Valentino

by Niccolo Machiavelli

with the deputy of King Ruberto of Naples and have him driven out of

  Lucca.

  The Lord of Pisa at that time was Uguccione of the Faggiuola of

  Arezzo, who being in the first place elected their captain afterwards

  became their lord. There resided in Paris some exiled Ghibellines from

  Lucca, with whom Castruccio held communications with the object of

  effecting their restoration by the help of Uguccione. Castruccio also

  brought into his plans friends from Lucca who would not endure the

  authority of the Opizi. Having fixed upon a plan to be followed,

  Castruccio cautiously fortified the tower of the Onesti, filling it

  with supplies and munitions of war, in order that it might stand a

  siege for a few days in case of need. When the night came which had

  been agreed upon with Uguccione, who had occupied the plain between

  the mountains and Pisa with many men, the signal was given, and

  without being observed Uguccione approached the gate of San Piero and

  set fire to the portcullis. Castruccio raised a great uproar within

  the city, calling the people to arms and forcing open the gate from

  his side. Uguccione entered with his men, poured through the town, and

  killed Messer Giorgio with all his family and many of his friends and

  supporters. The governor was driven out, and the government reformed

  according to the wishes of Uguccione, to the detriment of the city,

  because it was found that more than one hundred families were exiled

  at that time. Of those who fled, part went to Florence and part to

  Pistoia, which city was the headquarters of the Guelph party, and for

  this reason it became most hostile to Uguccione and the Lucchese.

  As it now appeared to the Florentines and others of the Guelph party

  that the Ghibellines absorbed too much power in Tuscany, they

  determined to restore the exiled Guelphs to Lucca. They assembled a

  large army in the Val di Nievole, and seized Montecatini; from thence

  they marched to Montecarlo, in order to secure the free passage into

  Lucca. Upon this Uguccione assembled his Pisan and Lucchese forces,

  and with a number of German cavalry which he drew out of Lombardy, he

  moved against the quarters of the Florentines, who upon the appearance

  of the enemy withdrew from Montecarlo, and posted themselves between

  Montecatini and Pescia. Uguccione now took up a position near to

  Montecarlo, and within about two miles of the enemy, and slight

  skirmishes between the horse of both parties were of daily occurrence.

  Owing to the illness of Uguccione, the Pisans and Lucchese delayed

  coming to battle with the enemy. Uguccione, finding himself growing

  worse, went to Montecarlo to be cured, and left the command of the

  army in the hands of Castruccio. This change brought about the ruin of

  the Guelphs, who, thinking that the hostile army having lost its

  captain had lost its head, grew over-confident. Castruccio observed

  this, and allowed some days to pass in order to encourage this belief;

  he also showed signs of fear, and did not allow any of the munitions

  of the camp to be used. On the other side, the Guelphs grew more

  insolent the more they saw these evidences of fear, and every day they

  drew out in the order of battle in front of the army of Castruccio.

  Presently, deeming that the enemy was sufficiently emboldened, and

  having mastered their tactics, he decided to join battle with them.

