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The Florentines
now prepared for war, by raising money and collecting as large a force as
possible. Being in league with the duke of Milan and the Venetians, they
applied to both for assistance. As the pope had proved himself a wolf rather
than a shepherd, to avoid being devoured under false accusations, they
justified their cause with all available arguments, and filled Italy with
accounts of the treachery practiced against their government, exposing the
impiety and injustice of the pontiff, and assured the world that the
pontificate which he had wickedly attained, he would as impiously fill; for he
had sent those whom he had advanced to the highest order of prelacy, in the
company of traitors and parricides, to commit the most horrid treachery in the
church in the midst of divine service and during the celebration of the holy
sacrament, and that then, having failed to murder the citizens, change the
government, and plunder the city, according to his intention, he had suspended
the performance of all religious offices, and injuriously menaced and injured
the republic with pontifical maledictions. But if God was just, and violence
was offensive to him, he would be displeased with that of his viceregent, and
allow his injured people who were not admitted to communion with the latter, to
offer up their prayers to himself. The Florentines, therefore, instead of
receiving or obeying the interdict, compelled the priests to perform divine
service, assembled a council in Florence of all the Tuscan prelates under their
jurisdiction, and appealed against the injuries suffered from the pontiff to a
future general council.
The pope did
not neglect to assign reasons in his own justification, and maintained it was
the duty of a pontiff to suppress tyranny, depress the wicked, and exalt the
good; and that this ought to be done by every available means; but that secular
princes had no right to detain cardinals, hang bishops, murder, mangle, and
drag about the bodies of priests, destroying without distinction the innocent
with the guilty.
Notwithstanding
these complaints and accusations, the Florentines restored to the pope the
cardinal whom they had detained, in return for which he immediately assailed
them with his own forces and those of the king. The two armies, under the
command of Alfonso, eldest son of Ferrando, and duke of Calabria, who had as
his general, Federigo, count of Urbino, entered the Chianti, by permission of
the Siennese, who sided with the enemy, occupied Radda with many other
fortresses, and having plundered the country, besieged the Castellina. The
Florentines were greatly alarmed at these attacks, being almost destitute of
forces, and finding their friends slow to assist; for though the duke sent them
aid, the Venetians denied all obligation to support the Florentines in their
private quarrels, since the animosities of individuals were not to be defended
at the public expense. The Florentines, in order to induce the Venetians to
take a more correct view of the case, sent Tommaso Soderini as their ambassador
to the senate, and, in the meantime, engaged forces, and appointed Ercole,
marquis of Ferrara, to the command of their army. While these preparations were
being made, the Castellina was so hard pressed by the enemy, that the
inhabitants, despairing of relief, surrendered, after having sustained a siege
of forty-two days. The enemy then directed their course toward Arezzo, and
encamped before San Savino. The Florentine army being now in order, went to
meet them, and having approached within three miles, caused such annoyance,
that Federigo d’Urbino demanded a truce for a few days, which was granted, but
proved so disadvantageous to the Florentines, that those who had made the
request were astonished at having obtained it; for, had it been refused, they
would have been compelled to retire in disgrace. Having gained these few days
to recruit themselves, as soon as they were expired, they took the castle in
the presence of their enemies. Winter being now come, the forces of the pope
and king retired for convenient quarters to the Siennese territory. The
Florentines also withdrew to a more commodious situation, and the marquis of
Ferrara, having done little for himself and less for others, returned to his
own territories.
At this time,
Genoa withdrew from the dominion of Milan, under the following circumstances.
Galeazzo, at his death, left a son, Giovan Galeazzo, who being too young to
undertake the government, dissensions arose between Sforza, Lodovico,
Ottaviano, and Ascanio, his uncles, and the lady Bona, his mother, each of whom
desired the guardianship of the young duke. By the advice and mediation of
Tommaso Soderini, who was then Florentine ambassador at the court of Milan, and
of Cecco Simonetta, who had been secretary to Galeazzo, the lady Bona
prevailed. The uncles fled, Ottaviano was drowned in crossing the Adda; the
rest were banished to various places, together with Roberto da San Severino,
who in these disputes had deserted the duchess and joined the uncles of the
duke. The troubles in Tuscany, which immediately followed, gave these princes
hope that the new state of things would present opportunities for their
advantage; they therefore quitted the places to which their exile limited them,
and each endeavored to return home. King Ferrando, finding the Florentines had
obtained assistance from none but the Milanese, took occasion to give the
duchess so much occupation in her own government, as to render her unable to
contribute to their assistance. By means of Prospero Adorno, the Signor
Roberto, and the rebellious uncles of the duke, he caused Genoa to throw off
the Milanese yoke. The Castelletto was the only place left; confiding in which,
the duchess sent a strong force to recover the city, but it was routed by the enemy;
and perceiving the danger which might arise to her son and herself if the war
were continued, Tuscany being in confusion, and the Florentines, in whom alone
she had hope, themselves in trouble, she determined, as she could not retain
Genoa in subjection, to secure it as an ally; and agreed with Battistino
Fregoso, the enemy of Prospero Adorno, to give him the Castelletto, and make
him prince of Genoa, on condition that he should expel Prospero, and do nothing
in favor of her son’s uncles. Upon this agreement, Battistino, by the
assistance of the Castelletto and of his friends, became lord of Genoa; and
according to the custom of the city, took the title of Doge. The Sforzeschi and
the Signor Roberto, being thus expelled by the Genoese, came with their forces
into Lunigiana, and the pope and the king, perceiving the troubles of Lombardy
to be composed, took occasion with them to annoy Tuscany in the Pisan
territory, that the Florentines might be weakened by dividing their forces. At
the close of winter they ordered Roberto da San Severino to leave Lunigiana and
march thither, which he did, and with great tumult plundered many fortresses,
and overran the country around Pisa.
