Part 11
I have thy letter of May 2nd from Venice, saying thou wert to leave the next day. Alessandro wrote on the 3rd and told me of thy departure, and of what thou didst at Ferrara to please the Duke, and of thy visits at Venice to the Doge and other gentlemen, all of which I approve and commend, and I think thou hast paid nearly all necessary visits. Thou wilt have received my letter of the 4th telling thee what conduct to pursue, all of which remember; in a word, it is necessary for thee now to be a man and not a boy; be so in words, deeds, and manners, and if thou givest dinners or other entertainments do not let there be any stint in money or whatever else is needful to do thyself honour. For the present I say no more. Before leaving thou shalt hear what to do. I have consulted with the citizens here, and they all agree that I must receive the princes[99] in our house on their return, and the Signoria has commanded me to do so: I obey willingly, but it would have taken much trouble off my hands hadst thou and Gugliemo been here; however, we will do the best we can. It will be better for thee to leave a few days before the others, thou shalt be warned in time. I did not write to Venice because the delay at Ferrara threw out all arrangements, but it is of no consequence. All our family here are well, and we hope thou art the same and wilt return in safety. We are preparing great festivities for these princes on S. John’s day, and shall try and do them honour also in other ways. Our Giuliano has been persuaded by Baccio Benci and others to arrange a tournament, but in more magnificent fashion than usual. The Signoria wishes it; I am against it, and shall try to get out of it if possible. I do not want to have so many bothers at the same time, and am astonished that Giovanni de’ Pazzi, having done it once, undertakes to do it again. Thou shalt know what is decided. No more at present. Christ guard thee.--In Florence on the 11th day of May 1465.
Do not forget to commend me to the Magnificent Count Guasparre.
Piero de’ Medici.[100]
S. John’s Day (24th June) is still a great holiday in Florence. The cathedral and the baptistery are illuminated, and fireworks (the scaffoldings for which used to be erected on the Ponte della Carraja until the tramway took possession of the bridge) are now let off on the Piazza Michelangelo. An old chronicler writes: “On the day of S. John, the patron saint of the city, and on the vigil thereof, not only are there infinite demonstrations of spiritual joy, but everything that can be done in such a city is done to show temporal happiness and gaiety. Swift horses called _Barberi_ race in public for a _palio_, or banner, of cloth of gold lined with precious fur. Merchants display untold riches in gold, jewels, pearls, and money, and in cloth of gold, silks, and woollen goods of incredible value. There are illuminations, bonfires, and fireworks, both public and private, and the whole city is given over to rejoicing. Among other diversions is jousting. This is a game played by men clothed in the richest damasks and costumes and varied liveries, according to the costumes and liveries of their families, who place themselves in proper order in the field (having first triumphantly escorted an emperor in a gilded car, with a fine and noble procession of kings, dukes, marquesses, counts, soldiers, and baggage waggons), on splendidly caparisoned horses, well trained to race. First they race in the public squares, and then in certain places set apart for breakneck exercises they break lances with no small dexterity.”
On that day also the Signori, surrounded by their attendants, and the soldiers and trumpeters of the Commune, sat on the _ringhiera_[101] of the Palazzo Vecchio, in their magnificent official costumes, which must have been rather trying in hot summer weather. The Gonfalonier was clad in a long loose crimson velvet coat lined with ermine and embroidered with golden stars; his _berretta_, or cap, was turned up with ermine and trimmed with gold lace, pearls, and silver embroidery, like the rays of stars. The crimson coats of cloth worn by the Priors were also lined with ermine, and had ermine collars and cuffs, and they wore a large red berretta or a hood. The Podestà dressed like the Priors, but without a hood; the Preposto’s coat was of black satin, and his _lucco_ of black velvet was lined with satin of various colours, and he always wore a hood. Seated thus in state, the Signori received tribute from all the cities, castles, and villages that were under their rule or protection.
