_The Scaligers_
The rule of Mastino I. in Verona was marked by the endeavours he made to
assuage the factions in the town, and to conciliate by a policy of
pardon and goodwill those nobles whose politics and actions were opposed
to his own. He recalled Lodovico di San Bonificio, the head of the
Guelph party, and regardless of the fact that this deed excited much
opposition, and provoked an attempt on his life, he followed it up by a
grant of fresh pardons to Turrisendo dei Turrisendi, Pulcinella delle
Carceri, and Cosimo da Lendinara, other Guelph leaders. These nobles
repaid Mastino’s magnanimity by organizing a rebellion to restore Guelph
influence in Verona. The plot however failed; and Mastino, seeing the
uselessness of showing mercy to those who had repaid him in so sorry a
way, put many of the conspirators to death, and exiled the Count of San
Bonificio anew.
In 1262 by the “unanimous wish” of the populace Mastino was elected
“Captain of the People”; an election which proved his popularity among
the lower classes of the town irrespective of that felt for him by the
patricians and upper classes. Mastino was moreover successful in an
expedition he organized against Trent; he also reduced Piacenza to his
rule; and gained over Cremona to the Ghibelline faction. He espoused the
cause of Conradin, the last of the Hohenstauffens, and received the
luckless youth at Verona in 1267 when on his way to claim the throne of
Sicily. After a stay of two months Conradin left Verona, being
accompanied to Pavia by Frederick of Austria and Mastino della Scala.
The boy-king appointed Mastino “Podestă,” or Rector of Pavia, and at
the end of March 1268, he started on the fatal expedition to Sicily
which cost him both his kingdom and his life.
Mastino returned to Verona to find fresh disorders and tumults in the
city; and wars and fightings ensued when Bocca della Scala, one of his
brothers, was killed. After much strife an important point was gained in
the submission of the town of Mantua; a town that for years had headed
every rise of the Guelph party, and shown the keenest animosity against
Verona. This was in 1274, and Alberto della Scala, another brother of
Mastino’s and who was to succeed him as lord of Verona and in carrying
on the dynasty, was sent at once to Mantua as “Podestă.”
Three years later, on October 26, 1277, Mastino della Scala was
treacherously murdered together with Antonio Nogarola who happened to be
with him at the moment. No reason has been discovered for the cause of
this murder. Some accounts declare that Mastino fell a victim to a
conspiracy planned against him by the families of Scaramelli and
Pigozzi; others that he was striving to make peace between two inimical
parties who stabbed him in return for his good offices. It has even been
hinted that his brother Alberto was the real author of the
assassination, but no conclusive evidence exists to countenance so foul
an accusation. The scene of the murder was close to Mastino’s own house,
in a courtyard known as the “Volto Barbaro,” not as most writers assert
from the “barbarous” act here committed, but from its being the quarter
inhabited by the family of the Barbaro who had their dwelling-place in
that spot.[16]
Mastino’s murder was fully avenged. Alberto hastened from Mantua, and
passed sentence of death or of exile on those assassins who had escaped
the summary justice meted out to them by the mob at the moment of the
murder. Alberto was formally installed in his brother’s stead, and
became more powerful than his predecessor, being in fact absolute lord
of Verona, and able to establish the succession firmly in his dynasty.
Nor was his state confined to the limits which had bounded it in the
days of Mastino. Besides confirming his rule over the Trentino, Alberto
became lord of Riva, Castel d’Arco, Reggio, and Parma. Este and Vicenza
voluntarily recognised him as their chief, and he also added Feltre and
Belluno to his possessions. Thus an extensive territory owned the
dominion of the Scaligers and the capital of this newly-formed
principality was Verona. Alberto’s rule was a wise one, and to some
extent a peaceful one too. There were occasional wars with many of the
neighbouring towns, but none of such duration or importance as to hinder
the development of art, or prevent Alberto from enlarging and
beautifying the town and adding to the number of its fine edifices. “He
beautified Verona with buildings,” says a modern writer, “with bridges,
fortified it with new walls, and in the spring of 1301 laid the first
stone of the ‘Casa dei Mercanti.’ ”[17]
Alberto was ambitious for his family, and determined to unite them by
marriage with some of the princely families of Italy. His daughter
Constance became the bride of Obizzo d’Este, the powerful leader of the
Guelphs in Northern Italy; but the union brought more position than
peace with it. Alberto allied himself soon after with Padua and Vicenza,
rivals of the House of Este; and war was the consequence. The war was
successful for the allies, and its conclusion was celebrated by a
“curia” of a truly princely nature. A “curia” was the word in those days
to signify an entertainment given to commemorate any event of moment
brought to a satisfactory issue. The “curia” on this occasion was held
on St Martin’s day (Nov. 11), when Alberto della Scala began by
conferring the honour of knighthood on some of the Nogarola, and
Castelbarco family, as well as on his own sons. Bartolomeo, the eldest,
was raised to this rank, as was also the youngest Francesco, afterwards
so famous as Cangrande, who can then have been only about three years
old. The gifts presented by the lord of Verona were not only costly but
numerous, and as the condition of the donor was judged by the abundance
and value of his presents, any parsimony on that head had to be avoided
as certain to prove fatal to his renown. Alberto at this festival gave
no less than 1500 pairs of garments, lined with fox or lamb skin, of
divers colours such as scarlet, purple, deep red, green, yellow. Soon
after this Alberto’s eldest son, Bartolomeo, married Constance, the
daughter of Conrad IV., and grand-daughter of Frederick II.
