This edited collection provides the first comprehensive history of Florence as the mid-19th century capital of the fledgling Italian nation.

Covering various aspects of politics, economics, culture and society, this book examines the impact that the short-lived experience of becoming the political and administrative centre of the Kingdom of Italy had on the Tuscan city, both immediately and in the years that followed. It reflects upon the urbanising changes that affected the appearance of the city and the introduction of various economic and cultural innovations. The volume also analyses the crisis caused by the eventual relocation of the capital to Rome and the subsequent bankruptcy of the communality which hampered Florence on the long road to modernity.

Florence: Capital of the Kingdom of Italy, 1865-71 is a fascinating study for all students and scholars of modern Italian history.

Monika Poettinger is Professor of Economic History at Bocconi University, Italy. She is the co-editor, along with Gianfranco Tusset, of Economic Thought and History (2016).

Piero Roggi is Professor for the History of Economic Thought at the University of Florence, Italy.

List of Illustrations
List of Tables
Introduction - Monika Poettinger (Bocconi University, Italy)
1. Politics - Cosimo Ceccuti (University of Florence, Italy)
2. The Economy - Andrea Giuntini (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy)
3. Literature - Erika Bertelli and Marino Biondi (University of Florence, Italy)
4. Culture - Sergio Caruso (University of Florence, Italy)
5. Science and Florence's Ruling Class - Fabio Bertini (University of Florence, Italy)
6. Bettino Ricasoli: Economic Policy or House Management? - Piero Roggi (University of Florence, Italy)
7. Florentine, Italian and Foreign Entrepreneurs in the Urban Renovation of Florence - Daniela Manetti (University of Pisa, Italy)
8. Food Availability and Food Consumption Patterns in Florence and Tuscany in the late 19th Century - Francesco Ammannati (Bocconi University, Italy)
9. Enterprises and Entrepreneurs in Tuscany - Monika Poettinger (Bocconi University, Italy)
10. Banks and Capitalists in Florence in the Decades after Unification - Marco Cini (University of Pisa, Italy) and Simone Fagioli (Italian Association of Archivists, Italy)
11. The Invisible Work of Women behind the International Image of Florence - Monica Pacini (University of Florence, Italy) and Alessandra Pescarolo (IRPET, Italy)
12. The Technical Institute of Florence at the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1867 - Paolo Brenni (Science and Technology Foundation, Italy)
13. A Stroll around Florence: Places of Power, Places of Pleasure - Maria Carla Monaco (Independent Scholar)
Index