The century that passed from the birth of Dante (1265) to the deaths of Petrarch (1374) and Boccaccio (1375) may be styled the Trecento, although it includes the last quarter of the thirteenth century and excludes the closing years of the fourteenth.

Historical Context

• 1266 → Downfall of the German Imperial power at the Battle of Benevento
• 1377 → Return of the Popes from Avignon

Thus, the Trecento spans from the weakening of imperial power to the re-establishment of papal presence in Rome.

Art and Culture of the Trecento

• Architecture → Completion of Italian Gothic
• Sculpture → Followers and successors of Niccolò and Giovanni Pisano
• Painting → The school of Giotto
• Literature → Golden age of pure Tuscan prose and verse

Key figures:

• Dante Alighieri
• Giovanni Villani
• Dino Compagni
• Petrarch
• Boccaccio
• Sacchetti

A mystical note appears at the close in the Epistles of St. Catherine of Siena, of whom a modern poet wrote:

Nel Giardino del conoscimento di sé ella è come una rosa di fuoco.

Civil War and Factions

The century was also marked by civil wars and bloody factions. Every Italian city was divided against itself, but Florence stood out as the most bitterly split.

Yet, despite internal strife, the Republic advanced on its majestic and triumphant course.

Machiavelli’s Reflection

In the Proem to his Istorie Fiorentine, Machiavelli emphasized Florence’s resilience:

"In Florence, at first the nobles were divided against each other,
then the people against the nobles,
and lastly the people against the populace.
Ofttimes it happened that when one of these parties got the upper hand, it split into two.
And from these divisions there resulted so many deaths, banishments, and destructions of families as never befell in any other city of which we have record."

Machiavelli concludes:

"Nevertheless, Florence seemed thereby to grow ever greater;
such was the virtue of her citizens, and the power of their genius,
that they exalted her beyond the harms caused by discord.
Without doubt, had Florence, after her liberation from the Empire,
adopted a stable government to keep her united,
no republic, ancient or modern, would have surpassed her
— so great was her virtue in war and peace."

✨ The Trecento reminds us how art, literature, and civic genius flourished even amidst turmoil, making Florence a unique beacon of resilience and creativity in European history.