Another “curia” was held in 1298, when Alberto’s second son, Alboino,
was made a knight at the same time that his marriage was celebrated
with Constance, the daughter of Matteo Visconti, lord of Milan. The
encomiums pronounced on Alberto della Scala, who died September 3, 1301,
by a contemporary Veronese historian are unbounded, and declare him to
have been: “Sublime in soul, perfect in his ways, foreseeing in council,
pious, merciful, sagacious”;[18] and that he ardently desired all that
made for the welfare of his people and of his city. In fact, according
to this chronicler every virtue abounded in Alberto, who apart from his
merits ranks also as the first absolute ruler of the house of the
Scaligers.
He was followed by his son Bartolomeo who, according to the writer just
quoted, ruled over Verona, “thinking ever of governing his people in
perpetual peace.” If such were indeed his object he was not always able
to attain it, for several wars were waged in his reign, always though as
heretofore with neighbouring towns and states. Bartolomeo della Scala
may be said to have acquired more renown from literature than from
history. He not only welcomed Dante to his court during the exile of the
great Florentine, but his bearing towards him was ever such as to elicit
from his guest expressions of praise and gratitude, tributes which the
poet did not bestow readily or where he was not fully persuaded that
they were deserved. In the seventeenth canto of the _Paradiso_, Dante
puts into the mouth of his prophetic ancestor Cacciaguida the following
lines which refer to Bartolomeo della Scala, and further on to
Bartolomeo’s brother Cangrande:--
“Lo primo tuo rifugio e il primo ostello
Sarà la cortesia del gran Lombardo,
Che in sulla scala porta il santo uccello,
Che in te avrà sì benigno riguardo
Che dal fare e del chieder, tra voi due,
Fia prima quel che tra gli altri è più tardo.
Con lui vedrai colui che impresso fue
Nascondo sì da questa stella forte,
Che notabili fien l’opere sue.”[19]
Nor did the literary interest attaching to Bartolomeo cease with Dante.
His name is also associated with the story of Romeo and Juliet; and it
is supposed that the tragedy of the two lovers, immortalised for all
time by Shakespeare, took place at this epoch. There is no historical
foundation for the tale of “the star-cross’d lovers,” but Shakespeare
has willed that it should be “in fair Verona where we lay our scene,”
and since a date must be determined why should it not be that which
tradition has assigned to the reign of Bartolomeo?
Sufficient glory centres round Bartolomeo della Scala through Dante and
Shakespeare to make the fact that he is not considered a great ruler or
warrior somewhat beside the mark. He gained moreover the love of his
people, of the lower classes especially, and Saraina says that when he
died “it was not the great folk or the nobility who accompanied him to
his grave, but the poor of the town in tears.”
He was followed by his brother Alboino, a good man, but feeble, and
whose anti-Ghibelline tendencies may perhaps explain Dante’s contempt
for him (see _Convito_, iv. 16). Commerce though flourished under
Alboino, and special treaties were concluded with Venice, who saw how
advantageous it would be for her to have friendly relations with a town
whose position could insure such handy means of transport as those
offered by the navigation adown the Adige. It is perhaps needless to add
that the Queen of the Adriatic knew how to draw up the treaty in such a
way as to be the chief gainer in the transaction and to secure for
herself greater concessions than those granted to the Veronese.
