History of Florence and of the Affairs of Italy

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History of Florence and of the Affairs of Italy Page 6

by Niccolo Machiavelli

rebellion of Romagna; and while they were encamped at Furli, Guido

  Bonatto, an astrologer, contrived that at an appointed moment the

  people should assail the forces of the king, and the plan succeeding,

  all the French were taken and slain. About this period was also

  carried into effect the plot of Pope Nicholas and Peter, king of

  Aragon, by which the Sicilians murdered all the French that were in

  that island; and Peter made himself sovereign of it, saying, that it

  belonged to him in the right of his wife Gostanza, daughter of

  Manfred. But Charles, while making warlike preparations for the

  recovery of Sicily, died, leaving a son, Charles II., who was made

  prisoner in Sicily, and to recover his liberty promised to return to

  his prison, if within three years he did not obtain the pope's consent

  that the kings of Aragon should be invested with the kingdom of

  Sicily.

  The Emperor Rodolph, instead of coming into Italy, gave the empire the

  advantage of having done so, by sending an ambassador, with authority

  to make all those cities free which would redeem themselves with

  money. Many purchased their freedom, and with liberty changed their

  mode of living. Adolpho of Saxony succeeded to the empire; and to the

  papacy, Pietro del Murrone, who took the name of Celestino; but, being

  a hermit and full of sanctity, after six months renounced the

  pontificate, and Boniface VIII. was elected.

  After a time the French and Germans left Italy, and the country

  remained wholly in the hands of the Italians; but Providence ordained

  that the pope, when these enemies were withdrawn, should neither

  establish nor enjoy his authority, and raised two very powerful

  families in Rome, the Colonnesi and the Orsini, who with their arms,

  and the proximity of their abode, kept the pontificate weak. Boniface

  then determined to destroy the Colonnesi, and, besides

  excommunicating, endeavored to direct the weapons of the church

  against them. This, although it did them some injury, proved more

  disastrous to the pope; for those arms which from attachment to the

  faith performed valiantly against its enemies, as soon as they were

  directed against Christians for private ambition, ceased to do the

  will of those who wished to wield them. And thus the too eager desire

  to gratify themselves, caused the pontiffs by degrees to lose their

  military power. Besides what is just related, the pope deprived two

  cardinals of the Colonnesi family of their office; and Sciarra, the

  head of the house, escaping unknown, was taken by corsairs of

  Catalonia and put to the oar; but being afterward recognized at

  Marseilles, he was sent to Philip, king of France, who had been

  excommunicated and deprived of the kingdom. Philip, considering that

  in a war against the pontiff he would either be a loser or run great

  hazards, had recourse to deception, and simulating a wish to come to

  terms, secretly sent Sciarra into Italy, who, having arrived at

  Anagnia, where his holiness then resided, assembled a few friends, and

  in the night took him prisoner. And although the people of Anagnia set

  him at liberty shortly after, yet from grief at the injury he died

  mad. Boniface was founder of the jubilee in 1300, and fixed that it

  should be celebrated at each revolution of one hundred years. In those

  times various troubles arose between the Guelph and Ghibelline

  factions; and the emperors having abandoned Italy, many places became

  free, and many were occupied by tyrants. Pope Benedict restored the

  scarlet hat to the cardinals of the Colonnesi family, and reblessed

  Philip, king of France. He was succeeded by Clement V., who, being a

  Frenchman, removed the papal court to Avignon in 1305.

  CHAPTER VI

  The Emperor Henry comes into Italy--The Florentines take the part

  of the pope--The Visconti originate the duchy of Milan--Artifice

  of Maffeo Visconti against the family of de la Torre--Giovanni

  Galeazzo Visconti, first duke of Milan--The Emperor Louis in Italy

  --John, king of Bohemia, in Italy--League against the king of

  Bohemia and the pope's legate--Origin of Venice--Liberty of the

  Venetians confirmed by Pepin and the Greek emperor--Greatness of

  Venice--Decline of Venice--Discord between the pope and the

  emperor--Giovanna, queen of Naples--Rienzi--The jubilee reduced to

  fifty years--Succession of the duke of Milan--Cardinal Egidio the

  pope's legate--War between the Genoese and the Venetians.

