Empoli () is a town and '' comune'' in the

Metropolitan City of Florence The Metropolitan City of Florence ( it, Città Metropolitana di Firenze) is an administrative division called metropolitan city in the Tuscany region, Italy. Its capital is the city of Florence. It replaced the Province of Florence. It was first c ...

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

, Italy, about southwest of

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico a ...

, to the south of the

Arno The Arno is a river in the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the most important river of central Italy after the Tiber. Source and route The river originates on Monte Falterona in the Casentino area of the Apennines, and initially takes a so ...

in a plain formed by the river. The plain has been usable for agriculture since

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

times. The commune's territory becomes hilly as it departs from the river. Empoli is on the main railway line from Florence to

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the city ...

, and is the point of divergence of a line to

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...

. Empoli has an enduring tradition as an agricultural centre. It has given its name to a local variety of

artichoke The globe artichoke (''Cynara cardunculus'' var. ''scolymus'' ),Rottenberg, A., and D. Zohary, 1996: "The wild ancestry of the cultivated artichoke." Genet. Res. Crop Evol. 43, 53–58. also known by the names French artichoke and green articho ...

History

Archaeological finds have revealed that Empoli was already settled in the early

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

times, and continued to exist until the 4th century AD. The river acted as a communication way for the trade of agricultural products, together with the local amphorae. In the Tabula Peutingeriana of the 4th century Empoli is called ''in portu'' ("in the port") as a river port on the Roman road ''Via Quinctia'', which led from

Fiesole Fiesole () is a town and '' comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a scenic height above Florence, 5 km (3 miles) northeast of that city. It has structures dating to Etruscan and Roman times. Si ...

and

. Empoli was also on the ''Via Salaiola'', connecting to

Volterra Volterra (; Latin: ''Volaterrae'') is a walled mountaintop town in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its history dates from before the 8th century BC and it has substantial structures from the Etruscan, Roman, and Medieval periods. History Volt ...

's salt ponds. Since the 8th century Empoli consolidated as a town around the castle, known as ''Emporium'' or ''Empolis''. In 1119 it was absorbed into the Guidi counts' possessions. In 1182 it fell under Florentine rule. In 1260, after the

Battle of Montaperti The Battle of Montaperti was fought on 4 September 1260 between Florence and Siena in Tuscany as part of the conflict between the Guelphs and Ghibellines. The Florentines were routed. It was the bloodiest battle fought in Medieval Italy, wit ...

, Empoli was the seat of a famous council in which

Farinata degli Uberti Manente degli Uberti (1212 – 11 November 1264), known as Farinata degli Uberti, was an Italian aristocrat and military leader of the Ghibelline faction in Florence. He was considered to be a heretic by some of his contemporaries, including Da ...

opposed the destruction of Florence. Later Empoli became an important fortress, and was therefore repeatedly sacked and attacked. In 1530 its fall marked the end of the independence of the

Florentine Republic The Republic of Florence, officially the Florentine Republic ( it, Repubblica Fiorentina, , or ), was a medieval and early modern state that was centered on the Italian city of Florence in Tuscany. The republic originated in 1115, when the Flo ...

Main sights

*''Piazza Farinata degli Uberti'', also known as ''Piazza dei Leoni'' ("Lions Square"), is marked in its centre by a fountain by

Luigi Pampaloni Luigi Pampaloni (Florence, 1791–1847) was an Italian sculptor, active in a Neoclassical style. He studied under Lorenzo Bartolini in Florence. In 1826, he completed with the collaboration of Ottavio Giovannozzi the design of the ''Fountain of ...

(1827). Here lies the , the main city's monument. The church probably existed as early as the 5th century AD, and is mentioned in a papal bull of 1059. It was rebuilt in the 11th century by the ''pievano'' Rolando, by permission of the Countess Emilia dei Conti Guidi. In the mid of the following century, a Romanesque arcaded façade was added: it was decorated with bi-chrome marble stones, in a style inspired by the basilica of

San Miniato San Miniato is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Pisa, in the region of Tuscany, Italy. San Miniato sits at an historically strategic location atop three small hills where it dominates the lower Arno valley, between the valleys of Eg ...

