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The pope,
though anxious to restrain Jacopo Piccinino, did not neglect to make provision
for the defense of Christendom, which seemed in danger from the Turks. He sent
ambassadors and preachers into every Christian country, to exhort princes and
people to arm in defense of their religion, and with their persons and property
to contribute to the enterprise against the common enemy. In Florence, large
sums were raised, and many citizens bore the mark of a red cross upon their
dress to intimate their readiness to become soldiers of the faith. Solemn
processions were made, and nothing was neglected either in public or private,
to show their willingness to be among the most forward to assist the enterprise
with money, counsel, or men. But the eagerness for this crusade was somewhat
abated, by learning that the Turkish army, being at the siege of Belgrade, a
strong city and fortress in Hungary, upon the banks of the Danube, had been
routed and the emperor wounded; so that the alarm felt by the pope and all
Christendom, on the loss of Constantinople, having ceased to operate, they
proceeded with deliberately with their preparations for war; and in Hungary
their zeal was cooled through the death of Giovanni Corvini the Waiwode, who
commanded the Hungarian forces on that memorable occasion, and fell in the
battle.
To return to
the affairs of Italy. In the year 1456, the disturbances occasioned by Jacopo
Piccinino having subsided, and human weapons laid aside, the heavens seemed to
make war against the earth; dreadful tempestuous winds then occurring, which
produced effects unprecedented in Tuscany, and which to posterity will appear
marvelous and unaccountable. On the twenty-fourth of August, about an hour
before daybreak, there arose from the Adriatic near Ancona, a whirlwind, which
crossing from east to west, again reached the sea near Pisa, accompanied by
thick clouds, and the most intense and impenetrable darkness, covering a
breadth of about two miles in the direction of its course. Under some natural
or supernatural influence, this vast and overcharged volume of condensed vapor
burst; its fragments contended with indescribable fury, and huge bodies
sometimes ascending toward heaven, and sometimes precipitated upon the earth,
struggled, as it were, in mutual conflict, whirling in circles with intense
velocity, and accompanied by winds, impetuous beyond all conception; while
flashes of awful brilliancy, and murky, lurid flames incessantly broke forth.
From these confused clouds, furious winds, and momentary fires, sounds issued,
of which no earthquake or thunder ever heard could afford the least idea;
striking such awe into all, that it was thought the end of the world had
arrived, that the earth, waters, heavens, and entire universe, mingling together,
were being resolved into their ancient chaos. Wherever this awful tempest
passed, it produced unprecedented and marvelous effects; but these were more
especially experienced near the castle of St. Casciano, about eight miles from
Florence, upon the hill which separates the valleys of Pisa and Grieve. Between
this castle and the Borgo St. Andrea, upon the same hill, the tempest passed
without touching the latter, and in the former, only threw down some of the
battlements and the chimneys of a few houses; but in the space between them, it
leveled many buildings quite to the ground. The roofs of the churches of St.
Martin, at Bagnolo, and Santa Maria della Pace, were carried more than a mile,
unbroken as when upon their respective edifices. A muleteer and his beasts were
driven from the road into the adjoining valley, and found dead. All the large
oaks and lofty trees which could not bend beneath its influence, were not only
stripped of their branches but borne to a great distance from the places where they
grew, and when the tempest had passed over and daylight made the desolation
visible, the inhabitants were transfixed with dismay. The country had lost all
its habitable character; churches and dwellings were laid in heaps; nothing was
heard but the lamentations of those whose possessions had perished, or whose
cattle or friends were buried beneath the ruins; and all who witnessed the
scene were filled with anguish or compassion. It was doubtless the design of
the Omnipotent, rather to threaten Tuscany than to chastise her; for had the
hurricane been directed over the city, filled with houses and inhabitants,
instead of proceeding among oaks and elms, or small and thinly scattered
dwellings, it would have been such a scourge as the mind, with all its ideas of
horror, could not have conceived. But the Almighty desired that this slight
example should suffice to recall the minds of men to a knowledge of himself and
of his power.
