Piero della Francesca, Battle between Heraclius and Chosroes, fresco, San Francesco, Arezzo
   
 

Tuscan art cities | The Italian Renaissance and the powerful families
 
 

The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 13th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe.[1] The term renaissance is in essence a modern one that came into currency in the 19th century, in the work of historians such as Jacob Burckhardt. Although the origins of a movement that was confined largely to the literate culture of intellectual endeavor and patronage can be traced to the earlier part of the 14th century, many aspects of Italian culture and society remained largely Medieval; the Renaissance did not come into full swing until the end of the century. The word renaissance (Rinascimento in Italian) means “rebirth”, and the era is best known for the renewed interest in the culture of classical antiquity after the period that Renaissance humanists labelled the Dark Ages. These changes, while significant, were concentrated in the elite, and for the vast majority of the population life was little changed from the Middle Ages.

The European Renaissance began in Tuscany (Central Italy), and centered in the cities of Florence and Siena. It later had a great impact in Venice, where the remains of ancient Greek culture were brought together, providing humanist scholars with new texts. The Renaissance later had a significant effect on Rome, which was ornamented with some structures in the new all'antico mode, then was largely rebuilt by humanist sixteenth-century popes. The Italian Renaissance peaked in the mid-16th century as foreign invasions plunged the region into the turmoil of the Italian Wars.

Origins

Northern and Central Italy in the Late Middle Ages

By the Late Middle Ages ( circa 1300 onward ), Latium the heartland of the Roman Empire-, and southern Italy, was poorer than the north. Rome was a city of ancient ruins, and the Papal States were a loosely administered State, and vulnerable to external interference such as that of France and later Spain. The Papacy was affronted by France when the Avignon Papacy created in southern France (in Avignon) under pressure from King Philip the Fair of France. In the south, Sicily had for some time been under foreign domination, by the Arabs and then the Normans. Sicily had prospered for 150 years during the Emirate of Sicily and later for two centuries during the Norman Kingdom and the Hohenstaufen Kingdom, but had declined by the late Middle Ages.

Northern and Central Italy eventually became far more prosperous, with the City-States among the wealthiest in Europe. The Crusades had built lasting trade links to the Levant, and the Fourth Crusade had done much to destroy the Byzantine Empire as a commercial rival to the Venetians and Genoese. The main trade routes from the east passed through the Byzantine Empire or the Arab lands and onwards to the ports of Genoa, Pisa, and Venice. Luxury goods bought in the Levant, such as spices, dyes, and silks were imported to Italy and then resold throughout Europe. Moreover, the inland city-states profited from the rich agricultural land of the Po valley. From France, Germany, and the Low Countries, through the medium of the Champagne fairs, land and river trade routes brought goods such as wool, wheat, and precious metals into the region. The extensive trade that stretched from Egypt to the Baltic generated substantial surpluses that allowed significant investment in mining and agriculture. Thus, while northern Italy was not richer in resources than many other parts of Europe, the level of development, stimulated by trade, allowed it to prosper. Florence became one of the wealthiest cities of Northern Italy, due mainly to its woolen textile production, under the supervision of its dominant trade guild, the Arte della Lana. Wool was imported from Northern Europe (and in the 16th century from Spain) and dyes from the east were used to make high quality textiles.

The Italian trade routes that covered the Mediterranean and beyond were also major conduits of culture and knowledge. The recovery of lost Greek classics, to a lesser extent also independent Arab contributions, played an important part in the revitalization of medieval philosophy in the Renaissance of the 12th century, just as the refugee Greek scholars who migrated to Italy during the onslaught of the Ottomans against the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century were important in sparking the new linguistic studies of the Renaissance, in newly created academies in Florence and Venice. These Byzantines fled the Turks, sometimes carrying precious manuscripts and their knowledge (Greek and Ancient Greek) and while fixating themselves in Italy made a discreet but crucial contribution to the Italian Renaissance. Humanist scholars searched monastic libraries for ancient manuscripts and recovered Tacitus and other Latin authors; with the rediscovery of Vitruvius the architectural principles of Antiquity could be observed once more, and Renaissance artists were encouraged, in the atmosphere of humanist optimism, to excel the achievements of the Ancients, like Apelles, of whom they read.

Thirteenth-century

In the 13th century, much of Europe experienced strong economic growth. The trade routes of the Italian states linked with those of established Mediterranean ports and eventually the Hanseatic League of the Baltic and northern regions of Europe to create a network economy in Europe for the first time since the 4th century. The city-states of Italy expanded greatly during this period and grew in power to become de facto fully independent of the Holy Roman Empire; apart from the Kingdom of Naples, outside powers kept their armies out of Italy. During this period, the modern commercial infrastructure developed, with double-entry book-keeping, joint stock companies, an international banking system, a systematized foreign exchange market, insurance, and government debt. Florence became the centre of this financial industry and the gold florin became the main currency of international trade.

The new mercantile governing class, who gained their position through financial skill, adapted to their purposes the feudal aristocratic model that had dominated Europe in the Middle Ages. A feature of the High Middle Ages in Northern Italy was the rise of the urban communes which had broken from the control by bishops and local counts. In much of the region, the landed nobility was poorer than the urban patriarchs in the High Medieval money economy whose inflationary rise left land-holding aristocrats impoverished. The increase in trade during the early Renaissance enhanced these characteristics. The decline of feudalism and the rise of cities influenced each other; for example, the demand for luxury goods led to an increase in trade, which led to greater numbers of tradesmen becoming wealthy, who, in turn, demanded more luxury goods. This change also gave the merchants almost complete control of the governments of the Italian city-states, again enhancing trade. One of the most important effects of this political control was security. Those that grew extremely wealthy in a feudal state ran constant risk of running afoul of the monarchy and having their lands confiscated, as famously occurred to Jacques Coeur in France. The northern states also kept many medieval laws that severely hampered commerce, such as those against usury, and prohibitions on trading with non-Christians. In the city-states of Italy, these laws were repealed or rewritten.


Fourteenth-century collapse

The 14th century saw a series of catastrophes that caused the European economy to go into recession. The Medieval Warm Period was ending as the transition to the Little Ice Age began. This change in climate saw agricultural output decline significantly, leading to repeated famines, exacerbated by the rapid population growth of the earlier era. The Hundred Years' War between England and France disrupted trade throughout northwest Europe, most notably when, in 1345, King Edward III of England repudiated his debts, contributing to the collapse of the two largest Florentine banks, those of the Bardi and Peruzzi. In the east, war was also disrupting trade routes, as the Ottoman Empire began to expand throughout the region. Most devastating, though, was the Black Death that decimated the populations of the densely populated cities of Northern Italy and returned at intervals thereafter. Florence, for instance, which had a pre-plague population of 45,000 decreased over the next 47 years by 25–50%. Widespread disorder followed, including a revolt of Florentine textile workers, the ciompi, in 1378.

