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The ambassadors
were at Reggio when they heard that the count had become lord of Milan; for as
soon as the truce had expired, he approached the city with his forces, hoping
quickly to get possession of it in spite of the Venetians, who could bring no
relief except from the side of the Adda, which route he could easily obstruct,
and therefore had no apprehension (being then winter) of their arrival, and he
trusted that, before the return of spring, he would be victorious,
particularly, as by the death of Francesco Piccinino, there remained only
Jacopo his brother, to command the Milanese. The Venetians had sent an
ambassador to Milan to confirm the citizens in their resolution of defense,
promising them powerful and immediate aid. During the winter a few slight
skirmishes had taken place between the count and the Venetians; but on the
approach of milder weather, the latter, under Pandolfo Malatesti, halted with
their army upon the Adda, and considering whether, in order to succor the
Milanese, they ought to risk a battle, Pardolfo, their general, aware of the
count’s abilities, and the courage of his army, said it would be unadvisable to
do so, and that, under the circumstances, it was needless, for the count, being
in great want of forage, could not keep the field, and must soon retire. He
therefore advised them to remain encamped, to keep the Milanese in hope, and
prevent them from surrendering. This advice was approved by the Venetians, both
as being safe, and because, by keeping the Milanese in this necessity, they
might be the sooner compelled to submit to their dominion; for they felt quite
sure that the injuries they had received would always prevent their submission
to the count.
In the
meantime, the Milanese were reduced to the utmost misery; and as the city
usually abounded with poor, many died of hunger in the streets; hence arose
complaints and disturbances in several parts, which alarmed the magistrates,
and compelled them to use their utmost exertions to prevent popular meetings.
The multitude are always slow to resolve on commotion; but the resolution once
formed, any trivial circumstance excites it to action. Two men in humble life,
talking together near the Porta Nuova of the calamities of the city, their own
misery, and the means that might be adopted for their relief, others beginning
to congregate, there was soon collected a large crowd; in consequence of it a
report was spread that the neighborhood of Porta Nuova had risen against the
government. Upon this, all the lower orders, who only waited for an example,
assembled in arms, and chose Gasparre da Vicomercato to be their leader. They
then proceeded to the place where the magistrates were assembled, and attacked
them so impetuously that all who did not escape by flight were slain: among the
number, as being considered a principal cause of the famine, and gratified at
their distress, fell Lionardo Veniero, the Venetian ambassador. Having thus
almost become masters of the city, they considered what course was next to be
adopted to escape from the horrors surrounding them, and to procure peace. A
feeling universally prevailed, that as they could not preserve their own
liberty, they ought to submit to a prince who could defend them. Some proposed
King Alfonso, some the duke of Savoy, and others the king of France, but none
mentioned the count, so great was the general indignation against him. However,
disagreeing with the rest, Gasparre da Vicomercato proposed him, and explained
in detail that if they desired relief from war, no other plan was open, since
the people of Milan required a certain and immediate peace, and not a distant
hope of succor. He apologized for the count’s proceedings, accused the
Venetians, and all the powers of Italy, of which some from ambition and others
from avarice were averse to their possessing freedom. Having to dispose of
their liberty, it would be preferable, he said, to obey one who knew and could
defend them; so that, by their servitude they might obtain peace, and not bring
upon themselves greater evils and more dangerous wars. He was listened to with
the most profound attention; and, having concluded his harangue, it was
unanimously resolved by the assembly, that the count should be called in, and
Gasparre was appointed to wait upon him and signify their desire. By the
people’s command he conveyed the pleasing and happy intelligence to the count,
who heard it with the utmost satisfaction, and entered Milan as prince on the
twenty-sixth of February, 1450, where he was received with the greatest
possible joy by those who, only a short time previously had heaped on him all
the slanders that hatred could inspire.
The news of
this event reaching Florence, orders were immediately sent to the envoys who
were upon the way to Milan, that instead of treating for his alliance with the
count, they should congratulate the duke upon his victory; they, arranging
accordingly, had a most honorable reception, and were treated with all possible
respect; for the duke well knew that in all Italy he could not find braver or
more faithful friends, to defend him against the power of the Venetians, than
the Florentines, who, being no longer in fear of the house of Visconti, found
themselves opposed by the Aragonese and Venetians; for the Aragonese princes of
Naples were jealous of the friendship which the Florentines had always evinced
for the family of France; and the Venetians seeing the ancient enmity of the
Florentines against the Visconti transferred to themselves, resolved to injure
them as much as possible; for they knew how pertinaciously and invariably they
had persecuted the Lombard princes. These considerations caused the new duke
willingly to join the Florentines, and united the Venetians and King Alfonso
against their common enemies; impelling them at the same time to hostilities,
the king against the Florentines, and the Venetians against the duke, who,
being fresh in the government, would, they imagined, be unable to resist them,
even with all the aid he could obtain.