The monotony which might have attached to Alboino’s reign was relieved
by his associating his brother Cangrande with him as joint ruler in
Verona. This youngest son of Alberto I. was the greatest of the
Scaligers, and certainly one of the greatest princes of his age. The
legends that surround his life are unending and “seize on him,” says
Biadego, “as an infant; they follow him as a child, they environ him in
his bold and lucky career as a warrior, and they accompany him to his
glorious tomb.”[20] The same writer tells how his mother bare him
without any of the pains of child-birth, though the first sound that the
new-born babe uttered reverberated through the palace. When still a
child, he goes on to say, his father took him to see a great pile of
gold, when the lad performed an act expressive of disdain on the heap to
mark his contempt for riches. His impulsiveness in the moment of peril,
his indifference to danger, and his gift of attaching his followers to
him made him a keen and successful soldier; while his readiness to
receive and welcome men of letters and of genius, stamp him as a prince
fond of learning and of the fine arts. “The story of his conquests” (to
quote again from Biadego) “is noted; his personal valour, his skill as a
leader, made him in a few years lord of Feltre, of Vicenza, of Cividale,
of Belluno, of Monselice, of Bassano, of Padua, and of Treviso. The
rapidity of his movements, his boldness, and above all his lust of glory
were all gifts possessed by Cangrande, and celebrated by his
contemporaries. Nor, say they, was he wanting in defects. He was violent
with the Veronese and Vicentins in order to wring money from them; he
obtained the Vicariat of Verona by purchase; nor was he free from vices.
Such are the accusations brought by Ferreto of Vicenza, who, however,
praises him in that he never showed himself by nature bloodthirsty. And
in fact under his rule Vicenza and Padua improved; he treated his
prisoner Giacomo da Carrara kindly and honourably; Albertino Mussato ...
was often visited in prison by his victor, who knew how to honour his
genius and the integrity of his character. Let us agree hereupon:
Cangrande was a man of his times, but his great virtues redeem his small
vices and place him above the princes of his day.”[21]
He was also very religious; he founded the church of Sta. Maria della
Scala, and together with Guglielmo del Castelbarco he gave largely to
the church of S. Fermo Maggiore. His praises too were sung by Boccaccio,
who pronounced him to be “one of the most noted and magnificent lords
who was known in Italy since the time of Frederick II.,”[22] while the
Guelph historian Villani declares him to be “the greatest tyrant and the
richest and most puissant prince that has been in Lombardy since
Ezzelino da Romano.”[23]
At the coronation of Louis V. of Bavaria, Cangrande was present with
2,000 knights and 500 foot soldiers, all armed; and he spent more on the
occasion than the Emperor and the Visconti put together. The festivals
he held after the conquest of Padua lasted a month, when tournaments
were held, and jugglers and minstrels were present from all parts of
Europe. Cangrande was also a sportsman, and it is recorded that he kept
no less than 300 hawks. Music, singers and troubadours found favour with
him; a table was kept ever spread for all who flocked to it;
theologians, astrologers, philosophers, met with a ready welcome from
him, as did also travellers from distant lands who came probably on
errands of commerce. As has been said Cangrande was a patron of learning
and of the arts. Giotto came to Verona at his invitation, and though
nothing remains of his labours it is known that several frescoes painted
by him at one time adorned the palace of the Scaligers. The following
extract taken from the _Comento Storico_ of Arrivabene, gives a good and
graphic account of Cangrande’s court at that time:[24] “Cangrande
gathered around him those distinguished personages whom unfortunate
reverses had driven from their country; but he also kept in his pay
buffoons and musicians, and other merry persons, who were more caressed
by the courtiers than the men famous for their deeds and learning. One
of the guests was Sagacio Muzzio Gazzata, the historian of Reggio, who
has left us an account of the treatment which the illustrious and
unfortunate exiles received. Various
[Illustration: THE COSTA
PALAZZO OF CANGRANDE IN THE DISTANCE WHERE HE ENTERTAINED DANTE]
apartments were assigned to them in the palace, designated by various
symbols; a Triumph for the warriors; Groves of the Muses for the poets;
Mercury for the artists; Paradise for the preachers; and for all,
inconstant Fortune. Cangrande likewise received at his court his
illustrious prisoners of war: Giacomo da Carrara, Vanne Scornazano,
Albertino Mussato, and many others. All had their private attendants,
and a table equally well served. At times Cangrande invited some of them
to his own table, particularly Dante, and Guido di Castel di Reggio,
exiled from his country with the friends of liberty, and who for his
simplicity was called “the simple Lombard.”