  First he spoke a few words of encouragement to his soldiers, and

  pointed out to them the certainty of victory if they would but obey

  his commands. Castruccio had noticed how the enemy had placed all his

  best troops in the centre of the line of battle, and his less reliable

  men on the wings of the army; whereupon he did exactly the opposite,

  putting his most valiant men on the flanks, while those on whom he

  could not so strongly rely he moved to the centre. Observing this

  order of battle, he drew out of his lines and quickly came in sight of

  the hostile army, who, as usual, had come in their insolence to defy

  him. He then commanded his centre squadrons to march slowly, whilst he

  moved rapidly forward those on the wings. Thus, when they came into

  contact with the enemy, only the wings of the two armies became

  engaged, whilst the center battalions remained out of action, for

  these two portions of the line of battle were separated from each

  other by a long interval and thus unable to reach each other. By this

  expedient the more valiant part of Castruccio's men were opposed to

  the weaker part of the enemy's troops, and the most efficient men of

  the enemy were disengaged; and thus the Florentines were unable to

  fight with those who were arrayed opposite to them, or to give any

  assistance to their own flanks. So, without much difficulty,

  Castruccio put the enemy to flight on both flanks, and the centre

  battalions took to flight when they found themselves exposed to

  attack, without having a chance of displaying their valour. The defeat

  was complete, and the loss in men very heavy, there being more than

  ten thousand men killed with many officers and knights of the Guelph

  party in Tuscany, and also many princes who had come to help them,

  among whom were Piero, the brother of King Ruberto, and Carlo, his

  nephew, and Filippo, the lord of Taranto. On the part of Castruccio

  the loss did not amount to more than three hundred men, among whom was

  Francesco, the son of Uguccione, who, being young and rash, was killed

  in the first onset.

  This victory so greatly increased the reputation of Castruccio that

  Uguccione conceived some jealousy and suspicion of him, because it

  appeared to Uguccione that this victory had given him no increase of

  power, but rather than diminished it. Being of this mind, he only

  waited for an opportunity to give effect to it. This occurred on the

  death of Pier Agnolo Micheli, a man of great repute and abilities in

  Lucca, the murderer of whom fled to the house of Castruccio for

  refuge. On the sergeants of the captain going to arrest the murderer,

  they were driven off by Castruccio, and the murderer escaped. This

  affair coming to the knowledge of Uguccione, who was than at Pisa, it

  appeared to him a proper opportunity to punish Castruccio. He

  therefore sent for his son Neri, who was the governor of Lucca, and

  commissioned him to take Castruccio prisoner at a banquet and put him

  to death. Castruccio, fearing no evil, went to the governor in a

  friendly way, was entertained at supper, and then thrown into prison.

  But Neri, fearing to put him to death lest the people should be

  incensed, kept him alive, in order to hear further from his father

  concerning his intentions. Ugucionne cursed the hesitation and

  cowardice of his son, and at once set out from Pisa to Lucca with four

  hundred horsemen to finish the business in his own way; but he had not

  yet reached the baths when the Pisans rebelled and put his deputy to

  death and created Count Gaddo della Gherardesca their lord. Before

  Uguccione reached Lucca he heard of the occurrences at Pisa, but it

  did not appear wise to him to turn back, lest the Lucchese with the


  example of Pisa before them should close their gates against him. But

  the Lucchese, having heard of what had happened at Pisa, availed

  themselves of this opportunity to demand the liberation of Castruccio,

  notwithstanding that Uguccione had arrived in their city. They first

  began to speak of it in private circles, afterwards openly in the

  squares and streets; then they raised a tumult, and with arms in their

  hands went to Uguccione and demanded that Castruccio should be set at

  liberty. Uguccione, fearing that worse might happen, released him from

  prison. Whereupon Castruccio gathered his friends around him, and with

  the help of the people attacked Uguccione; who, finding he had no

  resource but in flight, rode away with his friends to Lombardy, to the

  lords of Scale, where he died in poverty.

  But Castruccio from being a prisoner became almost a prince in Lucca,

  and he carried himself so discreetly with his friends and the people

  that they appointed him captain of their army for one year. Having

  obtained this, and wishing to gain renown in war, he planned the

  recovery of the many towns which had rebelled after the departure of

  Uguccione, and with the help of the Pisans, with whom he had concluded

  a treaty, he marched to Serezzana. To capture this place he

  constructed a fort against it, which is called to-day Zerezzanello; in

  the course of two months Castruccio captured the town. With the

  reputation gained at that siege, he rapidly seized Massa, Carrara, and

  Lavenza, and in a short time had overrun the whole of Lunigiana. In

  order to close the pass which leads from Lombardy to Lunigiana, he

  besieged Pontremoli and wrested it from the hands of Messer Anastagio

  Palavicini, who was the lord of it. After this victory he returned to

  Lucca, and was welcomed by the whole people. And now Castruccio,

  deeming it imprudent any longer to defer making himself a prince, got

  himself created the lord of Lucca by the help of Pazzino del Poggio,

  Puccinello dal Portico, Francesco Boccansacchi, and Cecco Guinigi, all

  of whom he had corrupted; and he was afterwards solemnly and

  deliberately elected prince by the people. At this time Frederick of

  Bavaria, the King of the Romans, came into Italy to assume the

  Imperial crown, and Castruccio, in order that he might make friends

  with him, met him at the head of five hundred horsemen. Castruccio had

  left as his deputy in Lucca, Pagolo Guinigi, who was held in high

  estimation, because of the people's love for the memory of his father.