It was during this period of instability that the first Renaissance figures, such as Dante and Petrarch lived, and the first stirrings of Renaissance art were to be seen in the opening half of the 14th century, notably in the realism of Giotto. Paradoxically, some of these disasters would help establish the Renaissance. The Black Death wiped out a third of Europe's population, producing a labour shortage, so that the reduced population was much wealthier, better fed, and, significantly, had more surplus money to spend on luxury goods like art and architecture. As incidences of the plague began to decline in the early 15th century, Europe's devastated population once again began to grow. This new demand for products and services, and the reduced number of people able to provide them, put the lower classes in a more favourable position. Furthermore, this demand also helped create a growing class of bankers, merchants, and skilled artisans. The horrors of the Black Death and the seeming inability of the Church to provide relief would contribute to a decline of church influence, another significant contributing factor to the Renaissance. Additionally, the collapse of the Bardi and Peruzzi banks would open the way for the Medici to rise to prominence in Florence. Roberto Sabatino Lopez argues that the economic collapse was a crucial cause of the Renaissance. According to this view, in a more prosperous era, businessmen would have quickly reinvested their earnings in order to make more money in a climate favourable to investment. However, in the leaner years of the 14th century, the wealthy found few promising investment opportunities for their earnings and instead chose to spend more on culture and art.

Another popular explanation for the Italian Renaissance is the thesis, first advanced by historian Hans Baron, that states that the primary impetus of the early Renaissance was the long-running series of wars between Florence and Milan. By the late 14th century, Milan had become a centralized monarchy under the control of the Visconti family. Giangaleazzo Visconti, who ruled the city from 1378 to 1402, was renowned both for his cruelty and for his abilities, and set about building an empire in Northern Italy. He launched a long series of wars, with Milan steadily conquering neighbouring states and defeating the various coalitions led by Florence that sought in vain to halt the advance. This culminated in the 1402 siege of Florence, when it looked as though the city was doomed to fall, before Giangaleazzo suddenly died and his empire collapsed.

Baron's thesis suggests that during these long wars, the leading figures of Florence rallied the people by presenting the war as one between the free republic and the despotic monarchy, between the ideals of the Greek and Roman Republics and those of the Roman Empire and Medieval kingdoms. For Baron, the most important figure in crafting this ideology was Leonardo Bruni. This time of crisis in Florence was the period when most of the major early Renaissance figures were coming of age, such as Ghiberti, Donatello, Masolino, and Brunelleschi, and that they were inculcated with this republican ideology. These and other figures later went on to advocate republican ideas that were to have an enormous impact on the Renaissance.
 
Italy around 1400


Development

Northern Italy and upper Central Italy were divided into a number of warring city-states, the most powerful being Milan, Florence, Pisa, Siena, Genoa, Ferrara, Mantua, Verona and Venice. High Medieval Northern Italy was further divided by the long running battle for supremacy between the forces of the Papacy and of the Holy Roman Empire: each city aligned itself with one faction or the other, yet was divided internally between the two warring parties, Guelfs and Ghibellines. Warfare between the states was common, invasion from outside Italy confined to intermittent sorties of Holy Roman Emperors. Renaissance politics developed from this background. Since the 13th century, as armies became primarily composed of mercenaries, prosperous city-states could field considerable forces, despite their low populations. In the course of the 15th century, the most powerful city-states annexed their smaller neighbors. Florence took Pisa in 1406, Venice captured Padua and Verona, while the Duchy of Milan annexed a number of nearby areas including Pavia and Parma.

The first part of the Renaissance saw almost constant warfare on land and sea as the city-states vied for preeminence. On land, these wars were primarily fought by armies of mercenaries known as condottieri, bands of soldiers drawn from around Europe, but especially Germany and Switzerland, led largely by Italian captains. The mercenaries were not willing to risk their lives unduly, and war became one largely of sieges and maneuvering, occasioning few pitched battles. It was also in the interest of mercenaries on both sides to prolong any conflict, to continue their employment. Mercenaries were also a constant threat to their employers; if not paid, they often turned on their patron. If it became obvious that a state was entirely dependent on mercenaries, the temptation was great for the mercenaries to take over the running of it themselves—this occurred on a number of occasions.

At sea, Italian city-states sent many fleets out to do battle. The main contenders were Pisa, Genoa, and Venice, but after a long conflict the Genoese succeeded in reducing Pisa. Venice proved to be a more powerful adversary, and with the decline of Genoese power during the 15th century Venice became pre-eminent on the seas. In response to threats from the landward side, from the early 15th century Venice developed an increased interest in controlling the terrafirma as the Venetian Renaissance opened.

On land, decades of fighting saw Florence, Milan and Venice emerge as the dominant players, and these two powers finally set aside their differences and agreed to the Peace of Lodi in 1454, which saw relative calm brought to the region for the first time in centuries. This peace would hold for the next forty years, and Venice's unquestioned hegemony over the sea also led to unprecedented peace for much of the rest of the 15th century. In the beginning of the 15th century, adventurer and traders such as Niccolò Da Conti (1395–1469) traveled as far as Southeast Asia and back, bringing fresh knowledge on the state of the world, presaging further European voyages of exploration in the years to come.

Florence under the Medici

    

Until the late 14th century, Florence's leading family were the House of Albizzi. Their main challengers were the Medicis, first under Giovanni de' Medici, later under his son Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici. The Medici controlled the Medici bank—then Europe's largest bank—and an array of other enterprises in Florence and elsewhere. In 1433, the Albizzi managed to have Cosimo exiled.[9] The next year, however, saw a pro-Medici Signoria elected and Cosimo returned. The Medici became the town's leading family, a position they would hold for the next three centuries. Florence remained a republic until 1537, traditionally marking the end of the High Renaissance in Florence, but the instruments of republican government were firmly under the control of the Medici and their allies, save during the intervals after 1494 and 1527. Cosimo and Lorenzo only rarely held official posts, but were the unquestioned leaders.

Cosimo de' Medici was highly popular among the citizenry, mainly for bringing an era of stability and prosperity to the town. One of his most important accomplishments was negotiating the Peace of Lodi with Francesco Sforza ending the decades of war with Milan and bringing stability to much of Northern Italy. Cosimo was also an important patron of the arts, directly and indirectly, by the influential example he set.

Cosimo was succeeded by his sickly son Piero de' Medici, who died after five years in charge of the city. In 1469 the reins of power passed to Cosimo's twenty-one-year-old grandson Lorenzo, who would become known as "Lorenzo the Magnificent." Lorenzo was the first of the family to be educated from an early age in the humanist tradition and is best known as one of the Renaissance's most important patrons of the arts. Under Lorenzo, the Medici rule was formalized with the creation of a new Council of Seventy, which Lorenzo headed. The republican institutions continued, but they lost all power. Lorenzo was less successful than his illustrious forebears in business, and the Medici commercial empire was slowly eroded. Lorenzo continued the alliance with Milan, but relations with the papacy soured, and in 1478, Papal agents allied with the Pazzi family in an attempt to assassinate Lorenzo. Although the plot failed, Lorenzo's young brother, Giuliano, was killed, and the failed assassination led to a war with the Papacy and was used as justification to further centralize power in Lorenzo's hands.