But as the
league between the Florentines and the Venetians still continued, and as the
king, after the war of Piombino, had made peace with the former, it seemed
indecent to commence an open rupture until some plausible reason could be
assigned in justification of offensive measures. On this account each sent
ambassadors to Florence, who, on the part of their sovereigns, signified that
the league formed between them was made not for injury to any, but solely for
the mutual defense of their states. The Venetian ambassador then complained
that the Florentines had allowed Alessandro, the duke’s brother, to pass into
Lombardy with his forces; and besides this, had assisted and advised in the
treaty made between the duke and the marquis of Mantua, matters which he
declared to be injurious to the Venetians, and inconsistent with the friendship
hitherto subsisting between the two governments; amicably reminding them, that
one who inflicts unmerited injury, gives others just ground of hostility, and
that those who break a peace may expect war. The Signory appointed Cosmo de’
Medici to reply to what had been said by the Venetian ambassador, and in a long
and excellent speech he recounted the numerous advantages conferred by the city
on the Venetian republic; showed what an extent of dominion they had acquired
by the money, forces, and counsel of the Florentines, and reminded him that,
although the friendship had originated with the Florentines, they had never
given occasion of enmity; and as they desired peace, they greatly rejoiced when
the treaty was made, if it had been entered into for the sake of peace, and not
of war. True it was, he wondered much at the remarks which had been made,
seeing that such light and trivial matters should give offense to so great a
republic; but if they were worthy of notice he must have it universally
understood, that the Florentines wished their country to be free and open to
all; and that the duke’s character was such, that if he desired the friendship
of the marquis of Mantua, he had no need of anyone’s favor or advice. He
therefore feared that these cavils were produced by some latent motive, which
it was not thought proper to disclose. Be this as it might, they would freely
declare to all, that in the same proportion as the friendship of the
Florentines was beneficial their enmity could be destructive.
The matter was
hushed up; and the ambassadors, on their departure, appeared perfectly
satisfied. But the league between the king and the Venetians made the
Florentines and the duke rather apprehend war than hope for a long continuance
of peace. They therefore entered into an alliance, and at the same time the
enmity of the Venetians transpired by a treaty with the Siennese, and the
expulsion of all Florentine subjects from their cities and territories. Shortly
after this, Alfonso did the same, without any consideration of the peace made
the year previous, and not having even the shadow of an excuse. The Venetians
attempted to take Bologna, and having armed the emigrants, and united to them a
considerable force, introduced them into the city by night through one of the
common sewers. No sooner had they entered, than they raised a cry, by which
Santi Bentivogli, being awakened, was told that the whole city was in
possession of the rebels. But though many advised him to escape, saying that he
could not save the city by his stay, he determined to confront the danger, and
taking arms encouraged his followers, assembled a few friends, attacked and
routed part of the rebels, slew many more, and drove the remainder out of the
city. By this act of bravery all agreed he had fully proved himself a genuine
scion of the house of the Bentivogli.
These events
and demonstrations gave the Florentines an earnest of approaching war; they
consequently followed their usual practice on similar occasions, and created
the Council of Ten. They engaged new condottieri, sent ambassadors to Rome,
Naples, Venice, Milan, and Sienna, to demand assistance from their friends,
gain information about those they suspected, decide such as were wavering, and
discover the designs of the foe. From the pope they obtained only general
expressions of an amicable disposition and admonitions to peace; from the king,
empty excuses for having expelled the Florentines, and offers of safe conduct
for whoever should demand it; and although he endeavored, as much as possible,
to conceal every indication of his hostile designs, the ambassadors felt
convinced of his unfriendly disposition, and observed many preparations tending
to the injury of the republic. The League with the duke was strengthened by
mutual obligations, and through his means they became friends with the Genoese,
the old differences with them respecting reprisals, and other small matters of
dispute, being composed, although the Venetians used every possible means to
prevent it, and entreated the emperor of Constantinople to expel all
Florentines from his dominions; so fierce was the animosity with which they
entered on this war, and so powerful their lust of dominion, that without the
least hesitation they sought the destruction of those who had been the occasion
of their own power. The emperor, however, refused to listen to them. The
Venetian senate forbade the Florentine ambassadors to enter their territories,
alleging, that being in league with the king, they could not entertain them
without his concurrence. The Siennese received the ambassadors with fair words,
fearing their own ruin before the League could assist them, and therefore
endeavored to appease the powers whose attack they were unable to resist. The
Venetians and the king (as was then conjectured) were disposed to send
ambassadors to Florence to justify the war. But the Venetian envoy was not
allowed to enter the Florentine dominions, and the king’s ambassador, being
unwilling to perform his office alone, the embassy was not completed; and thus
the Venetians learned, that however little they might esteem the Florentines,
the latter had still less respect for them.
