TAKE A BIG KISS TO FLORENCE…

by Laura Poggiani and Paolo Forni

Since the ancient times the astrologers have tried to connect every geographical area (city or Nation) with a Zodiacal Sign.

Beginning from the famous assumed of Ippocrate that recites “we are where we live", the characteristics of every zone of the Earth appear, to the careful eye of an astrologer, always well precise and they are as "absorbed" from its inhabitants. Who has the opportunity of working in sectors that manage the data of birth of the residents of one determined city, it will easily notice for instance a preponderance of a Sign, rather than of another in that zone and it doesn't surprise to notice as these predominant Signs is absolutely compatible with the peculiarities and historical characteristics of that place.

Ptolomeo too tried to share the geographical areas overlapping the zodiacal band (where every Sign has an wideness of 30°) to the terrestrial eclittica, in such way that the Nations that were found to West, coincident with the point Vernale to 0° Aries, came note attributed to that Sign, he proceeded counterclockwise then in motion, toward South-Cancer, therefore East-Libra and finally North-capricorn (Claudio Tolomeo, Tetrabiblos, Book II). 
Subsequently, many other astrologers attempted in to deepen, to study and formulate anew the combinings Sign/Country, founding even on the population and the national politics. On these premises, traditionally it was established, that Spain belongs to the Sagittarius, England to the Aries, Italy in the Leo and so on. Yet the simple analysis of the constitution of a country or the foundation of a city don't convince too much because the urban agglomeration and the same territory were antecedent however.

Then we wonder: does another more effective and modern method exist to verify wthat the Ancient ones have handed down us on this matter? The modernity assists us giving us the computers, able to elaborate in little time a great massive structure of data, while, as idea of departure, we take as valid the Ptolemaic attribution Sign/city, so that to verify the foundation or less than this attribution.

The Zodiac opens with the Sign of the Aries and to this Sign Tolomeo it combined, among the others, the chief town of the Region Tuscany, Florence, and also Dante quotes this connection. Aries is dominated by Mars and therefore it doesn't catch too much us to notice as an important fulcrum of the city, center also of a decisive crossroad railway, it is called really “campo di marte”. Also the famous one “Calcio Fiorentino” (from which derives the modern game of soccer), quite violent, it brings back to Mars and the Aries. Besides, just relatively to the God of the War, in the book “Firenze dei Misteri”, by Luigi Pruneti, there is the following anecdote:

For guilt of a pagan god

On Florence it seemed to burden for long time a dramatic destiny, afflicted by feuds by revenges and by hate of part. Why to the shade of the Baptistery so much discord reigned and peace seemed an impossible dream? If a time machine allowed us to set this question to the parties, they would - probably answer: "Guilt of Mars." The god of the war was, in fact, the tutelar nume of the Roman city and one statue of his, during a raid of the Goths, was thrown into the river¹. After a lot of time it was pull out of the river and put on a pillar - to the head of the Ponte Vecchio². Dante defined it the "stupid stone that looks at the bridge"³ and Boccaccio in to describe affirmed: "This statue was decreased upward from the waist; [...] it was all pink because of water and cool and warm very pink, so much that almost, [...] neither of the man, neither of the horse some thing could distinguish"⁴. It seems that in reality it didn't even represent Ares but a king Goth, perhaps the same Teodorico⁵; according the Florentines - it remained anywhere an image of the god of the war and the person responsible of their misfortunes. Giovanni Villani wrote: "The ancient said and wrote that when the statue of Mars fell or was moved, the city of Florence would have big danger or mutation. And not without cause was said, that for experience it has demostrated"⁶. In short Mars, evicted first from Giovanni Battista, then thrown in Arno by the Barbarians and finally pull out of the river
by chance and systematized with little respect on a tripod, it decided to take revenge, making "trista"⁷ the ungrateful city. It would be the hidden instigator of the discords between Guelfi and Ghibellini, between Neri and Bianchi, between Donateschi and Tosinghi. At the end, in 1333, it was the Arno river, with an appalling flood, to resolve the problem. The slimy water brought away the icon of unluckyness and make it disappear forever, its inauspicious influence nevertheless it didn't stop and still for a couple of centuries blood flowed plentiful into the "gran villa" of Tuscia.

¹ D. ALIGHIERI, Inferno XIII, v. 149.
² R. DAVIDSOHN, Storia di Firenze, voi. VII, city p. 199.
³ D. ALIGHIERI, Paradiso^Nl, w. 145-147.
⁴ G. PADOAN, Marte, in Enciclopedia dantesca, voi. Ili, cit, p. 844.
⁵ Ibidem.
⁶ G. VILLANI, Cronica, XI 1.
⁷ D. ALIGHIERI, Inferno XIII, v. 145.