  
Bernardo et Neri de' Nerli, Piero di Lorenzo de' Medici, 1488, Naples, Biblioteca Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele III

Benozzo Gozzoli, Procession of the Youngest King (detail), 1459-60, Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, Firenze
The Magi Chapel, a chapel in Palazzo Medici Riccardi of Florence, includes a famous cycle of frescoes by Benozzo Gozzoli, painted in 1459-1461.
Over a rich landscape probably influenced by Flemish artists (perhaps through tapestries), Gozzoli portrayed the members of the Medici family riding in the foreground of the fresco on the wall at the right of the altar. A young Lorenzo il Magnifico leads the procession on a white horse, followed by his father Piero the Gouty and the family founder, Cosimo. Then come Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta and Galeazzo Maria Sforza, respectively lord of Rimini and Milan: they did not take part in the Council, but were guests of the Medici in Florence in the time the frescoes were painted. After them is a procession of illustrious Florentines, such as the humanists Marsilio Ficino and the Pulci brothers, the members of the Art Guilds and Benozzo himself. The painter can be recognized for he is looking towards the observer and for the scroll on his red hat, reading Opus Benotii.

Art in Tuscany | Benozzo Gozzoli, Procession of the Magi in the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi in Florence		  

Spread

    

Renaissance ideals first spread from Florence to the neighbouring states of Tuscany such as Siena and Lucca. The Tuscan culture soon became the model for all the states of Northern Italy, and the Tuscan variety of Italian came to predominate throughout the region, especially in literature. In 1447 Francesco Sforza came to power in Milan and rapidly transformed that still medieval city into a major centre of art and learning that drew Leone Battista Alberti. Venice, one of the wealthiest cities due to its control of the Adriatic Sea, also became a centre for Renaissance culture, especially architecture. Smaller courts brought Renaissance patronage to lesser cities, which developed their characteristic arts: Ferrara, Mantua under the Gonzaga, Urbino under Federico da Montefeltro. In Naples, the Renaissance was ushered in under the patronage of Alfonso I who conquered Naples in 1443 and encouraged artists like Francesco Laurana and Antonello da Messina and writers like the poet Jacopo Sannazaro and the humanist scholar Angelo Poliziano.

In 1417 the Papacy returned to Rome, but that once imperial city remained poor and largely in ruins through the first years of the Renaissance. The great transformation began under Pope Nicholas V, who became pontiff in 1447. He launched a dramatic rebuilding effort that would eventually see much of the city renewed. The humanist scholar Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini became Pope Pius II in 1458. As the papacy fell under the control of the wealthy families, such as the Medici and the Borgias the spirit of Renaissance art and philosophy came to dominate the Vatican. Pope Sixtus IV continued Nicholas' work, most famously ordering the construction of the Sistine Chapel. The popes also became increasingly secular rulers as the Papal States were forged into a centralized power by a series of "warrior popes".

The nature of the Renaissance also changed in the late 15th century. The Renaissance ideal was fully adopted by the ruling classes and the aristocracy. In the early Renaissance artists were seen as craftsmen with little prestige or recognition. By the later Renaissance the top figures wielded great influence and could charge great fees. A flourishing trade in Renaissance art developed. While in the early Renaissance many of the leading artists were of lower- or middle-class origins, increasingly they became aristocrats.

Piero's extraordinary invention of an architectural apse echoed below by another apse, consisting in the figures of the saints gathered around the Madonna, was taken up time and again by artists working at the end of the 15th century and at the beginning of the 16th, particularly in Venice, starting with the almost contemporary paintings of Antonello da Messina and Giovanni Bellini. This organized composition, typical of Piero's work, contained within a unity of space and lighting, seems however to have a new feel about it, as though the artist were taking part in the new currents being developed in Italian art after 1470. The new trends are dictated primarily by the great popularity that Netherlandish painting was enjoying, particularly in Urbino.

Piero della Francesca was one of the great artists of the early Italian Renaissance. He painted religious works that are marked by their simple serenity and clarity. He was also interested in geometry and mathematics and was known for his contributions in these fields. He probably studied painting with one of several skilled artists of the Sienese school who lived in Sansepolcro. By 1439 Piero was working with Domenico Veneziano on frescoes for the hospital of Santa Maria Nuova in Florence. His experience and contacts in Florence, where he would have seen the works of such sculptors, artists, and architects as Donatello, Brunelleschi, Masaccio, and Fra Angelico, had a profound influence on Piero's style. Piero was skilled in perspective, and his paintings are also known for the care with which he rendered the landscapes that provide the backgrounds for his figures. Throughout his life he maintained his ties with Sansepolcro, but he traveled widely. In addition to Florence, he also worked in Rimini, Arezzo, Ferrara, and Rome. For Count Federigo da Montefeltro he painted a diptych, or two-panel painting, that portrays the count and his wife and was probably done in honor of their wedding. Another notable accomplishment of Piero's was a series of frescoes entitled The Legend of the True Cross. In the last years of his life Piero apparently ceased painting to pursue other interests, including writing. He wrote a treatise on painting and others on geometry and applied mathematics. It is said, but not proved, that he lost his sight toward the end of his life. Piero died in Sansepolcro on Oct. 12, 1492.

  



Piero della Francesca, Portrait of Federico da Montefeltro, in Madonna and Child with Saints (Montefeltro Altarpiece, 1472-1474), Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan

 
The Montefeltro Altarpiece was executed between 1472 to 1474. The complex and majestic architectural background, against which the 'sacra conversazione' takes place, is clearly derived from designs very similar to the ones followed by Alberti in his construction of the church of Sant'Andrea in Mantua. Yet, at the same time, the architecture anticipates certain 'classical' elements which will be used by the young Bramante - another extraordinary artist from Urbino. In this painting, too, the artist's mastery of proportions is remarkable; it is almost symbolized by the large ostrich egg hanging from the shell in the apse. The shape of this symbolic element is echoed by the near perfect oval of the Madonna's head, placed in the absolute centre of the composition. In this painting Piero places his vanishing point at an unusually high level, more or less at the same height as the figures' hands, with the result that his sacred characters, placed in a semicircle, appear less monumental.

Art in Tuscany | Piero della Francesca, Madonna and Child with Saints or the Montefeltro Altarpiece (1472-1474) 		 

Wider population

As a cultural movement, the Italian Renaissance affected only a small part of the population. Northern Italy was the most urbanized region of Europe, but three quarters of the people were still rural peasants. For this section of the population, life was essentially unchanged from the Middle Ages. Classic feudalism had never been prominent in Northern Italy, and most peasants worked on private farms or as sharecroppers. Some scholars see a trend towards refeudalization in the later Renaissance as the urban elites turned themselves into landed aristocrats.

