Florence is the capital of the Italian region of Tuscany, a city of over 400 thousand inhabitants. This city is famous for its art, its priceless and unique art heritage, which includes cultural monuments of various styles, rich museums such as the Uffizi Gallery and the Pitti Palace, as well as magnificent villas, most of which used to belong to the famous Florence Medici family.
The history of Florence begins with the establishing of the Roman Florenzia colony in the mid-1st century BC. However, Florence itself is even older than this. Several centuries before the arrival of the Romans to Florence, the Etruscans, a people originating from central Italy, established themselves in the hills where Fiesole stands today. At the time, the Arno Valley was a big swamp, completely inaccessible to anyone. In 218 BC, Hannibal attacked Italy, crossing the valley along with his army. His soldiers were annihilated by sickness, while Hannibal himself lost an eye in the process. Meanwhile, not a single Roman soldier attacked him in the dangerous swamp.
