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We look back on the Florentine Republic: what it was, and why it failed. 

In the aftermath of Savonarola's death, Machiavelli and Soderini try to keep the new republic together, and keep the Medici at bay. They will succeed for thirteen years, before internal divisions, papal ambitions, and foreign invasion combine tear it all down. 

War, politics, and religion, just like the good old days. The Republic takes its first steps into a very dangerous world. They are led by Savonarola, who was way more important and interesting than just a guy who wanted to burn stuff. 

Lorenzo's son Piero the Unfortunate takes the helm, and gets to work earning his sobriquet. The French invade, the Medici fall, and Italy plunges into fifty years of war. But at long last, the Republic is restored, thanks to that fiery friar, Savonarola.

The first generation builds, the second generation preserves, and the third generation screws it all up.

Fresh from its triumph against Milan, Florence...spends thirty years fighting wars, ruining its finances, and suppressing the poor. Meanwhile, a family of bankers quietly gets really, really rich.

Florence fights Milan to the end...of the fourteenth century. And in the process, discovers something about itself. If you're American, it might seem familiar...

Once upon a time there was a kind, gentle boy with a wicked uncle. So the boy killed his uncle and took his lands. Then, he set out to conquer Italy. And he would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for those meddling Florentines. 

The revolution is impossible until it becomes inevitable. Then, it falls apart and get stamped down. Also, one world ends. 

Dear Walter,Here's how not to suck.All the best,Robert, King of Naples

All the tyrants are dead...or are they? After generations of guild rule, the nobles and poor take their shot at capturing power. Their weapon: Walter, Duke of Athens, who would become absolute ruler of Florence...for a few months.

With the so-called emperor dead, Florence spends a generation at war with his old generals. They will lose every battle, tax themselves to desperation, and yet somehow, emerge stronger than ever. 

This week, Florence takes on the world. The Republic fights Ghibellines, Popes, a would-be Emperor, and the greatest enemy of all: itself. 

Guelphs vs. Ghibbelines, then Guelphs vs. Guelphs...the winner may surprise you. We follow Florence from the 'golden age' of the Primo Popolo all the way to the downfall of the nobility and the triumph of the guilds. 

From Florence's origins as an ancient, rebellious Etruscan city-state, to an unruly, medieval Italian commune; some things never change. Starring: a Caesar who was not an emperor, an emperor who was not a Caesar, and two Fredericks.

An overview of the Roman republic, that old public thing, and predecessor to Florence. And to a lot of world history. But mainly to Florence.