To return to
our history. King Alfonso was dissatisfied with the peace, and as the war which
he had unnecessarily caused Jacopo Piccinino to make against the Siennese, had
produced no important result, he resolved to try what could be done against
those whom the conditions of the League permitted him to attack. He therefore,
in the year 1456, assailed the Genoese, both by sea and by land, designing to
deprive the Fregosi of the government and restore the Adorni. At the same time,
he ordered Jacopo Piccinino to cross the Tronto, and attack Gismondo Malatesti,
who, having fortified his territories, did not concern himself, and this part
of the king’s enterprise produced no effect; but his proceedings against Genoa
occasioned more wars against himself and his kingdom than he could have wished.
Piero Fregoso was then doge of Genoa, and doubting his ability to sustain the
attack of the king, he determined to give what he could not hold, to some one
who might defend it against his enemies, in hope, that at a future period, he
should obtain a return for the benefit conferred. He therefore sent ambassadors
to Charles VII. of France, and offered him the government of Genoa. Charles
accepted the offer, and sent John of Anjou, the son of King René, who had a
short time previously left Florence and returned to France, to take possession
with the idea, that he, having learned the manners and customs of Italy, would
be able to govern the city; and also that this might give him an opportunity of
undertaking the conquest of Naples, of which René, John’s father, had been
deprived by Alfonso. John, therefore, proceeded to Genoa, where he was received
as prince, and the fortresses, both of the city and the government, given up to
him. This annoyed Alfonso, with the fear that he had brought upon himself too
powerful an enemy. He was not, however, dismayed; but pursued his enterprise
vigorously, and had led his fleet to Porto, below Villamarina, when he died
after a sudden illness, and thus John and the Genoese were relieved from the
war. Ferrando, who succeeded to the kingdom of his father Alfonso, became alarmed
at having so powerful an enemy in Italy, and was doubtful of the disposition of
many of his barons, who being desirous of change, he feared would take part
with the French. He was also apprehensive of the pope, whose ambition he well
knew, and who seeing him new in the government, might design to take it from
him. He had no hope except from the duke of Milan, who entertained no less
anxiety concerning the affairs of the kingdom than Ferrando; for he feared that
if the French were to obtain it, they would endeavor to annex his own
dominions; which he knew they considered to be rightfully their own. He,
therefore, soon after the death of Alfonso, sent letters and forces to
Ferrando; the latter to give him aid and influence, the former to encourage him
with an intimation that he would not, under any circumstances, forsake him. The
pontiff intended, after the death of Alfonso, to give the kingdom of Naples to
his nephew Piero Lodovico Borgia, and, to furnish a decent pretext for his
design and obtain the concurrence of the powers of Italy in its favor he
signified a wish to restore that realm to the dominion of the church of Rome;
and therefore persuaded the duke not to assist Ferrando. But in the midst of
these views and opening enterprises, Calixtus died, and Pius II. of Siennese
origin, of the family of the Piccolomini, and by name Æneas, succeeded to the
pontificate. This pontiff, free from the ties of private interest, having no
object but to benefit Christendom and honor the church, at the duke’s entreaty crowned
Ferrando king of Naples; judging it easier to establish peace if the kingdom
remained in the hands which at present held it, than if he were to favor the
views of the French, or, as Calixtus purposed, take it for himself. Ferrando,
in acknowledgment of the benefit, created Antonio, one of the pope’s nephews,
prince of Malfi, gave him an illegitimate daughter of his own in marriage, and
restored Benevento and Terracina to the church.
It thus
appeared that the internal dissensions of Italy might be quelled, and the
pontiff prepared to induce the powers of Christendom to unite in an enterprise
against the Turks (as Calixtus had previously designed) when differences arose
between the Fregosi and John of Anjou, the lord of Genoa, which occasioned
greater and more important wars than those recently concluded. Pietrino Fregoso
was at his castle of Riviera, and thought he had not been rewarded by John in
proportion to his family’s merits; for it was by their means the latter had
become prince of the city. This impression drove the parties into open enmity;
a circumstance gratifying to Ferrando, who saw in it relief from his troubles,
and the sole means of procuring his safety: he therefore assisted Pietrino with
money and men, trusting to drive John out of the Genoese territory. The latter
being aware of his design, sent for aid to France; and, on obtaining it,
attacked Pietrino, who, through his numerous friends, entertained the strongest
assurance of success; so that John was compelled to keep within the city, into
which Pietrino having entered by night, took possession of some parts of it;
but upon the return of day, his people were all either slain or made prisoners
by John’s troops, and he himself was found among the dead.
