istoryworld
Events relating to italy
Thomas Aquinas begins the outstanding work of medieval scholasticism, his Summa Theologiae
Marco Polo, aged seventeen, sets off from Venice on his journey to the east
Dante, aged nine, is overwhelmed by the beauty of Beatrice - a child a year younger than himself who later becomes his poetic inspiration
An incident in a church service sparks the uprising known as the Sicilian Vespers, in which 2000 French are killed overnight in Sicily
Marco Polo is back in Venice after an absence of 25 years in the east
The authorities in Siena publish strict regulations for the design of the buildings around a new central piazza, the Campo
Marco Polo, in prison in Genoa, is persuaded by a fellow prisoner to narrate his adventures
Boniface VIII declares a Jubilee or Holy Year, with plenary indulgences for pilgrims who make their way to Rome
The Italian communes employ powerful leaders, or signori, in a trend which leads away from oligarchy and towards princely rule
The bankers of northern Italy develop a method of accountancy - double-entry book-keeping - which will have lasting significance
Dante, a member of the White faction in Florence, is sentenced to death by the Blacks - and never returns to his native city
Enrico degli Scrovegni employs Giotto to paint the cycle of frescoes in his chapel in Padua
Dante, in exile from Florence, begins work on The Divine Comedy - completing it just before his death, 14 years later
The cathedral authorities in Siena commission from Duccio the great altarpiece which becomes known as the Maestà
Clement V moves the papacy to Avignon, in a move which is expected to be temporary but which lasts for nearly seventy years
In places such as Siena and Orvieto, Italian architects add a blaze of colour to the more restrained northern pattern of Gothic
Florence becomes a centre of international finance, with the Bardi and Peruzzi families acting as bankers to Europe's rulers
Petrarch glimpses Laura in a church in Avignon and falls helplessly in love with her - or so he tells us
The Doge's Palace, begun in its present form in this year, is only one of the spectacular beauties of Venetian Gothic
A laurel wreath is placed on the brow of Petrarch in Rome, in a renewal of interest in the classical world
The bridge now known as Ponte Vecchio is constructed in Florence (replacing an older old bridge)
The great Byzantine altarpiece of St Mark's, the Pala d'Oro, is adjusted to take its present form
Edward III of England, defaulting on his massive debts, drives the Florentine banking families of Bardi and Peruzzi into bankruptcy
Cola di Rienzo, appointed tribune of the people, enjoys a few months of dictatorial powers in Rome before the citizens tire of him
Boccaccio begins his Decameron, supposedly the stories told by young Florentine men and women sheltering from the Black Death
