported the papal party during the investiture struggle, and she bequeathed all her dominions to the papacy. Holy Roman Emperor Henry V, however, claimed the duchy, and for more than a century the “property of Matilda” caused strife between the popes and the emperors. During this period the major cities became independent and prosperous. Pisa was by then a great maritime republic.
In the 14th century the poet Dante, the painter Giotto, the humanist Petrarch, and the writer Boccaccio made Tuscany preeminent in the revival of letters and arts. The Tuscan dialect became the literary language of Italy. In 1406 Pisa submitted to Florence, which then became the major power in Tuscany. After 1434 Florence was ruled by the Medici family. Cosimo I de’ Medici, who became duke in 1537, expanded the duchy by receiving Siena from Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. This gift bound the Medici to Spain, and for nearly two centuries Tuscany was under Spanish influence.
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