Verona became in this way the home for every exile of note or of worth
who sought to it, and hospitality and courtesy were, as has been seen,
extended freely to all. Petrarch alludes to this when he speaks of
Cangrande as “the consoler of the houseless and the afflicted,” and he
then goes on to dilate on what may have been some of the causes which
led to the estrangement between Dante and the lord of Verona, and that
brought about for a time a coldness between Cangrande and his haughty
client. “When banished from his country he (Dante) resided at the court
of Cangrande, where the afflicted universally found consolation and an
asylum. He at first was held in much honour by Cane, but afterwards he
by degrees fell out of favour, and day by day less pleased that lord.
Actors and parasites of every description used to be collected together
at the same banquet; one of these, most impudent in his words and in his
obscene gestures, obtained much importance and favour with many. Cane,
suspecting that Dante disliked this, called the man before him, and,
having greatly praised him to our poet, said: ‘I wonder how it is that
this silly fellow should know how to please all, and that thou canst
not, who art said to be so wise.’ Dante answered: ‘Thou wouldest not
wonder if thou knewest that friendship is founded on similarity of
habits and disposition.’ It is also related that at his table, which was
too indiscriminately hospitable, where buffoons sat down with Dante, and
where jests passed which must have been repulsive to every person of
refinement, but disgraceful when uttered by the superior in rank to his
inferior, a boy was once concealed under the table, who, collecting the
bones that were thrown there by the guests, according to the custom of
those times, heaped them up at Dante’s feet. When the tables were
removed, the great heap appearing, Cane pretended to show great
astonishment and said: ‘Certainly Dante is a great devourer of meat.’ To
which Dante readily replied, ‘My Lord, you would not have seen so many
bones had I been a dog.’ ”
Other noble refugees who found an asylum at Verona were Uguccione della
Faggiuola, lord of Pisa and Lucca, who died at Vicenza while in
Cangrande’s service and was honourably buried in Verona; Spinetta
Malaspina, and Fazio degli Uberti.
The importance and position occupied by Cangrande in the world of
letters and amongst men of note must not however make us forgetful as to
the part he played as a politician. Tradition saw in him the rightful
heir of Imperial ideas; and many a writer has made it clear (at least
from his own point of view) that in the “Veltro” prophecy Dante intended
this lord of Verona, and that it was he who was to be the “Veltro”
(Greyhound) whose reign was to bring widespread good to Italy. (_Inf._
I. 101.) The controversy on that point, as is well known, has lasted for
centuries, and is by no means ended yet.
Nor is this Dante’s only allusion to Cangrande--assuming, that is to
say, that he is indeed the “Veltro” of the first Canto of the _Inferno_.
There is a fresh allusion to this lord of Verona in the thirty-third
Canto of the _Purgatorio_, V. 43, which, according to Scartazzini,
refers without doubt to Cangrande. The passage is one of those mystic
allusions which have puzzled the great poet’s commentators in all ages,
and whose enigma is yet unsolved. Dante says how that--
“Verily I see, and hence narrate it,
The stars already near to bring the time,
From every hindrance safe, and every bar,
Within which a Five-hundred, Ten, and Five,
One sent from God, shall slay the thievish woman
And that same giant who is sinning with her.”[25]
“To decipher the number given by Dante,” says Mr Vernon,[26] “one ought
to know whether he was thinking of the symbolic value of the Latin
letters, or only thinking of the letters themselves, D.X.V., which
transposed, give the word D.V.X., _i.e._ a leader or captain.” Whichever
way one takes it, the passage evidently implies the hope that a
personage would shortly appear, who would reform the Church, and
re-establish the Imperial authority. It is also clear from the context
that Dante is pointing to some well-known contemporary personage, on
whom he could found his hopes. Scartazzini feels assured, moreover, that
if this passage is compared with the prophecy of the Veltro (_Inf._ I.