Dati enlarges on the magnificent and marvellous aspect of the Piazza della Signoria, “with one hundred towers, which shone like gold, some on waggons, some borne on the shoulders of men. These last, made of wood, pasteboard, and coloured wax figures, are called tapers (_ceri_). Inside the towers are men, who cause these figures to move and to turn round. They represented horsemen tilting, foot-soldiers with spears or waving banners, and girls dancing in a ring. Near and around the _ringhiera_ hung a hundred or more _palii_ or banners, their staves being stuck into the iron rings on the walls. First were those of the chief cities who send tribute to the Commune, as Pisa, Arezzo, Pistoja, Volterra, Cortona, Lucignano, and Castiglione Aretino, and of certain lords of Poppi and Piombino, who are under the protection of the Commune, made of thick velvet, lined with satin or with silk; the rest are of strips of thinner velvet, or of other cloth or silk; so that the sight is truly marvellous. The first offering in the morning is made by the Captains of the Guelph party, with all their knights and gentlemen, and ambassadors and foreign knights who accompany them, and a great number of the most honourable citizens of Florence; the great banner of the Guelph party being borne before them by one of their followers on a tall horse, caparisoned in white cloth embroidered with the device of the Guelph party. Then followed the afore-mentioned _palii_, or banners, each one carried by a man on horseback, and both man and horse are clothed in silk. One after another they go in the order in which they were called to offer the said _palii_ to the church of S. Giovanni, which are the tributes paid by the places conquered by the Florentines.
“The _ceri_, or tapers, which resemble golden towers, are the tributes of the most ancient possessions of the Florentines, and according to their rank they proceed one after another to offer them to S. Giovanni, and the next day the tapers are all stuck up round the inside of the church where they remain until the next feast-day, when they are removed and used for the altars, and some are sold by auction. After the tapers a marvellous quantity of large wax candles are offered, some of a hundred pounds weight, some of fifty or less, carried by the peasants belonging to the villas from whence they are sent. Then the Masters of the Mint offer a splendid taper, borne on a richly adorned car drawn by a pair of oxen whose loin-cloths bear the device of the Mint, and the said Masters are accompanied by about four hundred venerable men, all matriculated in and belonging to the Guild of Cloth-weavers. The last to make offerings are the Signori, the Priors, and their colleagues, with the Podestà and the Captain, in great pomp with many servants, and so many instruments, fifes and trumpets, that the whole world seemed to resound. After the Signori had left, all the horses that have come for the race are presented, and then the Flemings and Brabanters--weavers of woollen cloth--who are in Florence make their offering; and lastly, twelve prisoners, delivered from gaol for love of God in honour of S. Giovanni, are offered to him. When all this has been done, men and women return home to dine, and in all the city that day are so many marriages and great banquets, with innumerable fifes, music, songs, dances, and gaiety, that it seemed as though the place was Paradise.”
In 1466 Piero sent Lorenzo, then eighteen years of age, to Rome on a mission of great moment both politically and commercially. Perhaps the most important part of the private business was to secure from the Pope a monopoly of working the alum mines discovered not many years before in the short range of volcanic hills lying round the little village of La Tolfa (Tofa), about eleven miles due west of Civita Vecchia and within the Pope’s dominions. A few deposits of alum had been known and
## partially worked in Europe, _i.e._ at Volterra and Ischia: but for
all practical purposes almost all the alum used in Christendom came from Asia Minor, and the supply was always inferior to the increasing demand. A certain Giovanni di Castro prospecting among the hills round La Tolfa found what he believed to be an inexhaustible supply, “seven hills of alum.” Castro made sure of his find by calcinating the stone. He then hastened to Rome, appeared before the Pope, and somewhat grandiloquently announced his discovery. “I make known to you a victory over the Turk. He draws yearly from the Christians more than 300,000 pieces of gold, paid to him for the alum with which we dye wool of various colours, because none is found in Italy, save a little at Ischia.... I have found seven hills so abounding in alum that they might supply seven worlds. If you will send workmen, cause furnaces to be built and the stone to be calcined, you may furnish almost all Europe, and what money the Turk used to acquire will fall into your hands.” The Holy See made haste to secure the newly-found treasure, and in order to have a monopoly in the sale the Pope excommunicated every one who tried to import alum into Europe from the Turkish dominions. So determined were the Popes to maintain what in modern language would be called their “corner in alum,” that in the proclamation of Indulgences it was always expressly declared that the pardon promised did not include those who imported alum into Europe from the Turkish dominions.
Such a deposit needed capital to work it properly and the Holy See farmed out the monopoly, protected by excommunication, to a firm of capitalists. Young Lorenzo was instructed to secure, and did obtain, this very valuable concession for his family. Hereafter the profits of the monopoly of alum were a source of great wealth to the Medici.
The political problem, overshadowing all others, entrusted to the youthful Lorenzo was the maintenance of the league between the King of Naples, Milan, and Florence. This was the keystone of Piero’s foreign policy. He believed it to be essential to the balance of power and the preservation of peace in the peninsula. The alliance received an almost deadly blow in the somewhat sudden death of Francesco Sforza, the Duke of Milan, and Piero’s fears are reflected in the despairing letters he wrote to his son. The league between the three powers survived the shock. Francesco Sforza’s son Galeazzo was, after some little delay, universally recognised as his father’s successor, and the foreign policy of Piero de’ Medici was maintained.
