Empoli

Empoli: central square

Empoli, town, Toscana (Tuscany) regione, north-central Italy, on the lower Arno River. During the medieval Florentine wars, Empoli was the scene of the Ghibelline congress of 1260, where Farinata degli Uberti successfully opposed the destruction of defeated Florence, an episode referred to in Dante’s Inferno. The painter Iacopo Chimenti da Empoli and the composer Ferruccio Busoni were born at Empoli, which is just south of Vinci, the birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci. An industrial target in World War II, the town was heavily damaged by Allied bombing but has been rebuilt. The collegiate church (1093) contains paintings by Francesco Botticini and terra-cottas by Luca Della Robbia. Empoli also has a museum of Tuscan art. The city’s varied industries include the manufacture of glass, textiles, and matches. Pop. (2006 est.) mun., 46,188.