This victory
gave John hopes of recovering the kingdom; and in October, 1459, he sailed
thither from Genoa, with a powerful fleet, and landed at Baia; whence he
proceeded to Sessa, by the duke of which place he was favorably received. The
prince of Taranto, the Aquilani, with several cities and other princes, also
joined him; so that a great part of the kingdom fell into his hands. On this
Ferrando applied for assistance to the pope and the duke of Milan; and, to
diminish the number of his enemies, made peace with Gismondo Malatesti, which gave
so much offense to Jacopo Piccinino, the hereditary enemy of Gismondo, that he
resigned his command under Ferrando, and joined his rival. Ferrando also sent
money to Federigo, lord of Urbino, and collected with all possible speed what
was in those times considered a tolerable army; which, meeting the enemy upon
the river Sarni, an engagement ensued in which Ferrando was routed, and many of
his principal officers taken. After this defeat, the city of Naples alone, with
a few smaller places and princes of inferior note, adhered to Ferrando, the
greater part having submitted to John. Jacopo Piccinino, after the victory,
advised an immediate march upon Naples; but John declined this, saying, he
would first reduce the remainder of the kingdom, and then attack the seat of
government. This resolution occasioned the failure of his enterprise; for he
did not consider how much more easily the members follow the head than the head
the members.
After his
defeat, Ferrando took refuge in Naples, whither the scattered remnants of his
people followed him; and by soliciting his friends, he obtained money and a
small force. He sent again for assistance to the pope and the duke, by both of
whom he was supplied more liberally and speedily than before; for they began to
entertain most serious apprehensions of his losing the kingdom. His hopes were
thus revived; and, marching from Naples, he regained his reputation in his
dominions, and soon obtained the places of which he had been deprived. While
the war was proceeding in the kingdom, a circumstance occurred by which John of
Anjou lost his influence, and all chance of success in the enterprise. The
Genoese had become so weary of the haughty and avaricious dominion of the
French, that they took arms against the viceroy, and compelled him to seek
refuge in the castelletto; the Fregosi and the Adorni united in the enterprise
against him, and were assisted with money and troops by the duke of Milan, both
for the recovery and preservation of the government. At the same time, King René
coming with a fleet to the assistance of his son, and hoping to recover Genoa
by means of the castelletto, upon landing his forces was so completely routed,
that he was compelled to return in disgrace to Provence. When the news of his
father’s defeat reached Naples, John was greatly alarmed, but continued the war
for a time by the assistance of those barons who, being rebels, knew they would
obtain no terms from Ferrando. At length, after various trifling occurrences,
the two royal armies came to an engagement, in which John was routed near
Troia, in the year 1463. He was, however, less injured by his defeat than by
the desertion of Jacopo Piccinino, who joined Ferrando; and, being abandoned by
his troops, he was compelled to take refuge in Istria, and thence withdrew to
France. This war continued four years. John’s failure was attributable to
negligence; for victory was often within his grasp, but he did not take proper
means to secure it. The Florentines took no decisive part in this war. John,
king of Aragon, who succeeded upon the death of Alfonso, sent ambassadors to
request their assistance for his nephew Ferrando, in compliance with the terms
of the treaty recently made with his father Alfonso. The Florentines replied,
that they were under no obligation; that they did not think proper to assist
the son in a war commenced by the father with his own forces; and that as it
was begun without either their counsel or knowledge, it must be continued and
concluded without their help. The ambassadors affirmed the engagement to be
binding on the Florentines, and themselves to be answerable for the event of
the war; and then in great anger left the city.
Thus with
regard to external affairs, the Florentines continued tranquil during this war;
but the case was otherwise with their domestic concerns, as will be
particularly shown in the following book.
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