  Castruccio was received in great honour by Frederick, and many

  privileges were conferred upon him, and he was appointed the emperor's

  lieutenant in Tuscany. At this time the Pisans were in great fear of

  Gaddo della Gherardesca, whom they had driven out of Pisa, and they

  had recourse for assistance to Frederick. Frederick created Castruccio

  the lord of Pisa, and the Pisans, in dread of the Guelph party, and

  particularly of the Florentines, were constrained to accept him as

  their lord.

  Frederick, having appointed a governor in Rome to watch his Italian

  affairs, returned to Germany. All the Tuscan and Lombardian

  Ghibellines, who followed the imperial lead, had recourse to

  Castruccio for help and counsel, and all promised him the governorship

  of his country, if enabled to recover it with his assistance. Among

  these exiles were Matteo Guidi, Nardo Scolari, Lapo Uberti, Gerozzo

  Nardi, and Piero Buonaccorsi, all exiled Florentines and Ghibellines.

  Castruccio had the secret intention of becoming the master of all

  Tuscany by the aid of these men and of his own forces; and in order to

  gain greater weight in affairs, he entered into a league with Messer

  Matteo Visconti, the Prince of Milan, and organized for him the forces

  of his city and the country districts. As Lucca had five gates, he

  divided his own country districts into five parts, which he supplied

  with arms, and enrolled the men under captains and ensigns, so that he

  could quickly bring into the field twenty thousand soldiers, without

  those whom he could summon to his assistance from Pisa. While he

  surrounded himself with these forces and allies, it happened at Messer

  Matteo Visconti was attacked by the Guelphs of Piacenza, who had

  driven out the Ghibellines with the assistance of a Florentine army

  and the King Ruberto. Messer Matteo called upon Castruccio to invade

  the Florentines in their own territories, so that, being attacked at

  home, they should be compelled to draw their army out of Lombardy in

  order to defend themselves. Castruccio invaded the Valdarno, and

  seized Fucecchio and San Miniato, inflicting immense damage upon the

  country. Whereupon the Florentines recalled their army, which had

  scarcely reached Tuscany, when Castruccio was forced by other

  necessities to return to Lucca.

  There resided in the city of Lucca the Poggio family, who were so

  powerful that they could not only elevate Castruccio, but even advance

  him to the dignity of prince; and it appearing to them they had not

  received such rewards for their services as they deserved, they

  incited other families to rebel and to drive Castruccio out of Lucca.

