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The Two First Centuries
of
Florentine History

THE MERCATO VECCHIO BEFORE ITS DEMOLITION.

The Two First Centuries of
Florentine History

THE REPUBLIC AND PARTIES
AT THE TIME OF DANTE

BY
PROFESSOR PASQUALE VILLARI

TRANSLATED BY
LINDA VILLARI

FOURTH IMPRESSION

ILLUSTRATED

London
T. FISHER UNWIN
1 Adelphi Terrace
1908

v

AUTHOR'S PREFACE TO THEENGLISH VERSION.

BEFORE deciding to issue this translationI had first to reflect whether my Florentinestudies could be of any use to theEnglish public. Since Roscoe's dayEnglish literature has been enriched byworks of much importance on differentphases of the political, literary, and artistic history ofFlorence. Both Napier and Trollope have bequeathedvery complete narratives of Florentine events, and translationsof notable foreign works have also been produced.But nearly all these works appeared before any scientificresearch as to the origin of the City and Commonwealthhad begun, or, at least, before it had reached the resultsI have briefly expounded, and which deserve