TUSCANY (It. Toscana). Formerly a sover eign grand duchy, now a district (comparti mento) on the west coast of Italy (Map: Italy, I" 4). It comprises the maritime provinces Grosseto, Livorno (Leghorn), Lucca, and Pisa, the inland provinces Arczzo, Florence, and Siena, and the Province of Massa e Carrara, ex tending from the sea northward between Liguria and the Apennines. The greater part of Tuscany is mountainous, the Apuan Alps reaching 6385 feet and Mount Amiata 5655 feet. The principal rivers are the Arno, Cecina, Ombrone, and Scr c•bio, all flowing into the Mediterranean. Except in the Maremma, a large marshy region on the southern coast, the climate is mild and health ful. The leading mineral deposits include iron, mercury, borax, copper, and salt; there are many mineral and thermal springs. Among the im portant agricultural products are wheat, maize, the vine, the olive, and tobacco. For population, see section on that topic under ITALY.
Tuscany corresponds nearly to ancient. Etruria (q.v.). The Etrurians or Tuscans were the earliest inhabitants known to history. They were conquered by the Romans, by whom in later times the land was called Tuseia. During the period of barbarian migrations Tuscia was possessed in turn by the Ostrogotlis, the em perors of Constantinople. and the Lombards. The last were conquered by Charles the Great and a Frankish margrave or duke was established with Lucca as his residence. Tuseia formed a part of the Kingdom of Italy, or of the Lombards. In 1030 Boniface II. of the House of Canossa became Duke of Tuscany. Ile was also Count of Modena, Reggio, Mantua, and Ferrara. His granddaughter, the Countess Matilda (q.v.), known as 'the Great Countess,' was an ardent friend of Pope Gregory VII.. and one of the most powerful supporters of the Papal party during the Investiture struggle. At her death, in 1115, she bequeathed all of her wide dominions to the Papacy; but the German emperors claimed the duchy as an Imperial fief. and for more than a century 'the property of Matilda' was the cause of constant strife between the popes and the emperors. During this period the principal cities became independent and prosperous. Pisa had risen to independence and power long before this, and was now a great maritime republic. At the close of the thirteenth century she succumbed to the power of her rival Genoa. For several cen turies the history of Florence is to a great extent the history of Tuscany. At the close of the twelfth century she was at the head of the Tuscan league of cities formed to resist. the Hohenstaufen. This brought her into close al liance with the Papacy, and usually Florence remained a firm adherent of the Guelph Party.
In the fourteenth century Dante, Giotto, Te trarch, and 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 and soon after she became mistress of Leghorn. Internal dis sensions in Florence led to the establishment of the predominance of the Medici (q.v.). Cosimo de' Medici got control of affairs in 1434 and made the supreme power in Florence the heredi tary possession of his house. In 1532. through the instrumentality of the Emperor Charles V., Alessandro de' Medici was made Duke of Flor ence. He was assassinated in 1537 and Cosimo the Great became Duke. The latter added to the territories of the duchy, especially by receiving Siena from Charles V. This gift bound him more closely to Spain and for nearly two hundred years Tuscany was generally under the influence of Spain. In 1569 the Florentine dominions were erected into tae Grand Duchy of Tuscany. The House of Medici became extinct in the male line in 1737. By the terms of the Treaty of Vienna, which had been concluded in 1735, the grand duchy was given to Francis of Lorraine, the husband of Maria Theresa of Austria. Grand Duke Ferdinand III. was dispossessed by the French in 1799. By the Treaty of Madrid be tween France and Spain, in 1801, Tuscany was erected into the Kingdom of Etruria and given to the son of the Duke of Parma. In 1807 Napo leon took possession of the country, which was united with France. Elisa Bocciochi, the sister of Napoleon, received the title of Grand Duchess of Tuscany. In 1S14 Ferdinand III. was re instated and ruled until 1824. Ilis successor, Leopold II., did much to promote the prosperity of Tuscany. In 1S47 Lucca was annexed to the grand duchy. in February, 1848, Leopold granted a liberal constitution to his subjects, but the tide of revolution carried everything before it, and early in 1849 the Grand Duke fled from his country. A counter-revolution was soon set on foot by the Moderate Liberal Party and in a few months Leopold was restored to his throne. In 1850 he entered into a convention with Austria by which Austrian troops were to occupy Tus cany. and, thus supported, he reinstituted a regime of absolutism. in 1859, in consequence of his pro-Austrian policy, he was obliged to leave his State, which was occupied by the forces of Victor Emmanuel. On March 15, 1860, the people by a plebiscite voted the union of Tuscany with Italy.
For the early history of Tuscany, consult the histories of Florence. l'isa, and Arezzo, especial ly Perrens, Histoire de Florence (Paris, 1877 90). For the later history, consult Reumont, Geschichte Toscanas scat dem Ende des floron tinisch-en Frcistaa.tcs (Gotha, 1876). For the nineteenth century, Seignobos, Political History of Europe Since 1814, translated by Macvane (New York. 1899), gives a convenient summary and furnishes an ample bibliography.