Does to this superficial observation, however, it really join an analogous scientific correspondence? To answer to this question, we considered 563 meaningful dates of the history of the city, beginning from the XII sec. to our days. 
Here are the results:

As it can be noticed, the most greater frequency of the Sun falls in the sign of Gemini (64 times): further to be a congenial Sign to Aries because sestile to it, Gemini, as we will see subsequently, has also given the dawns to the figure that is mostly identified with the city of Florence, that is, Dante Alighieri. Always in Gemini, we also notice the predominance of Saturn (82 times).
Moon, by itself few meaningful because the events, deprived time, are all conventionally inserted with 12 o’clock time, show to anyway an interesting tendency: in Leo (58 times), sign besides where predominant are Venus(67 times), Jupiter (89 times) and Pluto (113 times). And just Leo is also the sign in absolute where the most greater part of the planetary concentrations are found (644 times). As known, Leo is a Sign trigono of Aries.
Also connected to Aries is Cancer (595 times), in square, and it entertains the most greater number of the positions of Mars (69 times) and Mercury (61 times). If we consider that the chosen events are mostly war events, what emerged it undoubtedly seems us interesting.

 

As it can be noticed mostly giving an analytical glance to the planetary disposition in the various decades of every Sign, Gemini is in absolute mostly busy (Sun, Venus, Mars, Saturn, Uranus) and particularly, the second decade, or rather from the 10 to the 20 degrees (Sun, Venus and Mars). As many meaningful, the first and second decades of Leo, with the presence of Jupiter and Pluto predominant.

Let’s consider now the aspects.

Sun/Uranus and Sun/Saturn are the most greater aspects of the first Luminary while Mars has a preference for Mercury but the most considerable are those of Pluto/Neptune and Pluto/Uranus.
But let’s consider, astrologically, the most meaningful historical events of Florence.

MARZOCCO: THE SYMBOL OF THE CITY

The symbol of “Marzocco” (name’s uncertain origin but presumably consequential from the Latin "martius"= of Mars, or “Martocus”, that is “little Mars)”, it represents a lion, the popular power’s symbol in the Florentine Republic. This symbology is so strong to be everything even today, reproduced in the city coats of arms and until the XVIII century in the city it was a menagerie guarded with numerous lions.

THE FIRST STONE’S LAYING OF THE PRIOR’S BUILDING (PALAZZO VECCHIO).

The center of the Commune in Florence or rather Old Building, that the stupendous Plaza of the Dominion overhangs, considered the “living room of the city”, he/she saw the light, with the laying of the first stone, February 24 th 1299. This date can be considered, to all the effects, the date of foundation of the city, since it marks the passage from small center to Common organized and as more and more powerful.

As it can be noticed, the moment seems chosen by an astrologer: Sun and Jupiter, in Pisces, are conjoined and the two “Malefics” of Tradition, Mars and Saturn, both in Cancer, water's sign as the Pisces, not in contact, neither with the conjunction Sun/Jupiter, like avoiding every negative influence on this fortunate conjunction. The “small fortune” Venus is really in Aries while the Moon, even though being no time, is however in Sagittarius, therefore potentially in trine to a Florence/Aries.

PAZZI’S CONSPIRACY

With the conspiracy of Pazzi family against Medici family for the predominance of the city, a big mutation had partner-politics. In practice, Pazzi family, according with the Pope, arranged to kill the two brothers Giuliano and Lorenzo, nephews of Cosimo “il Vecchio”. After some failed attempts as they wanted to contemporarily strike the two brothers, at the end it was established to plan the trap in the Church, during the service. The trap however only partially succeeded, with the death of Giuliano, while Lorenzo was only wounded but he succeeded in escaping and to complete, subsequently, an awful revenge. By that moment, Medicifamily, with Lorenzo “Il Magnifico”, firmly settled to the power, giving life to that that, in the world, will be known as “Renaissance” and Florence will rise to the role of international power, thanks also to some important accords and opportune marriages.

It surprises, first of all, the repetition of the same conjunction Sun/Jupiter, this time in Taurus, that we have already seen previously. Uranus and Neptune are conjoined in Scorpio, at 26 and 28 degrees, therefore in rather narrow conjunction, underlining the period of great change, while Mars opposes Mercury, situated in Aries at 19°. Saturn, at 28° of Leo, in exact trine to the position found, concerning the first stone laying of the Town Halll building, occupied by Venus that this time is placed at 25° Gemini , in sextile to that previous position.