  They found their opportunity one morning, and arming themselves, they

  set upon the lieutenant whom Castruccio had left to maintain order and

  killed him. They endeavoured to raise the people in revolt, but

  Stefano di Poggio, a peaceable old man who had taken no hand in the

  rebellion, intervened and compelled them by his authority to lay down

  their arms; and he offered to be their mediator with Castruccio to

  obtain from him what they desired. Therefore they laid down their arms

  with no greater intelligence than they had taken them up. Castruccio,

  having heard the news of what had happened at Lucca, at once put

  Pagolo Guinigi in command of the army, and with a troop of cavalry set

  out for home. Contrary to his expectations, he found the rebellion at

  an end, yet he posted his men in the most advantageous places

  throughout the city. As it appeared to Stefano that Castruccio ought

  to be very much obliged to him, he sought him out, and without saying

  anything on his own behalf, for he did not recognize any need for

  doing so, he begged Castruccio to pardon the other members of his

  family by reason of their youth, their former friendships, and the

  obligations which Castruccio was under to their house. To this

  Castruccio graciously responded, and begged Stefano to reassure

  himself, declaring that it gave him more pleasure to find the tumult

  at an end than it had ever caused him anxiety to hear of its

  inception. He encouraged Stefano to bring his family to him, saying

  that he thanked God for having given him the opportunity of showing

  his clemency and liberality. Upon the word of Stefano and Castruccio

  they surrendered, and with Stefano were immediately thrown into prison

  and put to death. Meanwhile the Florentines had recovered San Miniato,

  whereupon it seemed advisable to Castruccio to make peace, as it did

  not appear to him that he was sufficiently secure at Lucca to le
ave

  him. He approached the Florentines with the proposal of a truce, which

  they readily entertained, for they were weary of the war, and desirous

  of getting rid of the expenses of it. A treaty was concluded with them

  for two years, by which both parties agreed to keep the conquests they

  had made. Castruccio thus released from this trouble, turned his

  attention to affairs in Lucca, and in order that he should not again

  be subject to the perils from which he had just escaped, he, under

  various pretences and reasons, first wiped out all those who by their

  ambition might aspire to the principality; not sparing one of them,

  but depriving them of country and property, and those whom he had in

  his hands of life also, stating that he had found by experience that

  none of them were to be trusted. Then for his further security he

  raised a fortress in Lucca with the stones of the towers of those whom

  he had killed or hunted out of the state.

  Whilst Castruccio made peace with the Florentines, and strengthened

  his position in Lucca, he neglected no opportunity, short of open war,

  of increasing his importance elsewhere. It appeared to him that if he

  could get possession of Pistoia, he would have one foot in Florence,

  which was his great desire. He, therefore, in various ways made

  friends with the mountaineers, and worked matters so in Pistoia that

  both parties confided their secrets to him. Pistoia was divided, as it

  always had been, into the Bianchi and Neri parties; the head of the

  Bianchi was Bastiano di Possente, and of the Neri, Jacopo da Gia. Each

  of these men held secret communications with Castruccio, and each

  desired to drive the other out of the city; and, after many

  threatenings, they came to blows. Jacopo fortified himself at the

  Florentine gate, Bastiano at that of the Lucchese side of the city;

  both trusted more in Castruccio than in the Florentines, because they

  believed that Castruccio was far more ready and willing to fight than

  the Florentines, and they both sent to him for assistance. He gave

  promises to both, saying to Bastiano that he would come in person, and

  to Jacopo that he would send his pupil, Pagolo Guinigi. At the

  appointed time he sent forward Pagolo by way of Pisa, and went himself

  direct to Pistoia; at midnight both of them met outside the city, and

  both were admitted as friends. Thus the two leaders entered, and at a

  signal given by Castruccio, one killed Jacopo da Gia, and the other

  Bastiano di Possente, and both took prisoners or killed the partisans

  of either faction. Without further opposition Pistoia passed into the

  hands of Castruccio, who, having forced the Signoria to leave the

  palace, compelled the people to yield obedience to him, making them

  many promises and remitting their old debts. The countryside flocked

  to the city to see the new prince, and all were filled with hope and

  quickly settled down, influenced in a great measure by his great

  valour.

  About this time great disturbances arose in Rome, owing to the

  dearness of living which was caused by the absence of the pontiff at

  Avignon. The German governor, Enrico, was much blamed for what

  happened--murders and tumults following each other daily, without his

  being able to put an end to them. This caused Enrico much anxiety lest

  the Romans should call in Ruberto, the King of Naples, who would drive

  the Germans out of the city, and bring back the Pope. Having no nearer

  friend to whom he could apply for help than Castruccio, he sent to

  him, begging him not only to give him assistance, but also to come in

  person to Rome. Castruccio considered that he ought not to hesitate to

  render the emperor this service, because he believed that he himself

  would not be safe if at any time the emperor ceased to hold Rome.

  Leaving Pagolo Guinigi in command at Lucca, Castruccio set out for

  Rome with six hundred horsemen, where he was received by Enrico with

  the greatest distinction. In a short time the presence of Castruccio