  At this time, Charles II. of Naples died, and was succeeded by his son

  Robert. Henry of Luxemburg had been elected to the empire, and came to

  Rome for his coronation, although the pope was not there. His coming

  occasioned great excitement in Lombardy; for he sent all the banished

  to their homes, whether they were Guelphs or Ghibellines; and in

  consequence of this, one faction endeavoring to drive out the other,

  the whole province was filled with war; nor could the emperor with all

  his endeavors abate its fury. Leaving Lombardy by way of Genoa, he

  came to Pisa, where he endeavored to take Tuscany from King Robert;

  but not being successful, he went to Rome, where he remained only a

  few days, being driven away by the Orsini with the consent of King

  Robert, and returned to Pisa; and that he might more securely make war

  upon Tuscany, and wrest the country from the hands of the king, he

  caused it to be assailed by Frederick, monarch of Sicily. But when he

  was in hope of occupying Tuscany and robbing the king of Naples of his

  dominions, he died, and was succeeded by Louis of Bavaria. About the

  same period, John XXII. attained the papacy, during whose time the

  emperor still continued to persecute the Guelphs and the church, but

  they were defended by Robert and the Florentines. Many wars took place

  in Lombardy between the Visconti and the Guelphs, and in Tuscany

  between Castruccio of Lucca and the Florentines. As the family of

  Visconti gave rise to the duchy of Milan, one of the five

  principalities which afterward governed Italy, I shall speak of them

  from a rather earlier date.

  Milan, upon recovering from the ruin into which she had been thrown by

  Frederick Barbarossa, in revenge for her injuries, joined the league

  formed by the Lombard cities for their common defense; this restrained

  him, and for awhile preserved alive the interests of the church in

  Lombardy. In the course of the wars which followed, the family of La

  Torre became very potent in that city, and their reputation increased

  so long as the emperor possessed little authority in the province. But

  Frederick II. coming into Italy, and the Ghibelline party, by the

  influence of Ezelin having grown powerful, seeds of the same faction

  sprang up in all the cities. In Milan were the Visconti, who expelled

  the La Torres; these, however, did not remain out, for by agreement

  between the emperor and the pope they were restored to their country.

  For when the pope and his court removed to France, and the emperor,

  Henry of Luxemburg, came into Italy, with the pretext of going to Rome

  for his crown, he wa
s received in Milan by Maffeo Visconti and Guido

  della Torre, who were then the heads of these families. But Maffeo,

  designing to make use of the emperor for the purpose of expelling

  Guido, and thinking the enterprise not difficult, on account of the La

  Torre being of the contrary faction to the imperial, took occasion,

  from the remarks which the people made of the uncivil behavior of the

  Germans, to go craftily about and excite the populace to arm

  themselves and throw off the yoke of these barbarians. When a suitable

  moment arrived, he caused a person in whom he confided to create a

  tumult, upon which the people took arms against the Germans. But no

  sooner was the mischief well on foot, than Maffeo, with his sons and

  their partisans, ran to Henry, telling him that all the disturbance

  had been occasioned by the La Torre family, who, not content to remain

  peaceably in Milan, had taken the opportunity to plunder him, that

  they might ingratiate themselves with the Guelphs of Italy and become

  princes in the city; they then bade him be of good cheer, for they,

  with their party, whenever he wished it, were ready to defend him with

  their lives. Henry, believing all that Maffeo told him, joined his

  forces to those of the Visconti, and attacking the La Torre, who were

  in various parts of the city endeavoring to quell the tumult, slew all

  upon whom they could lay hands, and having plundered the others of

  their property, sent them into exile. By this artifice, Maffeo

  Visconti became a prince of Milan. Of him remained Galeazzo and Azzo;

  and, after these, Luchino and Giovanni. Giovanni became archbishop of

  Milan; and of Luchino, who died before him, were left Bernabo and

  Galeazzo; Galeazzo, dying soon after, left a son called the Count of

  Virtu, who after the death of the archbishop, contrived the murder of

  his uncle, Bernabo, became prince of Milan, and was the first who had

  the title of duke. The duke left Filippo and Giovanmaria Angelo, the

  latter of whom being slain by the people of Milan, the state fell to

  Filippo; but he having no male heir, Milan passed from the family of

  Visconti to that of Sforza, in the manner to be related hereafter.

