Europe (c.1400-1458)

58. Italy: Rome

Italy: Rome 259 58 ITALY: ROME 228. AT LONG LAST, I am faced with the affairs of the city of Rome, which call for their own narrative. I will try to do them justice while adhering to my principle of brevity. In Rome, Giovanni Vitelleschi—patriarch of Alexandria, cardinal , legate, governor of the Patrimony of St. Peter, and commander of the papal army, who had defeated and killed in battle the tyrants of Foligno and Camerino, the prefect of Rome, Count Antonio da Pisa,725 and many others who insulted the church—was suddenly attacked by the guards of Castel Sant’Angelo while trying to cross the Sant’Angelo bridge over the Tiber in order to move troops into Tuscany. He was wounded, taken prisoner, and hustled into the castle, where he met his death a few days later, either from drinking poison or as a result of his wound.726 229. Ludovico Scarampo, a cardinal himself and the patriarch of Aquileia, who was already widely known for his achievements and friendship with the pope, then took over his responsibilities.727 After calming the situation in the city, he prepared for the return of Pope Eugenius. The Romans had arrested Eugenius, proclaimed their freedom, and kept him under guard at Santa Maria in Trastevere ; when he tricked his guards and fled by boat down the Tiber, they had pursued him with spears and arrows, for the people were 725. Corrado Trinci of Foligno, defeated in 1439; Piergentile of the Varano family, lord of Camerino, executed in 1433. Count Antonio da Pisa is Antonio da Pontedera, whom Vitelleschi captured and hanged in 1436. See John Law, “Giovanni Vitelleschi: prelate guerriero,” Renaissance Studies 12 (1998): 40–66. 726. Giovanni Vitelleschi (1396–1440) commanded papal troops from the late 1430s to 1440, winning numerous, often brutal, victories. He became titular patriarch of Alexandria and archbishop of Florence in 1435 and cardinal in 1437. It was rumored that he wished to seize the papacy for himself. On the day Vitelleschi was set to depart for Umbria (March 19, 1440), Antonio Rido, the castellan of Castel Sant’Angelo, waited until the cardinal’s troops had passed over the bridge and seized him. Vitelleschi died on April 2, 1440; see Chambers, Popes, Cardinals and War, 42–45. 727. Ludovico Scarampo (1401–65); created cardinal July 1, 1440; see para. 207. 260 Italy: Rome furious at the invasion of a hostile army which was ravaging the Roman countryside and making off with men and livestock. But after Eugenius had been absent for several years, the rich and poor citizens alike had come to see that without the Papal Curia, Rome was less like a city than a vast and empty cave. They therefore sent envoys to Eugenius and ardently begged him to return to his city. He returned in the ninth year after he had fled, and the ignominy of his expulsion was eclipsed by the glory of his welcome home.728 230. There was a dangerous war with Francesco Sforza in the Marches, and in other places, which I will speak of later. Supported byKingAlfonso,Eugeniusbroughtthiswartoaconclusionthrough the mediation of Cardinal Ludovico and Niccolò Piccinino, who had now been reconciled with him. Francesco Sforza had planned to lead his army to the city of Todi, which was friendly to him (for he had once controlled it and ruled the people mildly), and then to Rome. For among the cardinals, there were some who resented the power of Ludovico and issued invitations to Francesco, in opposition not so much to Eugenius himself as to his policy. They say that among these was Niccolò of Capua,729 who held influence and power in the City [Rome]; for during this time, Eugenius saw to his removal from Rome on suspicion of this very thing. But when the church’s reinforcements hastily arrived on the scene, Francesco withdrew without achieving his aim. As for Eugenius, he had once been an enthusiastic supporter of the Venetians and Florentines, but because they were now providing military and monetary aid to his enemy Francesco in opposition to the church, he, too, switched sides to that of their enemies, King Alfonso and the lord of Milan.730 Indeed, through his persuasion the king had come as far as Tivoli to 728. Eugenius IV (r. 1431–47) fled Rome during an uprising on May 29, 1434. He resided in Florence until his return to Rome on September 28, 1443. 729. Niccolò Acciapacci, called the cardinal of...