<Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Today part of </Td> <Td> Italy </Td> </Tr> <P> The Republic of Florence, also known as the Florentine Republic (Italian: Repubblica Fiorentina; Romanian pronunciation: (re'pubblika fjoren'tina)), was a medieval and early modern state that was centered on the Italian city of Florence in Tuscany . The republic originated in 1115, when the Florentine people rebelled against the Margraviate of Tuscany upon the death of Matilda, a woman who controlled vast territories including Florence . The Florentines formed a commune in her successors' place . The republic was ruled by a council, known as the signoria . The signoria was chosen by the gonfaloniere (titular ruler of the city), who was elected every two months by Florentine guild members . </P> <P> The republic had a checkered history of coups and counter-coups against various factions . The Medici faction gained governance of the city in 1434, upon Cosimo de' Medici's counter-coup against the faction that had sent him into exile the previous year . The Medici kept control of Florence until 1494 . Giovanni de' Medici (later Pope Leo X) re-conquered the republic in 1512 . </P> <P> Florence repudiated Medici authority for a second time in 1527, during the War of the League of Cognac . The Medici re-assumed their rule in 1531, after an 11 - month siege of the city . The republican government was disestablished in 1532, when Pope Clement VII appointed Alessandro de' Medici "Duke of the Florentine Republic", making the "republic" a hereditary monarchy . </P>

Who took over control of florence in the fifteenth century