In the midst of
these fears, the emperor, Frederick III., came into Italy to be crowned. On the
thirtieth of January, 1451, he entered Florence with fifteen hundred horse, and
was most honorably received by the Signory. He remained in the city till the
sixth of February, and then proceeded to Rome for his coronation, where, having
been solemnly consecrated, and his marriage celebrated with the empress, who
had come to Rome by sea, he returned to Germany, and again passed through
Florence in May, with the same honors as upon his arrival. On his return, having
derived some benefits from the marquis of Mantua, he conceded to him Modena and
Reggio. In the meantime, the Florentines did not fail to prepare themselves for
immediate war; and to augment their influence, and strike the enemy with
terror, they, in conjunction with the duke, entered into alliance with the king
of France for the mutual defense of their states. This treaty was published
with great pomp throughout all Italy.
The month of
May, 1452, having arrived, the Venetians thought it not desirable to defer any
longer their attack upon the duke, and with sixteen thousand horse and six
thousand foot assailed his territories in the direction of Lodi, while the
marquis of Montferrat, instigated either by his own ambition or the entreaties
of the Venetians, did the same on the side of Alexandria. The duke assembled a
force of eighteen thousand cavalry and three thousand infantry, garrisoned
Alexandria and Lodi, and all the other places where the enemy might annoy them.
He then attacked the Brescian territory, and greatly harassed the Venetians;
while both parties alike plundered the country and ravaged the smaller towns.
Having defeated the marquis of Montferrat at Alexandria, the duke was able to
unite his whole force against the Venetians and invade their territory.
While the war
in Lombardy proceeded thus, giving rise to various trifling incidents unworthy
of recital, King Alfonso and the Florentines carried on hostilities in Tuscany,
but in a similarly inefficient manner, evincing no greater talent, and
incurring no greater danger. Ferrando, the illegitimate son of Alfonso, entered
the country with twelve thousand troops, under the command of Federigo, lord of
Urbino. Their first attempt was to attack Fojano, in the Val di Chiane; for,
having the Siennese in their favor, they entered the Florentine territory in
that direction. The walls of the castle were weak, and it was small, and
consequently poorly manned, but the garrison were, among the soldiers of that
period, considered brave and faithful. Two hundred infantry were also sent by
the Signory for its defense. Before this castle, thus provided, Ferrando sat
down, and either from the valor of its defenders or his own deficiencies,
thirty-six days elapsed before he took it. This interval enabled the city to
make better provision for places of greater importance, to collect forces and
conclude more effective arrangements than had hitherto been made. The enemy
next proceeded into the district of Chiane, where they attacked two small
towns, the property of private citizens, but could not capture them. They then
encamped before the Castellina, a fortress upon the borders of the Chianti,
within ten miles of Sienna, weak from its defective construction, and still
more so by its situation; but, notwithstanding these defects, the assailants
were compelled to retire in disgrace, after having lain before it forty-four
days. So formidable were those armies, and so perilous those wars, that places
now abandoned as untenable were then defended as impregnable.
While Ferrando
was encamped in the Chianti he made many incursions, and took considerable
booty from the Florentine territories, extending his depredations within six
miles of the city, to the great alarm and injury of the people, who at this
time, having sent their forces to the number of eight thousand soldiers under
Astorre da Faenza and Gismondo Malatesti toward Castel di Colle, kept them at a
distance from the enemy, lest they should be compelled to an engagement; for
they considered that so long as they were not beaten in a pitched battle, they
could not be vanquished in the war generally; for small castles, when lost,
were recovered at the peace, and larger places were in no danger, because the
enemy would not venture to attack them. The king had also a fleet of about
twenty vessels, comprising galleys and smaller craft, which lay off Pisa, and
during the siege of Castellina were moored near the Rocca di Vada, which, from
the negligence of the governor, he took, and then harassed the surrounding
country. However, this annoyance was easily removed by a few soldiers sent by
the Florentines to Campiglia, and who confined the enemy to the coast.
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