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After the death of Gian Gastone, the last Medici grand duke, in 1737, Florence prepared to welcome Francis Stephen of Lorraine, who was to take possession of the government of Tuscany, as established by the preliminaries of the Treaty of Vienna, signed in 1735. On the evening of 20 January 1739, Francis of Lorraine, accompanied by his consort Maria Theresa of Habsburg, solemnly entered Florence, passing under the triumphal arch specially erected outside Porta San Gallo, designed by the architect from Lorraine, Jean-Nicolas Jadot, and abounding with statues and trophies.
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