100-102), it will be distinctly proved by evidence that the D.X.V. and
the Veltro are one and the same person. Again, the context proves that
the person foretold by Dante can only be a captain, or secular leader,
and not by any means a pope or a churchman. Let us look at history. On
the 16th December 1318, Cangrande della Scala, lord of Verona, was
elected by the congregation of the Ghibelline Chiefs, as Captain of the
League against the power of the Guelfs. It was then he actually received
the standard of the Eagle, as the Leader in Italy of all the followers
of the Empire. And (according to Scartazzini), it was just at the end of
1318 and at the beginning of 1319, that Dante was putting the last
finishing touches to the Cantica of the _Purgatorio_. Hence Scartazzini
feels quite clear that it was Cangrande della Scala who is the D.V.X.
foretold by Dante. Giuseppe Picci (I luoghi più oscuri e controversi
della Divina Commedia, page 158 _et seq._), observes: “If we write down
the name and qualifications of Cangrande as Kan Grande de Scala Signore
de Verona,” and compute numerically the initials and propositions, we
have the following result:--
K 10
G 7
d 4
e 5
S 90
S 90
d 4
e 5
V 300
---
515
“All things therefore concur in making it intelligible and probable that
the D.V.X. is Cangrande della Scala--an opinion adopted by the majority
of ancient commentators.”
This is not the place to enlarge on the question, but the fact that
Cangrande is considered by many Dante scholars to have been present
twice over in the poet’s mind as the ideal ruler of a united Empire in
Italy shows how high he ranks in the opinion of thoughtful men.
There is a legend that Cangrande was among the princes present at the
deathbed of Henry VII. at Buonconvento (1313), and that the dying
monarch confided his empire to “lo Scaligero,” “Constituens
vicarium--Fidelem commissarium--Canem de Verona.”
Cane tried in vain to repudiate this charge, but overcome by the
pressure put on him by the other princes ... admittit--Augusti
desiderium.[27]
Cangrande did not accompany Henry VII. on his progress through Italy
beyond Genoa, nor was he present at his death. The legend is therefore
historically impossible; “although under a mythical form,” says Cipolla,
“it places before us the unbiassed judgment that the Ghibellines had of
the life and character of Cangrande della Scala.”[28]
It was on this expedition into Italy that the Emperor conferred the
office of Vicar Imperial in Verona on the Scaliger brothers, an office
that owing to the death of Alboino soon after (1311) was held and
exercised by Cangrande alone. On the death of Henry of Luxemburg (1313)
the hopes of the Ghibellines in Italy centred round the lord of Verona;
and his hopes again were set on forming a large state in the Peninsular
free from suzerain lord or Emperor, and holding in his own hands the
destinies of the greater part of Italy. With this object in view he
asked leave of the new Emperor, Louis of Bavaria, to build a bridge over
the Po at Ostiglia whereby to facilitate communication and commerce from
Italy into Germany. The leave was granted, but the bridge was never
built.
This scheme of Cangrande’s is dwelt on by all his biographers without
however arousing at the same time any accusations of ambition against
the Scaliger. And this is as it should be. Cangrande’s views for his
country’s good were of too pure and lofty a nature to be prompted by
personal ambition. The greatness of soul which Dante recognised in him,
and which in spite of small differences between them made the poet rank
him ever as a friend, rose to visions of grandeur for his country’s weal
which had in them nothing sordid or self-seeking. His desire to rule
over the state which in his mind’s eye foreshadowed the glory of Italy
was but natural, and was altogether void of any touch of
self-aggrandizement. Who indeed but he could have carried out the
schemes which were in his mind? Or how could another execute the designs
which had originated in his brain, and that his brain alone could cope
with successfully? Before however these visionary glories could take
shape Cangrande died. His end came quickly and unexpectedly at Treviso
on the 22nd July 1329, when he was only about thirty-eight years of
age,[29] and at the very height of his glory. It is supposed that his
death was brought about by an illness caused by the heat, and the
fatigue consequent on his unending labours. He died, entrusting his
friend and brother-in-law Bailardino Nogarola with the care and
education of his two nephews Mastino and Alberto, the sons of his
brother Alboino, he himself having no legitimate heirs. His body was
taken to Verona, and buried in the beautiful tomb erected for him
outside the church of Sta. Maria Antica, close beside the parcel of
ground which forms the cemetery of the Scaliger family. Cipolla speaking
of this greatest of the della Scala family says: “more fortunate than
Uguccione (della Faggiuola) who lost in a moment all that he had gained,
less fortunate than Matteo Visconti, who left to his valiant sons a
state firmly established, Cangrande, by daily and continual wars
acquired an extensive lordship, but one without stability; based only on
the valour of him who formed its head. The Scaliger power disappeared
rapidly in a few years after it had been founded.” And again a little
further on the same writer says of Cangrande: “On the field of battle
brave and almost reckless as to his person, he exposed himself to every
danger; he was his own general in all his warfares; though eager to rule
he was faithful to his promises, and persevering in political aims. He
was humane, even at times generous to the conquered; and a Paduan
chronicler tells us how from having been a hard foe to the Paduans, he
was as their father when he had conquered them. He coveted glory as well
as dominion; and while other lords had not yet learned to hold in esteem
the gifts of learning, he--not from political motives alone--received
those who, through factions, had been forced to abandon their countries,
and opened with splendour his palace to Dante, to Giotto, to Ferreto of
Vicenza, to Sagacio Muzzio Gazzata, to Albertino Mussato. In his gilded
halls he entertained with princely hospitality poets, theologians,
musicians. The exile Alighieri, who had already visited Verona when
Bartolomeo was lord thereof, returned under Cangrande, and although he
went away thinking how
... sa di sale--
Lo pane altrui, e come è duro calle
Lo scendere e il salir per l’altrui scale, ...