The situation was very different in the cities. These were dominated by a commercial elite; as exclusive as the aristocracy of any Medieval kingdom. It was this group that was the main patron of and audience for Renaissance culture. Below them there was a large class of artisans and guild members who lived comfortable lives and had significant power in the republican governments. This was in sharp contrast to the rest of Europe where artisans were firmly in the lower class. Literate and educated, this group did participate in the Renaissance culture. The largest section of the urban population was the urban poor of semi-skilled workers and the unemployed. Like the peasants the Renaissance had little effect on them. Historians debate how easy it was to move between these groups during the Italian Renaissance. Examples of individuals who rose from humble beginnings can be instanced, but Burke notes two major studies in this area that have found that the data do not clearly demonstrate an increase in social mobility. Most historians feel that early in the Renaissance social mobility was quite high, but that it faded over the course of the 15th century. Inequality in society was very high. An upper-class figure would control hundreds of times more income than a servant or labourer. Some historians feel that this unequal distribution of wealth was important to the Renaissance, as art patronage relies on the very wealthy.

The Renaissance was not a period of great social or economic change, only of cultural and ideological development. It only touched a small fraction of the population, and in modern times this has led many historians, such as any that follow historical materialism, to reduce the importance of the Renaissance in human history. These historians tend to think in terms of "Early Modern Europe" instead. Roger Osborne argues that "The Renaissance is a difficult concept for historians because the history of Europe quite suddenly turns into a history of Italian painting, sculpture and architecture."

Renaissance end

    
The end of the Renaissance is as imprecisely marked as its starting point. For many, the rise to power in Florence of the austere monk Girolamo Savonarola in 1494-1498 marks the end of the city's flourishing; for others, the triumphant return of the Medici marks the beginning of the late phase in the arts called Mannerism. Other accounts trace the end of the Italian Renaissance to the French invasions of the early 16th century and the subsequent conflict between France and Spanish rulers for control of Italian territory. Savonarola rode to power on a widespread backlash over the secularism and indulgence of the Renaissance – his brief rule saw many works of art destroyed in the "Bonfire of the Vanities" in the centre of Florence. With the Medici returned to power, now as Grand Dukes of Tuscany, the counter movement in the church continued. In 1542 the Sacred Congregation of the Inquisition was formed and a few years later the Index Librorum Prohibitorum banned a wide array of Renaissance works of literature.

Equally important was the end of stability with a series of foreign invasions of Italy known as the Italian Wars that would continue for several decades. These began with the 1494 invasion by France that wreaked widespread devastation on Northern Italy and ended the independence of many of the city-states. Most damaging was the May 6, 1527, Spanish and German troops' sacking Rome that for two decades all but ended the role of the Papacy as the largest patron of Renaissance art and architecture.

While the Italian Renaissance was fading, the Northern Renaissance adopted many of its ideals and transformed its styles. A number of Italy's greatest artists chose to emigrate. The most notable example was Leonardo da Vinci who left for France in 1516, but teams of lesser artists invited to transform the Château de Fontainebleau created the school of Fontainebleau that infused the style of the Italian Renaissance in France. From Fontainebleau, the new styles, transformed by Mannerism, brought the Renaissance to Antwerp and thence throughout Northern Europe.
This spread north was also representative of a larger trend. No longer was the Mediterranean Europe's most important trade route. In 1498, Vasco da Gama reached India, and from that date the primary route of goods from the Orient was through the Atlantic ports of Lisbon, Seville, Nantes, Bristol, and London. These areas quickly surpassed Italy in wealth and power.
  

Frescos on the life and deeds of Enea Silvio Piccolomini, Pope Pius II, in the Piccolomini Library of the Siena cathedral. Scene: E. S. Piccolomini presents the bride Eleanor of Portugal to Frederick III.

Culture

  
 
 
 

The Renaissance (in Italian: Rinascimento) is a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Florence in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historic era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not uniform across Europe, this is a general use of the term. As a cultural movement, it encompassed a resurgence of learning based on classical sources, the development of linear perspective in painting, and gradual but widespread educational reform. Traditionally, this intellectual transformation has resulted in the Renaissance being viewed as a bridge between the Middle Ages and the Modern era. Although the Renaissance saw revolutions in many intellectual pursuits, as well as social and political upheaval, it is perhaps best known for its artistic developments and the contributions of such polymaths as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, who inspired the term "Renaissance man".

Art in Tuscany | Italian Renaissance
Piero della Francesca | Flagellation of Christ, Urbino
Piero della Francesca, The Flagellation, c. 1455, Oil and tempera on panel, 59 x 82 cm, Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, Urbino
Renaissance painting differed from the painting of the Late Medieval period in its emphasis upon the close observation of nature, particularly with regards to human anatomy, and the application of scientific principles to the use of perspective and light. The Flagellation of Christ by Piero della Francesca demonstrates in a single small work many of the themes of Italian Renaissance painting, both in terms of compositional elements and subject matter. Immediately apparent is Piero's mastery of perspective and light. The architectural elements, including the tiled floor which becomes more complex around the central action, combine to create two spaces. The inner space is lit by an unseen light source to which Jesus looks. Its exact location can be pinpointed mathematically by an analysis of the diffusion and the angle of the shadows on the coffered ceiling. The three figures who are standing outside are lit from a different angle, from both daylight and light reflected from the pavement and buildings.
The composition is complex and unusual, and its iconography has been the subject of widely differing theories. Kenneth Clark placed The Flagellation in his personal list of the best ten paintings, calling it 'the greatest small painting in the world'.

Art in Italy | Piero della Francesca, The Flagellation
Piero della Francesca, Battle between Heraclius and Chosroes, fresco, San Francesco, Arezzo

Piero della Francesca's most important work was the fresco cycle he painted in the apse of San Francesco in Arezzo which depicts the Legend of the True Cross in ten scenes. All of these frescoes, including The Battle between Heraclius and Chosroes, contain many of the stylistic and scientific developments of painting that occurred during the Early Renaissance: a love for monumental compositions, the use of perspective, proportions, light, and colour to create realism in both figures and landscape. Typical of the Early Renaissance, the expressions of the figures are calm and detached even as they engage in battle.

