Contents
Cover
About the Book
Also by Paul Strathern
List of Illustrations
Maps
The Medici Family Tree
Leading Dramatis Personae and Main Factions
Dedication
Title Page
Prologue: ‘The needle of the Italian compass’
Epigraph
1 A Prince in All but Name
2 ‘Blind wickedness’
3 Lorenzo’s Florence
4 Securing the Medici Dynasty
5 Pico’s Challenge
6 The Return of Savonarola
7 Cat and Mouse
8 The End of an Era
9 Noah’s Ark
10 A Bid for Independence
11 ‘Italy faced hard times … beneath stars hostile to her good’
12 ‘I will destroy all flesh’
13 Humiliation
14 A New Government
15 The Voices of Florence
16 ‘A bolt from the blue’
17 The Bonfire of the Vanities
18 ‘On suspicion of heresy’
19 Open Defiance
20 The Tables Are Turned
21 Ordeal by Fire
22 The Siege of San Marco
23 Trial and Torture
24 Judgement
25 Hanged and Burned
Aftermath
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Picture Section
Acknowledgements
Copyright
About the Book
By the end of the fifteenth century, Florence was well established as the home of the Renaissance. As generous patrons to the likes of Botticelli and Michelangelo, the ruling Medici embodied the progressive humanist spirit of the age, and in Lorenzo the Magnificent they possessed a diplomat capable of guarding the militarily weak city in a climate of constantly shifting allegiances between the major Italian powers.
However, in the form of Savonarola, an unprepossessing provincial monk, Lorenzo found his nemesis. Filled with Old Testament fury and prophecies of doom, Savonarola’s sermons reverberated among a disenfranchised population, who preferred mediaeval Biblical certainties to the philosophical interrogations and intoxicating surface glitter of the Renaissance. Savonarola’s aim was to establish a ‘City of God’ for his followers, a new kind of democratic state, the likes of which the world had never seen before. The battle which this provoked would be a fight to the death, a series of sensational events – invasions, trials by fire, the ‘Bonfire of the Vanities’, terrible executions and mysterious deaths – featuring a cast of the most important and charismatic Renaissance figures.
This famous struggle has often been portrayed as a simple clash of wills between a benign ruler and religious fanatic, between secular pluralism and repressive extremism. However, in an exhilaratingly rich and deeply researched story, Paul Strathern reveals the paradoxes, self-doubts and political compromises which made the battle for the soul of the Renaissance city one of the most complex and important moments in Western history.
Also by Paul Strathern
The Artist, The Philosopher and The Warrior
Napoleon in Egypt: The Greatest Story
The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance
Dr Strangelove’s Game: A History of Economic Genius
Mendeleyev’s Dream
Philosophers in 90 Minutes
The Big Idea: Scientists Who Changed the World
List of Illustrations
1. Contemporary portrait of Savonarola by his friend Fra Bartolomeo. Florence, Museo di San Marco. © 2010. Photo Scala, Florence – courtesy of the Ministero Beni e Att. Culturali.
2a. Portrait bust of Lorenzo de’ Medici, probably after a model by Andrea del Verrocchio and Orsini Benintendi. Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, Florence, Italy/The Bridgeman Art Library.
2b. Portrait of Piero de’ Medici by Angelo Bronzino (1503–72). Private Collection/The Bridgeman Art Gallery.
3. The ‘Carta della Catena’ showing a panorama of Florence, 1490. Museo de Firenze Com’era, Florence, Italy/Alinari/The Bridgeman Art Library.
4a. Portrait of Alexander VI. Vatican, Pinacoteca. © 2010. Photo Scala, Florence.
4b. Portrait bust of Charles VIII, King of France (c.1483–1498). Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence. Alinari Archives, Florence.
5a. Portrait of Pico della Mirandola by Cristofano dell’ Altissiomo (c.1525–1605). Florence, Galleria degli Uffizi (Gioviani Collection). © 2010. Photo Scala, Florence – courtesy of the Ministero Beni e Att. Culturali.
