Florence is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States, in the northwestern corner of the state. According to the 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the city's population was 36,721. Florence is the largest and principal city of the Metropolitan Statistical Area known as "The Shoals" (which includes Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia metropolitan areas in Colbert and Lauderdale counties). Florence is considered the primary economic hub of northwestern Alabama. Florence was surveyed for the Cypress Land Company in 1818 by Italian surveyor Ferdinand Sannoner, who named it after Florence, the capital of the Tuscany region of Italy. Florence, Alabama was incorporated in 1826. Florence is renowned for its annual tourism events, including [http://www.wchandymusicfestival.org/index.htm W.C. Handy Music Festival] in the summer, and the [http://www.renfaire.com/Sites/formatsite.cgi?Alabama_Renaissance_Faire Renaissance Faire] in the fall. Landmarks in Florence include the Rosenbaum House, the only Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home located in Alabama. The type of municipal government is mayor-council. [more on Wikipedia]