  But to return to the point from which we deviated. The Emperor Louis,

  to add to the importance of his party and to receive the crown, came

  into Italy; and being at Milan, as an excuse for taking money of the

  Milanese, he pretended to make them free and to put the Visconti in

  prison; but shortly afterwards he released them, and, having gone to

  Rome, in order to disturb Italy with less difficulty, he made Piero

  della Corvara anti-pope, by whose influence, and the power of the

  Visconti, he designed to weaken the opposite faction in Tuscany and

  Lombardy. But Castruccio died, and his death caused the failure of the

  emperor's purpose; for Pisa and Lucca rebelled. The Pisans sent Piero

  della Corvara a prisoner to the pope in France, and the emperor,

  despairing of the affairs of Italy, returned to Germany. He had

  scarcely left, before John king of Bohemia came into the country, at

  the request of the Ghibellines of Brescia, and made himself lord of

  that city and of Bergamo. And as his entry was with the consent of the

  pope, although he feigned the contrary, the legate of Bologna favored

  him, thinking by this means to prevent the return of the emperor. This

  caused a change in the parties of Italy; for the Florentines and King

  Robert, finding the legate was favorable to the enterprises of the

  Ghibellines, became foes of all those to whom the legate and the king

  of Bohemia were friendly. Without having regard for either faction,

  whether Guelph or Ghibelline, many princes joined them, of whom, among

  others, were the Visconti, the Della Scala, Filippo Gonzao of Mantua,

  the Carrara, and those of Este. Upon this the pope excommunicated them

  all. The king, in fear of the league, went to collect forces in his

  own country, and having returned with a large army, still found his

  undertaking a difficult one; so, seeing his error, he withdrew to

  Bohemia, to the great displeasure of the legate, leaving only Reggio

  and Modena guarded, and Parma in the care of Marsilio and Piero

  de' Rossi, who were the most powerful men in the city. The king of

  Bohemia being gone, Bologna joined the league; and the leaguers

  divided among themselves the four cities which remained of the church

  faction. They agreed that Parma should pertain to the Della Scalla;

  Reggio to the Gonzaga; Modena to the family of Este, and Lucca to the

  Florentines. But in taking possession of these cities, many disputes

  arose which were afterward in a great measure settled by the

  Venetians. Some, perhaps, will think it a species of impropriety that

  we have so long deferred speaking of the Venetians, theirs being a

  republic, which, both on account of its power and internal

  regulations, deserves to be celebrated above any principality of

  Italy. But that this surprise may cease when the cause is known, I

  shall speak of their city from a more remote period; that everyone may

  understand what were their beginnings, and the causes which so long

  withheld them from interfering in the affairs of Italy.

  When Attila, king of the Huns, besieged Aquileia, the inhabitants,

  after defending themselves a long time, began to despair of effecting

  their safety, and fled for refuge to several uninhabited rocks,

  situated at the point of the Adriatic Sea, now called the Gulf of

  Venice, carrying with them whatever movable property they possessed.

  The people of Padua, finding themselves in equal danger, and knowing

  that, having became master of Aquileia, Attila would next attack

  themselves, also removed with their most valuable property to a place

  on the same sea, called Rivo Alto, to which they brought their women,

  children, and aged persons, leaving the youth in Padua to assist in

  her defense. Besides these, the people of Monselice, with the

  inhabitants of the surrounding hills, driven by similar fears, fled to

  the same rocks. But after Attila had taken Aquileia, and destroyed

  Padua, Monselice, Vicenza, and Verona, the people of Padua and others

  who were powerful, continued to inhabit the marshes about Rivo Alto;

  and, in like manner, all the people of the province anciently called

  Venetia, driven by the same events, became collected in these marshes.