At this time,
ambassadors came to Florence from the emperor, the king of France, and the king
of Hungary, who were sent by their princes to the pontiff. They solicited the
Florentines also to send ambassadors to the pope, and promised to use their
utmost exertion to obtain for them an advantageous peace. The Florentines did
not refuse to make trial, both for the sake of publicly justifying their
proceedings, and because they were really desirous of peace. Accordingly, the
ambassadors were sent, but returned without coming to any conclusion of their
differences. The Florentines, to avail themselves of the influence of the king
of France, since they were attacked by one part of the Italians and abandoned
by the other, sent to him as their ambassador, Donato Acciajuoli, a
distinguished Latin and Greek scholar, whose ancestors had always ranked high
in the city, but while on his journey he died at Milan. To relieve his
surviving family and pay a deserved tribute to his memory, he was honorably
buried at the public expense, provision was made for his sons, and suitable
marriage portions given to his daughters, and Guid’ Antonio Vespucci, a man
well acquainted with pontifical and imperial affairs, was sent as ambassador to
the king in his stead.
The attack of
Signor Roberto upon the Pisan territory, being unexpected, greatly perplexed
the Florentines; for having to resist the foe in the direction of Sienna, they
knew not how to provide for the places about Pisa. To keep the Lucchese
faithful, and prevent them from furnishing the enemy either with money or
provisions, they sent as ambassador Piero di Gino Capponi, who was received
with so much jealousy, on account of the hatred which that city always
cherishes against the Florentines from former injuries and constant fear, that
he was on many occasions in danger of being put to death by the mob; and thus
his mission gave fresh cause of animosity rather than of union. The Florentines
recalled the marquis of Ferrara, and engaged the marquis of Mantua; they also
as earnestly requested the Venetians to send them Count Carlo, son of Braccio,
and Deifobo, son of Count Jacopo, and after many delays, they complied; for
having made a truce with the Turks, they had no excuse to justify a refusal,
and could not break through the obligation of the League without the utmost
disgrace. The counts, Carlo and Deifobo, came with a good force, and being
joined by all that could be spared from the army, which, under the marquis of
Ferrara, held in check the duke of Calabria, proceeded toward Pisa, to meet
Signor Roberto, who was with his troops near the river Serchio, and who, though
he had expressed his intention of awaiting their arrival, withdrew to the camp
at Lunigiana, which he had quitted upon coming into the Pisan territory, while
Count Carlo recovered all the places that had been taken by the enemy in that
district.
The
Florentines, being thus relieved from the attack in the direction of Pisa,
assembled the whole force between Colle and Santo Geminiano. But the army, on
the arrival of Count Carlo, being composed of Sforzeschi and Bracceschi, their
hereditary feuds soon broke forth, and it was thought that if they remained
long in company, they would turn their arms against each other. It was
therefore determined, as the smaller evil, to divide them; to send one party,
under Count Carlo, into the district of Perugia, and establish the other at
Poggibonzi, where they formed a strong encampment in order to prevent the enemy
from penetrating the Florentine territory. By this they also hoped to compel
the enemy to divide their forces; for Count Carlo was understood to have many
partisans in Perugia, and it was therefore expected, either that he would
occupy the place, or that the pope would be compelled to send a large body of
men for its defense. To reduce the pontiff to greater necessity, they ordered
Niccolo Vitelli, who had been expelled from Citta di Castello, where his enemy
Lorenzo Vitelli commanded, to lead a force against that place, with the view of
driving out his adversary and withdrawing it from obedience to the pope. At the
beginning of the campaign, fortune seemed to favor the Florentines; for Count
Carlo made rapid advances in the Perugino, and Niccolo Vitelli, though unable
to enter Castello, was superior in the field, and plundered the surrounding
country without opposition. The forces also, at Poggibonzi, constantly overran
the country up to the walls of Sienna. These hopes, however, were not realized;
for in the first place, Count Carlo died, while in the fullest tide of success;
though the consequences of this would have been less detrimental to the Florentines,
had not the victory to which it gave occasion, been nullified by the misconduct
of others. The death of the count being known, the forces of the church, which
had already assembled in Perugia, conceived hopes of overcoming the
Florentines, and encamped upon the lake, within three miles of the enemy. On
the other side, Jacopo Guicciardini, commissary to the army, by the advice of
Roberto da Rimino, who, after the death of Count Carlo, was the principal
commander, knowing the ground of their sanguine expectations, determined to
meet them, and coming to an engagement near the lake, upon the site of the
memorable rout of the Romans, by Hannibal, the Carthaginian general, the papal
forces were vanquished. The news of the victory, which did great honor to the
commanders, diffused universal joy at Florence, and would have ensured a
favorable termination of the campaign, had not the disorders which arose in the
army at Poggibonzi thrown all into confusion; for the advantage obtained by the
valor of the one, was more than counterbalanced by the disgraceful proceedings
of the other. Having made considerable booty in the Siennese territory,
quarrels arose about the division of it between the marquis of Mantua and the
marquis of Ferrara, who, coming to arms, assailed each other with the utmost
fury; and the Florentines seeing they could no longer avail themselves of the
services of both, allowed the marquis of Ferrara and his men to return home.
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