Art in Italy | Piero della Francesca | The Legend of the True Cross | The Frescoes of San Francesco in Arrezzo

The Italian Renaissance | Culture
 
 


[1] The Italian Renaissance is best known for its cultural achievements. Accounts of Renaissance literature usually begin with Petrarch (best known for the elegantly polished vernacular sonnet sequence of the Canzoniere and for the craze for book collecting that he initiated) and his friend and contemporary Boccaccio (author of the Decameron). Famous vernacular poets of the 15th century include the renaissance epic authors Luigi Pulci (author of Morgante), Matteo Maria Boiardo (Orlando Innamorato), and Ludovico Ariosto (Orlando Furioso). 15th century writers such as the poet Poliziano and the Platonist philosopher Marsilio Ficino made extensive translations from both Latin and Greek. In the early 16th century, Castiglione (The Book of the Courtier) laid out his vision of the ideal gentleman and lady, while Machiavelli cast a jaundiced eye on "la verità effettuale della cosa"—the actual truth of things—in The Prince, composed, humanist style, chiefly of parallel ancient and modern examples of Virtù. Italian Renaissance painting exercised a dominant influence on subsequent European painting (see Western painting) for centuries afterwards, with artists such as Giotto di Bondone, Masaccio, Piero della Francesca, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Perugino, Michelangelo, Raphael, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, and Titian. The same is true for architecture, as practiced by Brunelleschi, Leone Alberti, Andrea Palladio, and Bramante. Their works include Florence Cathedral, St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, and the Tempio Malatestiano in Rimini (to name a only a few, not to mention many splended private residences: see Renaissance architecture). Finally, the Aldine Press, founded by the printer Aldo Manuzio, active in Venice, developed Italic type and the small, relatively portable and inexpensive printed book that could be carried in one's pocket, as well as being the first to publish editions of books in Ancient Greek. Yet cultural contributions notwithstanding, some present-day historians also see the era as one of the beginning of economic regression for Italy ( there were some economic downturns due to the opening up of the Atlantic trade routes and repeated foreign invasions and interference by both France and the Spanish Empire).

Art in Tuscany | Art during the Italian Renaissance

Tuscany is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. Known for its enchanting landscapes, its fantastic and genuine food and beautiful towns as Florence, Pisa, Lucca and Siena. Podere Santa Pia is an elegant and luminous house and attached apartment in the characteristic Maremma region, just a few steps from Montalcino, Pienza, Montepulciano, Abbadia di Sant' Antimo and San Quirico d'Orcia, famous for their artistic heritage, wine, olive oil production and gastronomic traditions. The strategical geographical position in southern Tuscany will give you the opportunity of arriving in Siena and other important cities of art in Tuscany, such as San Gimignano, Volterra and Massa Marittima.
Podere Santa Pia , with its wide panoramic terrace overlooking the Maremma, is the ideal place to enjoy the beauty of Tuscany and to pass a very relaxing holiday in contemplation of nature, with the advantage of tasting the most typical dishes of Tuscan cuisine and its best wines.
The extreme simplicity of Tuscan cuisine is its strongest strength, as the flavours that emerge during the cooking process are vibrant and pure. A little known fact about Tuscan cuisine is that the French learned how to cook from their Tuscan counterparts when it was imported by Catherine de' Medici into the court of Henry II. The Tuscan style of cooking is richly flavoured and wholesome. With its original kitchen and the wood burning pizza oven, Casa Santa Pia offers an upbeat atmosphere.

Tuscan Holiday houses | Podere Santa Pia
 
 
   
Podere Santa Pia
Podere Santa Pia, garden
Florence, Duomo
         

Villa I Tatti
Spoleto
Villa di Geggiano


Siena, Palazzo Sansedoni
Abbey of Sant 'Antimo
Siena, duomo
         

The Powerful Families of Renaissance Italy
At the time of the Borgia papacy, Italy was ruled by several types of government: territorial overlords called signore, marquises, dukes, and kings - as in the case of Naples (Venice was an oligarchial republic ruled by a military duke, called the Doge). Some of these princes were technically papal vassals - hereditary rulers who received the rights to own and inherit immovable property and revenue. They "owned" their lands under two major conditions: 1. They must send annual tribute to the granter, and 2. They must defend and protect the interest of the granter.

The Kingdom of Italy, when it was a satellite of the Holy Roman Empire under Frederick I (Barbarossa), was ruled by imperial vassals who held northern Italian lands in fief for the Holy Roman Emperor. Gradual changes in the makeup of the Holy Roman Empire led to the deterioration of its control in much of northern and central Italy. Some of these lords and princes gradually asserted their authority and maintained their independence from the Empire. At the same time, they were alternately free, papal, and conquered realms until the Italian Wars (1494-1550s) and later Unification of Italy (1850s).

Many important cities in Renaissance Italy were ruled by hereditary noble families, elites in control of independent communes, republics, and former imperial fiefs that were at war with one another throughout of the 13th and 14th centuries. The borders of 1492 Italy were continually being shaped by some of these powerful ruling dynasties.

Two of the most famous, or infamous, Renaissance ruling families were the Medici family of Florence and the Borgia family of Rome. Perhaps less well-known and less powerful than the Medici, the Borgia family has an even more sinister reputation. They are remembered as much for their treachery as for their political accomplishments. The head of the family, Rodrigo Borgia (1431-1503), became Pope Alexander VI in 1492, an office he held until his death in 1503. Although Alexander supposedly died from malaria in 1503 at the age of seventy-two, rumors circulate even now that he met his end after mistakenly eating a piece of poisoned fruit intended for one of his guests.
At the time of the Borgia Papacy, the Este ruled the cities and lands of Ferrara, Modena, and Reggio. The Sforza ruled Milan, Pavia, Pesaro, and Caravaggio. The Medici were de facto rulers of Florence and Pisa up until 1492, when they were expelled. The Republic of Florence reverted to rule by the Signoria from 1494-1502. Piero Soderini was elected Gonfaloniere, and effectively ruled Florence until 1512 with the return of the Medici. The Gonzaga ruled Mantua and the Montefeltro ruled Urbino - both families asserted near total independence by 1400. The Kings of Naples descend from Alfonso V the Magnanimous, (brother of King John II of Aragon). The House of Aragon, used as a surname here, will indicate the rulers of Naples and Sicily between 1442 and 1499. The Orsini and Colonna ruled several cities and controlled several fortresses in and around Rome. The Bentivoglio ruled Bologna until 1506. The Baglioni were papal vicars who ruled Perugia, as were the Malatesta of Rimini. The Petrucci of Siena were nobles of the Republic and after 1487 ousted the signoria and ruled as independent lords, much like the Medici of Florence.

The Este Family of Ferrara
The noble Este Family ruled Ferrara and Modena as vicars of the Holy Roman Empire, whom gradually asserted and protected their independence from the Empire. The Este were culturally refined, wise and capable rulers, and revered by their subjects.
The most famous member of the House of Este is Isabella d'Este, Marchesa of Mantua. She married Francesco II Gonzaga, a powerful condottiero and ruler of a mostly independent city-state in Lombardy. She was known to be a capable diplomat and firm ruler during her husbands many long absences.
Even this highly culturedRenaissance family had their share of brutal inter-family rivalries and murders. In 1505, Lucrezia Borgia's husband, Duke Alfonso I d'Este was very nearly murdered by his own half-brothers Giulio and Ferrante d'Este. Giulio and Ippolito fell in love with Lucrezia's cousin Angela Borgia. Angela preferred Giulio, and later (for many reasons) Ippolito had assassins stab him in both eyes. They were punished by the Duke Alfonso - leading Giulio and the fourth Este brother Ferrante to plot the murder of Alfonso and usurpation of the throne for Ferrante. They did not succeed. Alfonso imprisoned them in the castle dungeons for the rest of their lives.
Lucrezia's son Ercole II married Renée de France, younger daughter of King Louis XII and Anne of Brittany.