. The green stones were from

Prato Prato ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Italy, the capital of the Province of Prato. The city lies in the north east of Tuscany, at the foot of Monte Retaia, elevation , the last peak in the Calvana chain. With more than 200,000 ...

, and the white ones are from

Carrara Carrara ( , ; , ) is a city and '' comune'' in Tuscany, in central Italy, of the province of Massa and Carrara, and notable for the white or blue-grey marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione River, some west-northwest of Florence. Its mo ...

: today the lower part of the original decoration remains. In 1735 the architect

Ferdinando Ruggieri Ferdinando Ruggeri (Florence, 1691–1741) was an Italian architect, active in Florence during the late Baroque period. Ruggèri helped design the left facade of the Church of San Firenze (1715), the Palazzo Capponi in Florence, the Palazzo San ...

extensively modified the façade and the interior structure, including the ceiling. It houses noteworthy artworks including paintings by

Francesco Botticini Francesco Botticini (real name Francesco di Giovanni, 1446 – 16 January 1498) was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. He was born in Florence, where he remained active until his death in 1498. Although there are only few documented wor ...

, a terracotta by

Luca della Robbia Luca della Robbia (, also , ; 1399/1400–1482) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor from Florence. Della Robbia is noted for his colorful, tin-glazed terracotta statuary, a technique which he invented and passed on to his nephew Andrea della ...

, an altarpiece (1785) by Zanobi del Rosso and a

triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided ...

by Lorenzo di Bicci portraying the ''Madonna in Throne with Saints''. *The ''Palazzo Ghibellino'' is the former palace of the Guidi counts. It was probably erected in the 11th century. In 1260 it was the seat of the

Ghibelline The Guelphs and Ghibellines (, , ; it, guelfi e ghibellini ) were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, rival ...

parliament where the fate of the Florence's

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...

s was decided. In the 16th century, the palace was restored, leaving little of the original structure, though. *The ''Palazzo Pretorio'' was the Town Hall in the Middle Ages. Currently, it houses several activities, including an

auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...

. The house of the painter

Pontormo Jacopo Carucci (May 24, 1494 – January 2, 1557), usually known as ''Jacopo da Pontormo'', ''Jacopo Pontormo'', or simply Pontormo, was an Italian Mannerist painter and portraitist from the Florentine School. His work represents a profound sty ...

is in the ''

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

'' (hamlet) of Pontorme. Masolino, pietà, empoli

Sport

Empoli's main association football team is

Empoli F.C. Empoli Football Club, commonly referred to as Empoli, is an Italian football club based in Empoli, Metropolitan City of Florence. Founded in 1920, the side is part of a select group of Italian football clubs that do not belong to a provincial ...

, which is currently playing in the .

Twinnings

Sankt Georgen an der Gusen Sankt Georgen an der Gusen (also ''St. Georgen an der Gusen'' and ''St. Georgen/Gusen''; lit.: "Saint George's town on the Gusen River") is a small market town in Upper Austria, Austria, between the municipalities of Luftenberg and Langenstein. ...

, Austria

Notable people

* Farinata degli Uberti, real name Manente degli Uberti (1212–1264), politician leader nti-Papal* (1483–1518), navigator *Jacopo Carrucci, better known as

(1494–1556), painter *

Jacopo da Empoli image:San Lorenzo,L'Empoli, il Martirio di San Sebastiano.JPG, 250px, ''Martyrdom of St. Sebastian'', San Lorenzo di Firenze, San Lorenzo, Florence Jacopo da Empoli (30 April 1551 – 30 September 1640) was an Italian Florentine Reformist paint ...

(1551–1640), painter * Alessandro Marchetti (1633–1714), mathematician and writer * (1648–1735), doctor and philosopher * (1652–1708), doctor and poet * Renato Fucini (1843–1921), writer * (1861–1940), orthopaedist *

Ferruccio Busoni Ferruccio Busoni (1 April 1866 – 27 July 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and teacher. His international career and reputation led him to work closely with many of the leading musicians, artists and literary ...

(1866–1924), musician * (1884–1932), Eastern countries scholar * Mentore Maggini (1890–1941), astronomer * (1908–1994), politician and anti-Fascist militant * (1932–1988), poet and writer

References

External links

Official website

Della Storia d'Empoli
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