FLORENCE, CAPITAL OF ITALY

June 1, 1865 Florence rises to a new role in the Italian political scenery: Savoias, moving themselves toward Rome, momentarily established the creditor's equity in the Tuscan chief town. To this point, it doesn't surprise too much to find that, once more, the position of Venus previously interested at 28° Aries in the Foundation Chart, is signalled: in this case, in fact, we find Uranus at 28° (!!)Gemini, in sextile therefore to the primary position of Venus but Jupiter, in Sagittarius, is even in trine of it! Still in Gemini it is also the Sun, but sufficiently distant from Jupiter to be avoided its opposition.

THE FLOODS IN FLORENCE AND THE FROZEN ARNO

Two the great floods have been, in recent times, where the river Arno, that bathes the town, flooding, has caused huge of damages: the first one in 1844 and the second, still deep inner the memories of many people, in 1966. It strikes, first of all, the fact that both have almost happened the same day, on November 3, 1844 and on November 4, 1966. Apart the meaningful character of the respective Charts for the event in matter, we exclusively concern what os onnected to that told since here. Here what we find: Jupiter, at 24° Pisces, it is practically on 1299’s same position, this time opposite Venus, at 27° Virgo while in Aries we find Uranus, at 2° and Pluto at 22°.

In 1966 one, Mars, Pluto and Uranus, joined, you/they were exactly opposed Sole/Giove of the foundation of Palazzo Vecchio to the conjunction.

During the terrible winter of 1929, it happend a rare event for the town: Arno River, because of the low temperatures and the snowfall that occurred at 9 a.m., February 11, frozed for a half. Saturn places at the MC, by the side of the IX, that’s stronger and naturally.. at 27° Sagittarius, in trine to the Foundation Chart’s famous Venus. Saturn represents the cold and its culmination it is therefore exemplary. Venus and Uranus are in Aries, first degrees.

AN AWFUL PERIOD: BOMBS ON FLORENCE

During the II World war, Florence suffered a bloody bombardment. When the Americans took the decision to bomb “Campo di Marte” railway station, in fact, it occurred that, in reality, there was a mistake and the Allies bombed the residences of the civilians, provoking many victims and postponing other further Allies attack, suspending them for a long arc of time.

As we have used to notice, we find a mighty stellium in Leo: Pluto, Node, Moon and Jupiter among 6° and 18°, in 9th House, the foreign countries one. The Sun, conjoined to Neptune, in the first degrees of Libra, does it underline the opposition of sign to the Aries but could it miss above all?, Saturn and the prophetic degree 26 of Gemini while still in Gemini there also are the disruptive Uranus and Mars.

In 1993, still an explosive event that strikes to betrayal of the civilians in Florence: the attack to Georgofili Street. Once againe the Leo in pole position: Moon and Mars occupy it in a narrow conjunction among 12° and 14°, astride the 7th House cusp, the “declared enemies”. Sun and Mercury are again in Gemini, while Venus is again in Aries, at 20°. 
 

A SYMBOLIC CHARACTER: DANTE ALIGHIERI

There’s not much to say on this famous character that the brightest star of the Tuscan chief town stays, undoubtedly of which he also was for a certain time Prior. Within our search, it immediately detaches Venus, at 29° Cancers, squaring the originary position of Venus in the Foundation Chart. Besides we have Mars and Neptune connected in Leo. Saturn, Mercury and Sun are in Gemini.



CONCLUSIONS

Never as in this case, the attribution of a Zodiacal Sign in a town appears so clean as in the case of Florence, its Mars bonds and the first Sign of the Zodiac, up to make to emerge, as we have seen, the sensibility of the last degrees of the Sign. If then we consider that the mentioned dates held in this search, are primarily about war events or historically important, it doesn't surprise that emerges the preponderance of Gemini, Libra and Leo, if the disposition is considered in decade, while it is clearly greater Leo if the Planets in Sign Table is considered.

DULCIS IN FUNDO… GIROLAMO SAVONAROLA

If ever it was still doubts on any influence pf some sign about Aries for the town of Florence, here is the Chart of the most famous executed in the XV century: as it can be noticed, just 4 planets in Libra! Besides Mars is really in Aries opposed to the Stellium balances and to underline an extremely warlike relationship with the Tuscan town, despite Jupiter proper at 28° Aquario, in tuning that is at Venus of the foundation. The “Great Malefic” Saturn, is conjoined finally to Uranus, that in turn it is conjoined to Pluto.

by Laura Poggiani and Paolo Forni - All Rights Reserved