The Sforza Family of Milan
The noble House of Sforza had relatively humble origins. Their forefathers were rich rural landowners and successful condottieri, whom alternately fought for Milan, Venice, Naples, against Florence and the Pope. Due to Muzio's military capabilities and success in battle, he was later nicknamed "Sforza," (meaning force) and his descendants took his name. Francesco I Sforza married the only heir to the Milanese duchy, Bianca Maria Sforza. After the Visconti's demise, the short-lived Ambrosian Republic ruled Milan through a few years of warfare and internal unrest. Francesco, as captain general of the Milanese army, was given rule of the city by the signoria. He was able to keep ruling the city and its vast territories without papal investiture due to his popularity and success as a ruler.
Francesco and Bianca Maria Visconti had eight children: Galeazzo Maria, Ippolita Maria, Filippo Maria, Sforza Maria, Ludovico Maria, Ascanio Maria, Elisabetta and Ottaviano.

Galeazzo, Duke of Milan in 1466, was assassinated in 1476 (father of Caterina Sforza). Ippolita, married the Duke of Calabria, was a great friend of il Magnifico Lorenzo de Medici. Filippo Maria, Count of Corsica. Sforza Maria, Duke of Bari.Ludivico Maria was later given the Duchy of Bari upon his brother's death in 1479, then was "chosen" as Duke of Milan after his nephew Gian Galeazzo's untimely death. Ascanio Maria was a powerful Cardinal of the Roman Church, Vice-Chancellor of the Curia under Pope Alexander VI.
The Duchy of Milan made up almost all of modern Northwest Italy. It became a subject state of France after it fell during the Italian Wars led by the King of France, Louis XII. It later came under control of the Holy Roman Empire during the reign of Charles V after his victory in the Battle of Pavia.

The Medici Family of Florence

Members of the merchant-class Medici family of Florence are also called "The Godfathers of the Renaissance." The Medici bank was the most profitable bank in Europe during the Renaissance. The maker of the family fortunes was Giovanni di Bicci de Medici, and his son Cosimo de Medici became the first citizen of the city. He spent 600,000 florins on beautifying Florence and was patron of artists such as Donatello and Fra Lippi. The Medici created a partnership with the Catholic Church. When the Church was split due to the Western Schism, the Medici backed Pope John XXIII and subsequently became the Papal Bankers. Cosimo's grandson, Lorenzo the Magnificent (1449-1492) was a keeper of the peace in Italy, spreading his influence across the Peninsula so that it enjoyed a decade of relative peace. He was also a patron of the arts, with such people as Botticelli, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci flooding his courts.

Pope Leo X (Giovanni de Medici, 1475-1521, Papacy from 1513-1521) was known for his extravagant lifestyle. He once had a boy painted in gold from head to toe parading down the streets of Florence. It was to imply the "return of the Golden Age under Medici Rule" The boy later died as a result of probably lead poison from the gold paint. Pope Clement VII (Giulio de Medici, 1478-1534, Papacy from 1522-1234) took a black slave girl as his mistress. Their child Alessandro became Europe's first black Head of State when he was made Duke of Florence in 1530. Alessandro was assassinated by his cousin Lorenzaccio (Bad Lorenzo) de Medici.
It was under the reign of Leo X that Martin Luther nailed his famous 95 Theses that sparked the growing movement later known as the Protestant Reformation.


The Pazzi family of Florence

About 1429 another wealthy and influential Florentine family, the Pazzi, commissioned Brunelleschi to design a chapel adjacent to the monastic Church of Santa Croce that was intended to be a chapter house (a place of assembly for monks to conduct business).

Pazzi conspiracy, (April 26, 1478), was the unsuccessful plot to overthrow the Medici rulers of Florence; the most dramatic of all political opposition to the Medici family. The conspiracy was led by the rival Pazzi family of Florence.° The conspirators include the Pazzi family (rival bankers), the archbishop of Pisa (a city restless under Florentine control) and a nephew of the pope, Sixtus IV. The pope has recently transferred the papal account from the Medici bank to the Pazzi and would prefer a more docile ruler in Florence. In April 1478 the Pazzi assassinated Lorenzo’s brother Giuliano but failed to kill Lorenzo, and the insurgents, denied support by the citizens, were captured.
In league with the Pazzi were Pope Sixtus IV and his nephew Girolamo Riario, who resented Lorenzo de’ Medici’s efforts to thwart the consolidation of papal rule over the Romagna, a region in north-central Italy, and also the archbishop of Pisa, Francesco Salviati, whom Lorenzo had refused to recognize. An assassination attempt on the Medici brothers was made during mass at the Cathedral of Florence on April 26, 1478. Giuliano de’ Medici was killed by Francesco Pazzi, but Lorenzo was able to defend himself and escaped only slightly wounded. Meanwhile, other conspirators tried to gain control of the government. But the people of Florence rallied to the Medici; the conspirators were ruthlessly pursued and many (including the archbishop of Pisa) were killed on the spot.
The failure of the conspiracy led directly to a two-year war with the papacy that was almost disastrous for Florence. But the most important effect was to strengthen the power of Lorenzo, who not only was rid of his most dangerous enemies but also was shown to have the solid support of the people.
But this is not the end of the crisis. The pope excommunicates Lorenzo de' Medici and persuades the king of Naples, Ferdinand I, to mount an expedition against Florence. During 1479 war drags painfully on, with losses of territory and the expense of maintaining a mercenary army in the field.

 
Leonardo da Vinci,drawing of a hanged
Pazzi conspirator Bernardo di Bandino Baroncelli, 1479

The Gonzaga Family of Mantua
The noble family of Gonzaga ruled Mantua as marquises (Marchesi in Italian), which was one administrative rank below Duke. The first Gonzaga rulers of Mantua were podestas - high ranking government officials - who were later elected as Captains of the People as protectors of the city's defense.
Their 14th century Ghibelline ties to the Holy Roman Empire (as vassals ruling on the behalf of the Emperor) effectively left the city and its territory independent of the major powers in Italy.
The first Marquis, Gian Francesco I and his wife Paola Malatesta, arranged the advantageous marriage of the emperor's niece (some sources list her as his granddaughter) Barbara of Brandenburg to their son Ludovico III Gonzaga.
Their son and successor to the lordship, Federico I married the daughter of Duke Albert III of Bavaria, Margaret of Bavaria. Their children were: Chiara, Francesco II (above at right), Sigismondo, Elisabetta (right), Maddalena, and Giovanni.
Chiara married a Bourbon duke, their son was the famous Charles III, Duke of Bourbon who commanded the imperial troops during the Sack of Rome (1527).
Francesco married Isabella d'Este, later to be known as "the first lady of the world." Elisabetta married Guidobaldo, later the Duke of Urbino.
The Gonzagas ruled Mantua with a firm hand and contributed to its cultural flowering during the Renaissance.