5b. Portrait of Angelo Poliziano (1485–1490). Detail of a fresco of the sacrifice of the prophet Zechariah, by Domenico Ghirlandaio in the Main Chapel of the Church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence. Alinari Archives, Florence.
5c. Portrait of Marsilio Ficino. © 2010. White Images/Scala, Florence.
6a. Savonarola preaching. © 2010. Photo Ann Ronan/Heritage Images/Scala, Florence.
6b. Self-portrait of Sandro Botticelli. Detail from Adoration of the Magi. Florence, Galleria degli Uffizi. © 2010. Photo Scala, Florence – courtesy of the Ministero Beni e Att. Culturali.
7. The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli (1445–1510). Florence, Galleria degli Uffizi. © 2010. Photo Scala, Florence – courtesy of the Ministero Beni e Att. Culturali.
8. Botticelli’s illustration to Dante’s Divine Comedy – c.1480. Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. © 2010. Photo Scala, Florence/BPK, Bildagentur für Kunst, Kultur und Geschichte, Berlin.
The Medici Family Tree
Leading Dramatis Personae and Main Factions
Alexander VI – notoriously corrupt Borgia Pope who became Savonarola’s sworn enemy
Alfonso, Duke of Calabria – son and heir of King Ferrante I of Naples. Would later become Alfonso II of Naples
Anne of France – acted as Regent during the youth of Charles VIII
Arrabbiati – the most powerful anti-Savonarola faction
Bigi – faction supporting return of Piero de’ Medici
Sandro Botticelli – renowned painter and friend of Lorenzo the Magnificent
Fra Pacifico Burlamacchi – wrote early biography of Savonarola, much of it heard from Savonarola himself
Piero di Gino Capponi – leading Florentine citizen who famously defied Charles VIII
Cardinal Caraffi of Naples – friend of Alexander VI who nonetheless supported Savonarola
‘Ser Ceccone’ (real name Francesco de Ser Barone) – Savonarola’s chief civil interrogator
Charles VIII – the young King of France who invaded Italy
Compagnacci – fanatically anti-Savonarola group led by Doffo Spini
Commines (Commynes) – leading adviser of Charles VIII who kept a diary
Cardinal della Rovere – sworn enemy of Alexander VI, who encouraged Charles VIII to set up a council to depose him
Bartolomeo Cerretani – contemporary Florentine chronicler
Domenico da Pescia – the Dominican monk who was Savonarola’s closest and most loyal supporter, who followed his master to the end
Lucrezia Donati – ‘the most beautiful woman in Florence’, to whom the young Lorenzo the Magnificent addressed love poems
Ferrante I – King of Naples who received Lorenzo the Magnificent
Marsilio Ficino – celebrated Platonist and close friend of Medici family
Francesco da Puglia – a Francisc
an monk from Santa Croce and a bitter enemy of Savonarola who issued the challenge for the ordeal by fire
Battista Guarino – the celebrated humanist scholar whose lectures Savonarola attended at the University of Ferrara
Francesco Guicciardini – contemporary historian of Florence and Italy
Fra Leonardo da Fivizzano – Augustinian monk at Santo Spirito who preached in Florence against Savonarola when he was at the height of his power
Giovanni della Vecchia – ‘the Captain of the Square,’ responsible for keeping the peace in the Piazza della Signoria, and later at San Marco
Giovanni Manetti – the Arrabbiati responsible for stirring up the crowd at the ordeal by fire, who later demanded permission to inspect Savonarola
Niccolò Machiavelli – contemporary historian of Florence and Italy
Fra Malatesta (Sacramoro) – the Arrabbiati spy in San Marco
Domenico Mazzinghi – pro-Savonarolan gonfaloniere who later argued in favour of the ordeal by fire
Fra Mariano da Genazzano – the Augustinian who was Florence’s favourite preacher before his ‘contest’ with Savonarola
Cosimo de’ Medici – the man who built up the Medici bank, grandfather of Lorenzo the Magnificent
Giovanni de’ Medici – second son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, who became a young cardinal
Giovanni di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici – taken into the Palazzo Medici by his uncle Lorenzo the Magnificent as a youth when his father Pierfrancesco died.