  Thus, under the pressure of necessity, they left an agreeable and

  fertile country to occupy one sterile and unwholesome. However, in

  consequence of a great number of people being drawn together into a

  comparatively small space, in a short time they made those places not

  only habitable, but delightful; and having established among

  themselves laws and useful regulations, enjoyed themselves in security

  amid the devastations of Italy, and soon increased both in reputation

  and strength. For, besides the inhabitants already mentioned, many

  fled to these places from the cities of Lombardy, principally to

  escape from the cruelties of Clefis king of the Lombards, which

  greatly tended to increase the numbers of the new city; and in the<
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  conventions which were made between Pepin, king of France, and the

  emperor of Greece, when the former, at the entreaty of the pope, came

  to drive the Lombards out of Italy, the duke of Benevento and the

  Venetians did not render obedience to either the one or the other, but

  alone enjoyed their liberty. As necessity had led them to dwell on

  sterile rocks, they were compelled to seek the means of subsistence

  elsewhere; and voyaging with their ships to every port of the ocean,

  their city became a depository for the various products of the world,

  and was itself filled with men of every nation.

  For many years the Venetians sought no other dominion than that which

  tended to facilitate their commercial enterprises, and thus acquired

  many ports in Greece and Syria; and as the French had made frequent

  use of their ships in voyages to Asia, the island of Candia was

  assigned to them in recompense for these services. While they lived in

  this manner, their name spread terror over the seas, and was held in

  veneration throughout Italy. This was so completely the case, that

  they were generally chosen to arbitrate in controversies between the

  states, as occurred in the difference between the Colleagues, on

  account of the cities they had divided among themselves; which being

  referred to the Venetians, they awarded Brescia and Bergamo to the

  Visconti. But when, in the course of time, urged by their eagerness

  for dominion, they had made themselves masters of Padua, Vicenza,

  Trevisa, and afterward of Verona, Bergamo, and Brescia, with many

  cities in Romagna and the kingdom of Naples, other nations were

  impressed with such an opinion of their power, that they were a

  terror, not only to the princes of Italy, but to the ultramontane

  kings. These states entered into an alliance against them, and in one

  day wrested from them the provinces they had obtained with so much

  labor and expense; and although they have in latter times reacquired

  some portions, still possessing neither power nor reputation, like all

  the other Italian powers, they live at the mercy of others.

  Benedict XII. having attained the pontificate and finding Italy lost,

  fearing, too, that the emperor would assume the sovereignty of the

  country, determined to make friends of all who had usurped the

  government of those cities which had been accustomed to obey the

  emperor; that they might have occasion to dread the latter, and unite

  with himself in the defense of Italy. To this end he issued a decree,

  confirming to all the tyrants of Lombardy the places they had seized.

  After making this concession the pope died, and was succeeded by

  Clement VI. The emperor, seeing with what a liberal hand the pontiff

  had bestowed the dominions of the empire, in order to be equally

  bountiful with the property of others, gave to all who had assumed

  sovereignty over the cities or territories of the church, the imperial

  authority to retain possession of them. By this means Galeotto

  Malatesti and his brothers became lords of Rimino, Pesaro, and Fano;

  Antonio da Montefeltro, of the Marca and Urbino; Gentile da Varano, of

  Camerino; Guido di Polenta, of Ravenna; Sinibaldo Ordelaffi, of Furli

  and Cesena; Giovanni Manfredi, of Faenza; Lodovico Alidossi, of Imola;

  and besides these, many others in divers places. Thus, of all the

  cities, towns, or fortresses of the church, few remained without a

  prince; for she did not recover herself till the time of Alexander

  VI., who, by the ruin of the descendants of these princes, restored

  the authority of the church.

  The emperor, when he made the concession before named, being at

  Tarento, signified an intention of going into Italy. In consequence of

  this, many battles were fought in Lombardy, and the Visconti became

  lords of Parma. Robert king of Naples, now died, leaving only two

  grandchildren, the issue of his sons Charles, who had died a

  considerable time before him. He ordered that the elder of the two,

  whose name was Giovanna or Joan, should be heiress of the kingdom, and

 

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