The Montefeltro Family of Urbino

The city was alternately a Ghibelline and Guelph city. The ancient family has ruled Urbino since 1267, as imperial officials - podestàs - of the city. First the city and its territories were ruled by pro-papal lords, then again independent. 1353 marks the time from which the Montefeltro permanently owed its alleigance to the papacy, as Pope Innocent VI (from Avignon) was consolidating the fragmented and war-torn states of the church.

Urbino once more came under the control of the Holy See. Nolfo's grandson, Antonio (1377-1403), took advantage of the rebellion of the Marche and Umbria against the Holy See (1375) to restore his authority in Urbino.

Federico da Montefeltro and Battista Sforza

Guidantonio (1403-1443) was appointed ruler of the Duchy of Spoleto by Pope Martin V (1419) and carried on war against Braccio da Montone with varying fortune. His son, Oddo Antonio, was assassinated after only a few months in power. The Urbinese then offered the lordship to Federico III (1444-1482), the illegitimate son of Guidantonio, a pupil of Vittorino da Feltre's school and a lover of art. Under him Urbino became a cultural center of the Renaissance. He was a successful condottiero in the wars against the Malatesta for control of Rimini, the pope, René of Anjou, and Florence for neighboring lands. Pope Sixtus IV conferred on him the title of Duke of Urbino (1474).
The benevolent rule of Federico's son Guidobaldo was forever marred by the conquests of Cesare Borgia.

Federico's son, Guidobaldo, was married to Elizabetta Gonzaga, the brilliant and educated daughter of Federico I Gonzaga, lord of Mantua. With Guidobaldo's death in 1508, the duchy of Urbino passed through Giovanna to the papal family of Della Rovere — nephews of Guidobaldo.

Federico, nicknamed "the Light of Italy", is a landmark figure in the history of the Italian Renaissance for his contributions to enlightened culture. He imposed justice and stability on his tiny state through the principles of his humanist education; he engaged the best copyists and editors in his private scriptorium to produce the most comprehensive library outside of the Vatican; he supported the development of fine artists, including the early training of the young painter Raphael. Piero della Francesca was the son of a prosperous tanner and wool merchant, he became known for his serene, disciplined exploration of perspective. His fresco cycle for San Francesco at Arezzo, The Legend of the True Cross (1450s), exemplifies his simplicity and clarity of structure, controlled use of perspective, and aura of serenity. His famous diptych portrait of his patrons, Count Federico da Montefeltro and his wife (c. 1470), is known for its unidealized depiction of their features and the use of landscape in the background. Though he had little influence on his contemporaries, Piero's important scientific and poetic contributions to Renaissance painting are now well recognized. Also a writer, he produced theoretical treatises on geometry and perspective.

The Montefeltro family in Urbino was Piero's most generous patron towards 1465. The diptich with the portraits of Battista Sforza and Federico da Montefeltro can be dated at the beginning of this period. In these two relatively small panels Piero attempts a very difficult compositional construction, that had never been attempted before. Behind the profile portrait of the two rulers, which is iconographically related to the heraldic tradition of medallion portraits, the artist adds an extraordinary landscape that extends so far that its boundaries are lost in the misty distance. Yet the relationship between the landscape and the portraits in the foreground is very close, also in meaning: for the portraits, with the imposing hieratic profiles, dominate the painting just as the power of the rulers portrayed dominates over the expanse of their territories. The daringness of the composition lies in this sudden switch between such distant perspective planes.

Art in Tuscany | Diptych Portrait of Battista Sforza and Federico da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino
Art in Tuscany | Federico da Montefeltro

 

Piero della Francesca | Federico da Montefeltro (1422 - 1482)

Diptych Portrait of Federico da Montefeltro and Battista Sforza


The Aragonese Kings of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples was ruled by the royal House of Aragon (between 1442 - 1501), denoted in Italy by the surname d'Aragona. The royal family derives from the House of Trastamara, the ruling family of Aragon, Castle, and Leon. The most famous members are the Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. They would battle France for possession of Naples during the Borgia period.
The Neapolitan House of Aragon derived from the first Aragonese king of Naples - Alfonso V "the Magnanimous." Known in Neapolitan monarch lists as Alfonso I of Aragon, he was also king of the "Crown" of Aragon, which included Aragon proper (roughly northeastern Spain) King of Aragon, Valencia, Majorca, Sardina, Corsica, and Sicily. He conquered Naples in 1442.
Alfonso's Spanish lands were ruled by his brother John II of Aragon, which were later willed to him. When Alfonso died, his illegitimate son Ferdinand I/ Ferrante - pictured above at above right received Naples and Sicily. Ferrante ruled Naples long and with a firm hand against numerous baronial uprisings, clashes with the papacy, and threat of French invasion. His son Alfonso II of Naples (Duke of Calabria), pictured at right, succeeded him as King of Naples in 1494. he ruled for one year before abdicating and leaving the throne to his young son Ferdinand II of Naples (Ferrantino).
Ferdinand II of Aragon (King of Spain) and Ferrante I (King of Naples) were cousins - Ferdinand's father was John II of Aragon, and Ferrante's father was Alfonso V the Magnanimous.

The Orsini Family
The Orsini Family is one of the most celebrated princely families in Medieval Italy and Renaissance Rome. The family has a number of popes (Celestine III, Nicholas III, and Benedict XIII), thirty-four cardinals, and scores of condottieri. One of the most famous was Gentile Virginio Orsini, head of the Bracciano branch of the family.
The Orsini were traditional enemies of the Colonna family, who also produced numerous popes, cardinals, and condottieri. The Orsini owned mnay fine and well-fortified castles in Lazio and around Rome. The biggest is Bracciano (on Lake Bracciano outside of Rome), Avezzano (Abruzzi), Nerola (near Rome), Sant'Angelo Romano (near Rome), Soriano nel Cimino (Viterbo), and Vasanello (Viterbo).
The Orsini married into nearly every noble house in central and southern Italy. For example, Lorenzo de Medici was married to a Roman Orsini (of the Monterotondo line) to enhance his family's prestige (they were considered upstarts); she brought an enormous dowry to Florence. Cardinal Giovanni Battista Orsini was also of this line. The Orsini were closely alligned with the Kingdom of Naples, and were powerful feudal lords "barons" in and around Naples as well as Rome. Taranto was a seat of Orsini power when it was given to the southern line of the family after the defeat of Queen Joanna II of Naples.

The Colonna Family
The Colonna family was a powerful noble papal family (Guelph) of Medieval Italy and Renaissance Rome, supplying one pope and many other leaders. Their family is notable for their bitter feud with the Orsini (above) family over influence in Rome until it was stopped by Papal Bull in 1511.
In 1297 the Colonna family, who had owned Praeneste (by then called Palestrina) from the eleventh century as a fief, revolted from the pope. In the following year the town was taken by Papal forces, razed to the ground and salted by order of Pope Boniface VIII. In 1437 the rebuilt city was captured by the Papal general Giovanni Vitelleschi and once more utterly destroyed at the command of Pope Eugenius IV.
It was rebuilt once more and fortified by Stefano Colonna in 1448. It was again sacked in 1527, and occupied by the Duke of Alba, in 1556.
Prospero, who had joined Cardinal Giluiano della Rovere's party, was imprisoned in Castel Sant'Angelo by Pope Alexander VI. Once freed, he was soon imprisoned again for his allegiance to Charles VIII of France during his invasion of Italy in 1494. Prospero Colonna had an important role in the Spanish victory at Cerignola (1503), which gave Spain the keys to Naples. After Alexander VI's death, he was also able to take back his territories in the Lazio.

