A few hundred thousand years ago Tuscany was covered by large lakes and its land along the sea was still widely covered. All territories of its most important towns, except for Siena, were submerged by water, while the hills at the back of Livorno and Lucca were small islands or strips of land emerging from the sea, so much that, in their stratum, there are, still visible, fish and shell rest, small fossils and even little pieces of coral. The promontory of Piombino and Monte Argentario were large islands too. As the lakes dried up and river basins were formed, the flow of the biggest rivers stored up silt and drift in the lower areas, forming the many Tuscan plains, the ones occupied today by Grosseto,Pisa,Firenze and Pistoia. As the sea receded, large strips of sand and clay deposited also along the coast (as seen by the ater, stagnant and polluted, gave origin to a marshy district, affecting the environment and animal evolution, besides human settlements. Meanwhile other marshes formed inland, in Valdichiana and in lower Valdarno between Bientina and Fucecchio. In the long glacial period (ancient Quaternary) small glacial drifts formed below the highest peaks of Tuscan Emilian Appennine and at the same time there were important vulcanic eruptiones, mainly visible today in the southern part of the region, still 'centered' around Mount Amiata, big extinct volcano lined by lava formations (Roccastrada, Campiglia Marittima, Capraia), with impressive spurs of tuff (Sorano, Pitigliano) and steam reserves that burst out from Larderellovolcanic steam jets and from thermal springs in Val d'Orcia. In the many prehistoric stages, from Middle Paleolithic to the Iron age, the presence of man left several and widespread signs (near Arezzo, in Mugello; in Apuane, near Talamone, in Cortona, Montespertoli, Pomarance), in caves and rocky gorges. In those times man lived grouped in tribes, in woods near lakes and rivers and on hills, sheltered from the dangers of the vast and unhealthy marshes. Around the first millennium B.C. man gave rise to the more organized and advanced Etruscan civilization. Tuscany (Italian Toscana), region in northern Italy, formerly a sovereign grand duchy, bordered on the north by the regions of Liguria and Emilia-Romagna, on the east by Marche and Umbria, on the south by Latium, and on the west by the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian seas. It is divided into the maritime provinces of Grosseto, Leghorn (Livorno), Lucca, and Pisa; the inland provinces of Arezzo, Florence, Pistoia, and Siena; and the province of Massa-Carrara, extending north from the sea between Liguria Region and the Apennines. The regional capital is Florence. Land and Resources Tuscany is chiefly mountainous; in addition to the Apennines it has two mountain groups, the Apuane Alps, where marble is quarried, and a group in the south, the Colline Metallifere, where iron, magnesium, borax, and quicksilver are mined. The rivers are the Arno, Cecina, Ombrone, and upper Tiber; all flow into the Tyrrhenian Sea. Except in the Maremma, a marshy region in the south, the climate is mild. Agricultural products are wheat, maize, grapes, olives, and tobacco. The most important manufactured products are wool and cotton textiles, chemicals, machinery, glass, and ceramics. Area, 22,992 sq km (8,877 sq mi); population (1991) 3,599,085. History Tuscany nearly corresponds to ancient Etruria. Its inhabitants, the Tusci, or Etruscans, were conquered by the Romans, who called the land Tuscia. It was held in turn by the Ostrogoths, the Byzantines, and the Lombards. The last were conquered by Charlemagne and placed under a Frankish duke. In 1030 Boniface II of the House of Canossa became Duke of Tuscany. After his assassination, his wife, Beatrice, governed until 1076, when her daughter, Countess Matilda, inherited the lands. Matilda supported the papal party during the investiture struggle, and she bequeathed all her dominions to the papacy. Holy Roman Emperor Henry V, however, claimed the duchy, and for more than a century the "property of Matilda" caused strife between the popes and the emperors. During this period the major cities became independent and prosperous. Pisa was by then a great maritime republic. Middle Ages In the 14th century the poet Dante, the painter Giotto, the humanist Petrarch, and the writer Boccaccio made Tuscany pre-eminent in the revival of letters and arts. The Tuscan dialect became the literary language of Italy. In 1406 Pisa submitted to Florence, which then became the major power in Tuscany. After 1434 Florence was ruled by the Medici family. Cosimo I de' Medici, who became duke in 1537, expanded the duchy by receiving Siena from Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. This gift bound the Medici to Spain, and for nearly two centuries Tuscany was under Spanish influence. Modern Times The House of Medici died out in the male line in 1737. In accordance with the Treaty of Vienna (1735), the grand duchy was then given to Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, later Holy Roman Emperor Francis I. Grand Duke Ferdinand III was dispossessed by the French in 1799, but he was reinstated in 1814 and ruled until 1824. His son, Leopold II, promoted the prosperity of Tuscany. In 1848 he granted a liberal constitution to his subjects, but the tide of revolution that subsequently swept Italy carried everything before it, and in 1859 the grand duchy was occupied by the forces of Victor Emmanuel II, King of Sardinia. 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