At the conclusion of the fifteenth century and well into the
first half of the sixteenth, Florence underwent radical political
and social transformations. The republic, which had nurtured the
cultural phenomenon of the Renaissance, was finally overthrown and
the Medici returned triumphant as outright rulers of the once-free
commune. Throughout this period, the administration of the
Florentine territory continued to be one of the single most
important issues faced by successive Florentine governments, and
yet very little is known about the people they governed. Accounting
for over two-thirds of the total population, the inhabitants of
small rural communities played a significant part in the shaping of
this territory.
This study explores the nature of these communities and the
relationships they forged with the central authorities; it provides
an overview of the extraordinary diversity of rural communes, and
looks in detail at three areas of the Florentine territory. The
communes of Gangalandi, Scarperia, and the communities located in
the Pistoian mountains provide the vivid contexts in which the
fluid natures of local religious, social, and political ties are
examined. The character of each of these rural communities was
unique, challenging not only the Florentine government’s
mechanisms of control, but our own understanding of the
‘peasant’ as a social category. Hewlett demonstrates
that these communes were not simplistic social organizations, but
rather vibrant communities of individuals who pursued a vast range
of different activities within a series of complex cultural
networks. Rural Communities in Renaissance Tuscany also
addresses the importance of religion to these communities; an
exciting addition to a field that has been until now dominated by
the study of urban religious practice.
"The author's refusal to subscribe to totalizing models is a great strength of this important and deceptively simple study."
(Nicholas A. Eckstein, in Speculum 85/4, October 2010, p. 975)
"The book is a valuable exploration of the fluid and dynamic relationship of Florence and its territories."
(Christine Meek, in Sixteenth Century Journal XLII/1, Spring 2011, p. 169)
"Clearly, Hewlett aims to inspire others to pursue the same careful, insightful studies for other towns or regions under Florentine rule. If we are fortunate, they will do so as well as she." (A. Williams Lewin, in: The Medieval Review, 10.03.25)