he preserved all the same an ever grateful memory of the “magnifico e
vittorioso signore di Verona,” to whom he dedicated the third of his
Canticles”[30] (_i.e._ the _Paradiso_).
The character of Cangrande is an extremely attractive one. His valour,
his consideration for his foes, his hospitality to all who needed it,
his patronage of art and learning, make him not only an admirable but a
loveable figure. Nor should his labours for the good of his people and
for his native town be forgotten. He revised the Statutes that Mastino
I. had caused to be compiled for the government of Verona, and added
another book to the five which already existed. His love of building--a
love shared by well-nigh every member of his house--took shape in a
fresh circuit of walls, which he caused to be erected round the city in
1324, when wars and wranglings throughout the greater part of Lombardy
made the outlook threatening for Verona, and persuaded Cangrande of the
advisability of protecting his city from any possible invasion. His
early death must ever be deplored; and there can be no doubt that had it
not been for that catastrophe many of his schemes for the greatness of
Italy would have been effected, and the state of the country for one or
two successive centuries materially altered. The chief stain on his
memory is the share he had in the murder of Passerino Bonaccolsi, lord
of Mantua (1327), from which not even his warmest panegyrists can
entirely exonerate him. It can only be pleaded that considering the
times in which he lived, and the habits and customs of his
contemporaries, he was remarkably
[Illustration: THE BACK OF CASA MAZZANTI, ONCE INHABITED BY ALBERTO
DELLA SCALA]
free from the crime--only too common in those days--of murdering every
suspected foe, and that with this one exception his hands were never
dyed with the blood of his neighbours.
Ruskin sums up Cangrande’s doings in the following words: “He fortified
Verona against the Germans; dug the great moat out of its rocks; built
its wall and towers; established his court of royal and thoughtful
hospitality; became the chief Ghibelline Captain in Lombardy, and the
receiver of noble exiles from all other states; possessed himself by
hard fighting of Vicenza also, then of Padua; then, either by strength
or subtlety, of Feltre, Belluno, Bassano; and died at thirty-seven--of
eating apples when he was too hot--in the year 1329.”[31]
The successors of Cangrande were men of a different and entirely
inferior order. Mastino, the elder of his two nephews, had certainly
much of his uncle’s ambition; but he had none of his greatness and
loftiness of mind, still less of his talents and intellect. Alberto
cared only for a life of pleasure, and was but too ready to leave the
cares of office and government to his brother, provided he might follow
his vicious, frivolous existence undisturbed. Verona at that moment was
at the very apogee of her glory. Cangrande’s victories over the
neighbouring towns were bringing in rich interest as to money and
position; and the Florentine historian Villani, writing of the
Scaligers, says: “The rents which accrued to them from those ten towns
and from their castles were more than 700,000 florins of gold, which no
other Christian king possesses, unless it be the King of France. Apart
from the following and the friendship of the Ghibellines, never were
there tyrants in Italy possessed of such power.”
