"... Neapolitan soldiers, unchecked by their commander, set fire to houses, looted the sacristy of St Peter's, stabled their horses in this ancient basilica, ransacked sanctuaries and churches, and sat down amid their loot with prostitutes, drinking wine from consecrated chalices [pp. 6-7]."*But Rome in those days was already in a very sorry state. For over a hundred years there had been two popes, sometimes more, one in Italy and another elected pope who lived in Avignon, France. The reasons why this happened were complicated, but a primary one was how badly security had gotten in the 'eternal city'. Again from Christopher Hibbert,
"... the charred shells of burned-out buildings, piles of rotting refuse, deserted palaces, derelict churches, stagnant swamps, fortresses abandoned by their rich owners... a lawless ruin, a city torn by violence in which belligerent factions paraded through the streets with daggers and swords, where houses were invaded and looted by armed bands, pilgrims and travellers were robbed, nuns violated in their convents, and long lines of flaggelants filed through the gates, barefoot, their heads covered in cowls, claiming board and lodging but offering no money...weeds growing up between the stones littering the piazzas and flourishing in the overgrown, rat-infested ruins of the Campo Marzio; cattle grazed by the altars of roofless churches; robbers lurked in the narrow alleys; at night wolves fought dogs beneath the walls of St Peter's and dug up corpses in the nearby Campo Santo. [pp. 3-4]."
Hibbert is describing a Rome that was torn and seemed to be waning at last. Hibbert then charts the course of nearly a century's worth of papacies in Rome. Some marked improvements heralded by pope Martin V, after the Council of Constance (1418), and the jubilee celebration in 1450 of Nicholas V, that raised so much money on pilgrims, are mentioned [pp. 7-8]. But this is mere prelude to Hibbert's main topic, The Borgias, which is just one of his many books on Renaissance Italy, for English.
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Another picture of Rome, looking about a generation later, also emphasizes the physical dangers of the city and the rest of Italy in the times that we call the Renaissance of Italy. Elizabeth Lev vividly tells the story of Caterina Sforza in her book The Tigress of Forli. As daughter of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, the Duke of Milan, she grew up in privilege that only a very few knew. She had travelled in the entourage of the Duke during his tour of neighboring city-states in 1471 when she was eight. Then there were two thousand cavalrymen, five hundred infantrymen, fourteen carriages as well as, "... a thousand dogs and innumerable hawks and falcons as well as dwarfs, jesters, and musicians [p. 7]."† So Caterina had some idea what she was in store for when moving to Rome, at the age of thirteen to be brought to her husband, Count Girolamo Riario, the papal captain of Pope Sixtus IV.
The life of the Count himself had been endangered in 1477, so Caterina's transit was delayed. Two men had been arrested and had confessed that they, approached by a bishop (the patriarch of Venice ), would reward them, if they, in the name of Giuliano della Rovere - the Count's cousin- would assassinate the same Count, the pope's captain. Caterina's husband, Girolamo. The pope reassigned a trusted man, Giovanni Battista da Montesecco to guard his captain and sent letters to Caterina, cleverly urging her to stay in the north as the summer came on, to avoid the pestilential air in the south [p. 35].
Caterina herself either did not receive the letters or ignored them. She went ahead and embarked on the twelve day journey from Imola to Rome. Outside the city at Castel Novo she met her husband at last after four years of waiting. The pope had granted an additional escort for the Count venturing outside the city and he gave them to the Milanesi escort of Caterina. As our historian Lev points out,
"...Caterina, unaware of the plots against her husband, would have taken their [the soldier's] presence as an indication of his powerful position rather than protection against assassins. [p. 36]."The next day was a festival day, Pentecost Sunday, seven weeks after Easter.
"At the Roman gates, an astounding sight awaited her. Six thousand horsemen appeared from all sides and fell in with Caterina as she made her way to Saint Peter's Basilica. She was shown to a place of honor there as the pope entered in procession with the College of Cardinals to celebrate the solemn Mass of Pentecost, which lasted a full three hours. Afterward, Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere, back in papal favor, and Count Girolamo conducted Caterina, Gian Luigi Bossi [her minder, who represented the family's interests back in Milan], and the dignitaries of her escort to Sixtus." [pp. 37-8]____________________________________________
* Christopher Hibbert, The Borgias and their enemies: 1431-1519 : 2008, USA, Harcourt Books
† Elizabeth Lev, The Tigress of Forli: Renaissance Italy's most courageous and notorious countess, Caterina Riario Sforza de'Medici : 2011, USA, Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt Publishing Company
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