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Political conflict did not, however, prevent the city's rise to become one of the most powerful and prosperous in Europe, assisted by its own strong gold currency. The "fiorino d'oro" of the Republic of Florence , or florin , was introduced in 1252, the first European gold coin struck in sufficient quantities to play a significant commercial ...
In 2013, Florence was listed as the second best world city by Condé Nast Traveler. [56] Manufacturing and commerce remain highly important. Florence is Italy's 17th richest city in terms of average workers' earnings, with the figure being €23,265 (the overall city's income is €6,531,204,473), coming after Mantua, yet surpassing Bolzano. [57]
The city of Florence was established in 59 BC by Julius Caesar. Since 846 AD, the city had been part of the Marquisate of Tuscany. After Margravine Matilda of Tuscany died in 1115, the city did not submit readily to her successor, Rabodo (r. 1116–1119), who was killed in a dispute with the city.
By 1870 Italy was an economically backward and depressed area; its industrial structure had almost collapsed, its population was too high for its resources, its economy had become primarily agricultural. Wars, political fractionalization, limited fiscal capacity and the shift of world trade to north-western Europe and the Americas were key factors.
Florence was Italy's fashion capital in the 1950s and 1960s, and Milan in the 1970s and 1980s, with Versace, Armani, and Dolce & Gabbana opening up their first boutiques there. Until the 1970s, Italian fashion primarily served the wealthy, similar to haute couture in France.
The Medici became the town's leading family, a position they would hold for the next three centuries. Florence organized the trade routes for commodities between England and the Netherlands, France, and Italy. By the middle of the century, the city had become the banking capital of Europe and thereby obtained vast riches. [32]
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The wealth of the Indies was now open for the Europeans to explore; the Portuguese Empire was one of the early European empires to grow from spice trade. [14] Following this, Portugal became the controlling state for trade between east and west, followed later by the Dutch city of Antwerp.