But the note of despair in Piero’s letters was probably occasioned by a presentiment of what might, and what actually did, occur within Florence herself. As has been said, many of the hitherto strenuous supporters of the Medici within the Republic were inclined to revolt against the continuance of their rule, and the death of Francesco Sforza furnished the occasion for testing their strength. It had been part of Cosimo’s foreign policy to support Sforza at Milan by a subsidy from the Florentine treasury. On his death the question was at once raised whether the grant was to be continued to his successor Galeazzo. Piero supported its continuance. It was part of the Triple Alliance and an essential portion of his foreign policy. Yet it was also capable of being represented as something which concerned only the internal affairs of the city. This was at once seized upon by Luca Pitti and Diotisalvi Neroni. We see all these fears reflected in the letters of Piero to Lorenzo while the latter was at Rome.
The letter from Luigi Pulci shows how the young Lorenzo was already recognised as one of the foremost citizens of Florence and the future lord of the city, round whom aspiring men desired to rally. Pulci had been banished from Florence and was in hiding on account of his brother’s debts for which he had become surety.
Luigi Pulci _to_ Lorenzo de’ Medici[102]
_Sis felix, mi Laurenti_, &c.--Thou hast decided to leave me in these woods among the snow, so lonely and so desolate, and to go to Rome. Such is my destiny that to all my other troubles is added this one, that I am never to go a journey with thee on horseback. When shall I go? When I am quite old? What more faithful servant or companion canst thou find who is more maltreated and repulsed by heaven? How many times have we talked together about Rome, and that I was to be there with thee: why dost thou leave me, art thou afraid I should be an expense to thee? Do not fear, for in spite of my adverse fortune I should still do thee honour. From thee I should only need a horse. I have so many friends in that city and enough wits not to shame thee as perhaps thou fearest. Of a truth thou drivest me from thee wrongfully, and it would be unjust to leave me so unhappy: this hurts me more than anything else. Do not cast me aside like old broken iron, I shall be sound enough if thou lovest me. And even were I broken to bits I should have the more need of help and comfort. In the midst of thy prosperity remember my misfortunes. Generous hearts and true friends act thus; and my old affection and well-tried fidelity merit it. Time will pass. It would be a great restorative after so many troubles which I have now unjustly suffered for sixteen months. It will prevent me from going to the devil, or into exile in strange lands with strange thoughts. _Denique_, by all the Gods, by everything, I pray thee to include me among the number of thy elected for Rome; it will be enough, as I said before, if thou lendest me a horse. If thou dost not want me, I will never more be thine nor any one’s. So good-bye. I leave thee for a long time, thou wilt not see me again, nor wilt thou know where I am, and God will pardon thee for me, for I will never pardon thee. Also, if thou willst, surely some means can be found for my security. The magistrates can protect me, and if they set me free, as would only be just, a safe-conduct voted by six of the Signori would be sufficient, or it would be enough if the creditors promised thee not to molest me. But thou hast forgotten me and art occupied, and thy mind is set on greater things. Thou art right, but also, certes, I am not in the wrong to trust in thee alone, because I am entirely thine and turn to thee as I have always done. If thou dost not help me I have lost all hope. What am I to do? Give myself to three hundred thousand devils?
If thou hast not received the swords tell me and I will go and wake the man up; and if thou wilt send me a line written by thee, so that I may know whether thou still lovest me or not, I should be very glad. Many times have I taken my pen in hand for love of thee, so I wish thou wouldst deign do the same for love of me. This alone will be to me, among these mountains, what the Holy Ghost was to the Apostles who thought God had forgotten them until the dove came to them. If thou dost not do it no more verses, no more gossipings, never more shall we be boon-companions. Tell me whether the affair we talked about under the Tetto de’ Pisani is concluded and whether it will be necessary; thou hast probably already tried a portion of it. Commend me to our Magnificent Piero and to Madonna Lucrezia, and greet and bless my Giuliano a thousand times, and also my Piero Allamanni and Berlinghieri and Braccio and Gismondo, and all our friends, not forgetting Messer Gentile.--At Vernia, February 1, 1465 (1466).