Other important members of the Colonna family are famous noblewoman and poet Vittoria Colonna, (friend of Michelangelo), Marcantonio and Fabrizio Colonna (successful condottieri).

The Bentivoglio Family of Bologna
The Bentivoglio ruled the important Romagna city and environs of Bologna from 1401 until 1506. They were a princely family allegedly descended from Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II (through one of his illegitimate sons - Enzio, King of Sicily). During the Guelph and Ghibelline conflicts (14th century) they overthrew rival factions for control of the city with the helkp of heir powerful allies, the Visconti. The Bentivoglio held power on and off for the next twenty-five years when finally the family received the fief of Castel Bolognese, a fortified city not far from Bologna.

Giovanni II at right ruled with his strong-willed wife Ginevra Sforza. Together they had eleven children and married many of them into the nobility of Central Italy.

Giovanni I, who ruled from 1401 to 1402.

Annibale I, murdered in 1443.

Sante I (1426-1463); ruled from 1443-1463.

Giovanni II (1443-1508); ruled from 1463 until he was expelled by Pope Julius II in 1506.

Annibale II reentered the city in 1511 with the help of the French and ruled for a year, and was later assassinated.

The Baglioni Family of Perugia
The Baglioni were successful and wealthy condottieri who exercise rule over the city of Perugia from the 1420s. Gian Paolo Baglioni (1470-1520) fought againstCesare Borgia on behalf of the Varano family in an attempt to regain Camerino in 1500. After contracting withVenice then the pope, In 1520 he was accused of an attempted assassination in Rome. Baglioni was imprisoned in Castel Sant'Angelo and beheaded.
The Baglioni had always fought with the Oddi family for the rule of Perugia in the region of Umbria. They rose to power in the 13th century. They amassed a fortune from the money earned from their condottieri ventures. Each Baglioni had their own palaces in the best part of town and built towers to show off their wealth. Murders, violence and rivalry as commonplace under Baglioni rule, either with the challenging Oddi family or with each other. They massacred the family in 1482 and 1484.

In 1500, at a wedding celebration, half of the Baglioni killed the other half. It was called the Red Wedding and now is what the Baglioni is famous for. The massacre caused many acts of vengeance within the Baglioni family. Gian Paolo Baglioni served under Cesare Borgia as a condottieri. He was one of those generals not killed at Senigallia by Cesare. Later he fought for the great powers of Italy, including Pope Julius II, Venice. They fell from power in the 17th century, selling their power and titles.

The House of Malatesta
The House of Malatesta was an Italian family that ruled Rimini from 1295 until 1500, as well as (in different periods) other lands and towns in Romagna. Malatesta da Veruccio (d. 1312), a Guelph leader, became podestà (chief magistrate) of Rimini in 1239 and made himself sole master of the city after the expulsion of the family's Ghibelline rivals, the Parcitadi, in 1295.

His hunchback son Giovanni Malatesta is chiefly famous because of the 1285 tragedy, recorded in Dante's Inferno, when he killed his wife Francesca da Polenta and his younger brother Paolo, having discovered them in adultery.
In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the Malatesta ruled over a number of papal cities in the Romagna and the Marche, including Pesaro, Fano, Cesena, Fossombrone and Cervia.

Several Malatesta were condottieri at the service of various Italian states. The most famous was Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta (above right), who was engaged in conflict with the papacy over territorial claims. His grandson Pandolfo (lower right) took part in the Battle of Fornovo, and later besieged the French garrison at Novara. Pandolfo's violence and murders gained him the hatred of his subjects: in 1497, a failed rape attempt on a young girl spurred a revolt in Rimini, which he could suppress only with Venetian intervention. He escaped another plot in 1498.Two years later,Cesare Borgia invaded Pandolfo's territories and Pope Alexander VI, Cesare's father, excommunicated him. Rimini was finally incorporated in thePapal States in 1528, after the last failed attempt of Pandolfo's son, Sigismondo.

Piero della Francesca moved to Ferrara where he found a stimulating environment at the Court which was a model of humanist culture. He met the humanist Guarino da Verona and was allowed to study the gems and coins collected by Duke Lionello At that time there was a painting by Rogier Van der Weyden in Ferrara. This allowed Piero to observe the great Flemish artist’s eye for detail and his command of oil painting.
In 1451, Piero left Ferrara for Rimini, which was under the rule of the Malatesta and where he was commissioned to paint the votive fresco of Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta in Tempio Malatestiano. In Rimini, Piero took part in the humanist restoration of the Tempio conceived by Leon Battista Alberti, who, besides leaving important architectural masterpieces in Florence, deeply affected the Courts of Mantua and Urbino.
Shortly after completing the fresco in Rimini, he worked on the cycle The Legend of the True Cross in San Francesco in Arezzo, which was started after 1452.

Art in Tuscany |
Art in Tuscany | Piero della Francesca, Portrait of Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta

 

Piero della Francesca, Portrait of Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, Prince of Rimini (c.1451) Musée du Louvre, Paris

The Petrucci Family of Siena
Antonio Petrucci led an unsuccessful attempt to seize power from the republican government in 1456. He was forced into exile as a result of the failed coup. The remaining family gradually reinforced their land and wealth, and by the 1480s had considerable influence in Siena once again.
Pandolfo Petrucci, called "il Magnifico" for his extensive patronage of the arts, foundations, and grand civic and religious building projects in Siena. He took power in 1487 by means of a gradual series of civil and military coups. He married Agnese Borghese, daughter of a prominent and wealthy member of the oligarchy. He assumed public offices, and appointed members of his faction to others. Most importantly he had the support of the armed city guard, as their captain he also became the protector of the populace.
Cesare Borgia was intent on eliminating the Petrucci, as they were the main obstacle to the conquest of Siena. After the fall of Urbino (July 1502) it seemed to Cesare's captains that the next action of the Borgia would have been against Perugia and then against Siena and Bologna. The growing fear of Cesare's power and the double dealing of his condottieri (who feared cesare would overrun their cities as well) led to the so-called Maggione Conspiracy, from the name of the castle of Giambattista Orisini, whose aim was to eliminate il Valentino. By not appearing personally at the conference at La Maggione, Pandolfo Petrucci (being more astute and foresaw the affects of the conspiracy) escaped the clutches of the Borgia and maintained his rule at Perugia.
 

This page uses material from the Wikipedia article Italian Renaissance and , published under the GNU Free Documentation License.

Pazzi conspiracy | Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 21 Mar. 2011.