The town attracted the attention of local powers like Florence due to its strategic location guarding the road that connected Florence to Bologna, in a territory until then in the hands of the Ubaldini family, hostile to the Florentine Republic. Giovanni Villani gave Firenzuola its name, which means “small Florence” and to propose as its symbol a half lily (symbol of the Commune of Florence) and a half cross (symbol of the people). Its city plan, drawn by the engineers of the Republic, who planned it around the year 1350 (the first stone was set in 1332), seems similar to the “new lands” of the late 13th century, beginning of the 14th century in the Upper Valdarno area, with walls and a mighty Fortress endowed with a tower (1371).