Thy Luigi, as content as he can be.[103]
Piero de’ Medici _to his son_ Lorenzo _at Rome_
I am in such affliction and sorrow for the sad and untimely death of the Illustrious Duke of Milan that I know not where I am; thou canst imagine what it means to us both in private and in public matters. Condole most heartily in my name with his ambassador, and take comfort in thine own thoughts and do not give way to melancholy, which is of no service; thoughts are sometimes useful when they are good. I, although it is a hard blow, am trying to bear it and I hope time will accomplish what as yet reason cannot. There are letters from Milan of the 9th and the 10th which I send, so that thou canst see how things are there. They may perhaps turn out better than many people think. I wrote at once to the Holy Father to beg him, as head and leader not only of the League but of all Christians, to think how best to preserve the stability of that State, for His Holiness can do more than any one else, if only for the preservation of peace and tranquillity in Italy. Although I think His Holiness is well disposed yet we must do our utmost, for thou knowest what we owe and what is our duty to the blessed memory of the late Lord and towards Her Excellency Madonna and her noble children. Put an end to all playing on instruments, or singing or dancing, for Malatesta has arrived, so let all be at least until after Easter. Do not talk about it because I think we may have to change our plans. But thou shalt know what I decide; meanwhile keep silence with all save Giovanni [Tornabuoni] and Malatesta.
I see that thou hast arrived safely by thy letter of 8th, of which I am glad, and that great honours were paid thee, for which we must be grateful to God and to the men of this world to whom we owe much. Thou must study to merit this by deeds and be old beyond thine years, for the times require it.
Of what happens there day by day, as I said before, take counsel with Giovanni, and study the condition of that region and what state it is in, so that on thy return thou canst give a clear report. No more at present. Christ guard thee.
I forgot to say that last night letters of the 11th came from Mantua, saying how that lord had agreed and stipulated to remain in the service of King Ferrante [of Naples]; this is a good and useful thing. We have also letters of the 11th to-day from Genoa, with news that all those citizens have determined to be faithful to Madonna and her children as they were to the Duke of blessed memory, and that they have elected eight citizens to act with the governor in case of need.--Florence, March 15, 1465 (1466).[104]
Piero de’ Medici _to his son_ Lorenzo _at Rome_
I wrote fully to thee lately, and now have thy letter of 15th saying that the death of the Duke of Milan was known there, may God be merciful to him, and of the arrangements made to send to Milan and to write to others, and also of the Holy Father’s decision as to the safety of that State, which satisfies every one. We are of the same opinion; to do all that is possible for the Illustrious Madonna and their noble children that accords with our own liberty. Probably nothing more will be needed than the intimation of our intentions, as up to the 17th, the last news I have from Milan, nothing had happened, all passed off quietly. From what one hears from Venice the Signoria there shows a desire to live in peace and quiet with Madonna and her sons, as they did with the father of blessed memory. I am inclined to believe this, it being their interest. I say no more, having told thee enough in my other letter, and also because I send thee the letter I have received from Venice. It is however of the greatest importance and utility that His Sanctity our Holy Father should desire to preserve peace and quiet in Italy, in which I conceive he will have the aid of us all. I am sure that this is his desire, he having always shown it, so I do not dwell on it, hoping that by the grace of God and the help of His Holiness everything will go well.
I note that thou hast seen His Sanctity the Pope, and spoken about the affair of Stefano da Osimo, and that His Holiness is satisfied; it is necessary for the common good of the different parties and of the whole city, and it seems to me that our Holy Father has understood rightly and sagely that the affair cannot be ended but must be maintained. It may be that time will make a change also in my views. It is enough to know that it was not _de motu proprio_ of His Holiness, but was suggested by others. But above all see that he is satisfied and content; were it otherwise I should be uneasy.
I know not what thou hast done about the deposit of alum, as I said before I am content that thou shouldst accept it in my name, and there can be no doubt that our conduct will be to the satisfaction and the interest of our Holy Father. Consult about this with Giovanni Tornabuoni, and settle this and other matters as you both think best.
About continuing thy journey beyond Rome I think, as I said before, it would be better to wait until after Easter; we shall meanwhile know more and be better able to decide. Thou hast done well to urge Messer Agnolo to make haste, we expect him here every day. Return the letters from Milan which I sent in my last letter, and those which I now send. Here we are expecting to hear of the entry of the Illustrious Galeazzo Maria. The Count of Urbino was at Scarperia on the 18th but did not come here, probably not to lose time. By now he must be at Milan, as well as the Lord Alessandro. Thou shalt hear what occurs. The Lord Gismondo had arrived at Venice.