Giuliano de’ Medici – Lorenzo the Magnificent’s younger brother, who was murdered
Lorenzo de’ Medici (‘Lorenzo the Magnificent’) – effective ruler of Florence until 1492
Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici – son of Pierfrancesco de’ Medici. Taken into the Palazzo Medici as a youth when his father died
Lucrezia (neé Tornabuoni) de’ Medici – Lorenzo the Magnificent’s influential mother
Fra Ludovico da Ferrara – despatched to Florence by Alexander VI to investigate Savonarola
Fra Silvestro Maruffi – monk at San Marco prone to visions who would follow Savonarola to the end
Pierfrancesco de’ Medici – cousin of Piero de’ Medici and grandson of Giovanni di Bicci, the founder of the Medici bank
Piero de’ Medici – first son of Lorenzo the Magnificent who took over his rule of Florence in 1492
Dietisalvi Neroni – long-term business associate of Cosimo de’ Medici, who grew jealous of Piero de’ Medici
Clarice (neé Orsini) de’ Medici – Lorenzo the Magnificent’s Roman bride
Pico della Mirandola – charismatic Renaissance philosopher, befriended by Lorenzo the Magnificent, his biography was written by his nephew, Francesco Pico della Mirandola
Piero Parenti – Florentine diarist during this period
Piagnoni – Savonarola’s supporters, mainly drawn from amongst the poor, but extending into all sections of Florentine society
Angelo Poliziano – renowned poet and member of Lorenzo the Magnificent’s circle
Bishop Remolino – finally despatched by Alexander VI to conduct Savonarola’s ‘examination’
Bernardo Rucellai – leading Florentine citizen sent by Lorenzo the Magnificent on delegation to persuade Savonarola to tone down his sermons; later turned against Peiro de’ Medici (‘the Unfortunate’)
Girolamo Rucellai – moderating voice at the Pratica called to debate the ordeal by fire
Marcuccio Salviati – commander of the pro-Savonarolan troops at the ordeal by fire
Girolamo Savonarola – the Dominican friar who stood against all that the Medici represented
Michele Savonarola – Girolamo’s grandfather and a formative influence. Despite being a pioneering physician, he remained a strict medievalist.
Niccolò Savonarola – Girolamo’s unsuccessful father
Galeazzo Maria Sforza – nephew of Ludovico Sforza, and rightful heir to the Dukedom of Milan
Ludovico ‘il Moro’ Sforza – uncle of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, who acted as ruler of Milan during his nephew’s minority
Paolantonio Soderini – leading citizen and supporter of Savonarola
Doffo Spini – the headstrong leader of the Compagnacci extreme anti-Savonarola faction
Giovanni Tornabuoni – Lorenzo the Magnificent’s uncle, manager of the Rome branch of the Medici bank
Fra Mariano Ughi – the second Dominican who volunteered for the ordeal by fire
Francesco Valori – sent by Lorenzo the Magnificent on a delegation to warn Savonarola to tone down his sermons; later pro-Savonarolan gonfaloniere
Simonetta Vespucci – celebrated at the age of 17 as the most beautiful woman in Florence. Lorenzo the Magnificent’s brother Giuliano is said to have pined for her love
to my brother Mark
DEATH IN FLORENCE
The Medici, Savonarola and the Battle for the
Soul of the Renaissance City
Paul Strathern
Prologue: ‘The needle of the Italian compass’
IN THE FIRST week of April 1492 Lorenzo the Magnificent, the forty-three-year-old ruler of Renaissance Florence, lay seriously ill in his villa at Careggi, in the countryside a couple of miles north of the city walls. Lorenzo, a charismatic figure in a charismatic age, had powerful but curiously ugly features, which appeared to lend his personality an almost animal magnetism. His intellectual brilliance and physical daring also contributed to his attraction. Amongst other accomplishments he was a distinguished poet, a champion jouster and a prolific lover of beautiful women (and, on occasion, similar men).
Yet for two months now Lorenzo’s powerful frame had been racked with incapacitating pain, a manifestation of the congenital gout and chronic arthritis that had stricken so many amongst the recent generations of the Medici banking family. However, for Lorenzo the worst was yet to come: his beloved friend, the poet Angelo Poliziano, watched as he succumbed to:
a fever [that] gradually passed into his body, spreading not into his arteries or veins, like others do, but into his frame, his vital organs, his muscles, his bones too, and their marrow. But since it spread subtly and invisibly, with utmost stealth, it was hardly noticed at first. But then it gave clean evidence of itself … it so speedily weakened the man and wore him down that because not only his strength had ebbed away and been consumed, but his entire body, he was wasted away to nothing.1
By this stage Lorenzo was being attended by the celebrated Lazaro da Ticino2 ‘a very creative physician’, who had arrived from Milan. According to Poliziano: ‘in order not to leave any method untested, he tried a highly expensive remedy which involved grinding pearls and precious stones of all sorts’. This was a traditional remedy deriving from classical times, which almost certainly arrived in Europe from China, where such concoctions were thought to be ingredients of the fabled ‘elixir of life’. Lazaro da Ticino had been despatched to attend Lorenzo the Magnificent by Ludovico ‘il Moro’ Sforza, the de facto ruler of Florence’s powerful northern neighbour, Milan. Ludovico Sforza was probably nicknamed ‘il Moro’ (the Moor) on account of his dark features; yet there was also a distinctly dark side to his character. A braggart, given to rash gestures, he was deeply superstitious, yet liked to regard himself and his court as highly cultured. In fact, he was a tyrant, of paranoid tendencies, who ruled from behind the high, dark walls of the imposing Castello Sforza, which looked down over the rooftops of his capital city. Some ten years previously, when intelligence had reached Lorenzo the Magnificent that Ludovico ‘il Moro’ Sforza might be wavering in his vital support for militarily weak Florence, Lorenzo had launched a charm offensive, part of which involved despatching Leonardo da Vinci to Milan. Ludovico Sforza had been deeply flattered; the alliance with Florence had been reinforced, and the Milanese ruler came to regard Lorenzo the Magnificent as his valued personal friend.
During the twenty-three years of his reign Lorenzo had gained the admiration and affection of rulers all over Italy. Late fifteenth-century I
taly was split into five major powers – Milan, Venice, the papacy, Florence and Naples – and several minor city states, which tended to ally themselves with their nearest powerful neighbour. The balance of power between the major territories was constantly threatened by the covert shifting of allegiances. Militarily weak Florence had clung to its status as a major power largely through Lorenzo the Magnificent’s diplomatic skill, and his tactical astuteness in perpetuating the idea of the city as the centre of Italian culture. Here the Renaissance had first come to fruition, financed by the patronage of its great banking families, with Florentine artists and architects regarded as the finest in Europe, the pride of Italian civilisation. Even so, Florence remained vulnerable to brute military force, requiring a constant diplomatic effort to keep its neighbouring states at bay.
As a consequence, Ludovico Sforza of Milan was not the only powerful Italian leader with whom Lorenzo the Magnificent maintained constant diplomatic dealings, and whom he succeeded in making his personal friend. Perhaps his most surprising alliance was with the ageing King Ferrante of Naples, a man notorious for his treachery, who in his earlier years had delighted in showing visitors his ‘museum of mummies’,3 consisting of the embalmed bodies of his enemies. Yet when Ferrante had hatched a plot to assassinate Lorenzo and sent the Neapolitan army to invade virtually defenceless Florence, Lorenzo had been willing to risk his life by dashing to Naples to confront Ferrante personally. The sheer bravado of the twenty-nine-year-old Lorenzo’s gesture had so won the admiration of Ferrante that he too declared himself Lorenzo’s firm friend. Likewise Pope Innocent VIII, a slippery character of part-Greek descent, of whom it was said the he ‘begat eight boys and just as many girls, so that Rome might justly call him Father’.4 Lorenzo cemented an alliance with Innocent VIII by arranging for the pope’s eldest son, Franceschetto Cybo, to marry his daughter Maddalena de’ Medici.
Lorenzo certainly lived up to his soubriquet.fn1 Even his contemporary Niccolò Machiavelli, ever the sardonic and incisive observer of political affairs, was dazzled:
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