The ten towns alluded to were Verona, Padua, Vicenza, Treviso, Brescia,
Feltre, Belluno, Parma, Modena, and Lucca, and had Mastino but been
contented with this ample heritage, his dominion would in all
probability have been more firmly established. His craving to add to his
state, and convert it into a united kingdom, led however to the downfall
of his house. The jealousy of one or two powerful neighbours was
aroused; and a sense of the danger about to spread from Verona and
envelop the North of Italy became patent to all. The Florentines and the
Venetians were the first to stir in the matter, and to unite against the
common foe. Florence was not only afraid of an invasion of the Veronese
troops, but she also wished to regain possession of Lucca, which had
been wrested from her at a very inopportune moment. The Venetians had a
grievance, and that a serious one, though of a different nature, against
Mastino. He had built a salt factory between Padua and Chioggia, where
every Venetian vessel as it passed along the Brenta was called on to pay
a tax. The Venetians were not disposed to accept quietly an affront
offered them on territory which they considered as strictly their own,
and they at once put in a claim for redress. No notice being taken of
this appeal, Venice gladly threw in her lot with Florence, and the
league between the two Republics was soon after joined by the houses of
Este, Visconti, and Gonzago. The league was further strengthened in a
strange and unexpected way by Marsilio da Carrara’s desire to unite
himself with the other allies against the lord of Verona. This son of
the former lords of Padua was keen to expel the Scaligers from his
native town, where Alberto della Scala had been appointed governor by
his brother Mastino. Alberto, as has been said, lived only for pleasure.
He had outraged the wife of Ubertino da Carrara, Marsilio’s cousin, but,
far from imagining that such an insult could rankle in the husband’s
mind, he placed blind confidence in him and in Marsilio, never dreaming
that they were determined to avenge the outrage which he for one had so
completely forgotten. Marsilio was well aware of the enmity felt towards
the della Scalas at Venice, and determined to turn it to his own
account. Chance also favoured him. Mastino sent him on an errand to
Venice, where the legend goes that one night at supper sitting next to
the Doge, Francesco Dandolo, Mastino whispered to him, “I wish to speak
to you.” Upon this the Doge dropped his napkin, and both men bent down
to pick it up. “What will you give to him who gives Padua to you?” asked
Marsilio. “The lordship thereof,” was the reply; and when the two heads
reappeared above the board the bargain was struck, and the league which
was to end in Mastino’s overthrow was formed.
Marsilio returned to Padua, and set to work at once to put his schemes
into execution. Mastino’s fears were aroused, and hints of what was
brewing found their way to his ears. Again and again he wrote to Alberto
warning him against the Carraresi, and bidding him be on his guard.
Alberto gave no heed; and Mastino finally wrote a letter ordering him to
arrest them and arrange for their execution. This letter arrived with
instructions that it was to be given into no hands save Alberto’s; but
he, absorbed at the moment in a game of chess, handed it to Marsilio,
and bade him read it. Marsilio did so, and in answer to Alberto’s
queries as to its contents, replied that it was only a request from
Mastino to send him some more falcons. He then left the room, sent
directions to the allied force under the ill-fated and peerless Pietro
de’ Rossi to march upon Padua when he would admit them through one of
the gates into the city. These directions were all successfully carried
out. Padua was lost to the Scaligers; Alberto was sent as a prisoner to
Venice, and Mastino’s power received a shock from which it never
recovered. He had presently to cede Belluno to Charles, King of Bohemia,
who had also joined the league against him; and shortly afterwards that
monarch possessed himself of Feltre, Cividale, and the Cadere as well.
Brescia and Bergamo surrendered to the Visconti; and in December 1338
Mastino was glad to make peace with the allies and content himself with
a state reduced to the four towns of Verona, Vicenza, Parma, and Lucca.
It was not long however before the two latter cities were also wrested
from him.
These concessions and humiliations exasperated Mastino past all bearing.
He became suspicious and irascible, a prey to doubts and fears, and in
August of that same year in a fit of ungovernable fury he transfixed
Bishop Bartolomeo della Scala with his own sword. This murder brought
down on him the thunders of the Church. He was excommunicated by Pope
Benedict XI., and it was not till after much negotiation and the payment
of a fine that the ban was removed. There is a legend in Verona that
after the murder of the Bishop and the Papal excommunication Mastino II.
never shewed his face again even to his faithful and beloved wife Taddea
da Carrara. This legend may arise from the fact that the equestrian
statue over his tomb is represented with the visor drawn--a proof, it is
said, of the desire he had to veil himself from every eye, and to
prevent everyone, even after death, from gazing on his features.
Before Mastino’s death two brilliant marriages took place in his family;
the first being that of his daughter Caterina with Barnabŏ Visconti,
the heir to the duchy of Milan. The bride’s name, originally Caterina,
was changed to Beatrice, to denote her worth and
[Illustration: TOMB OF MASTINO II. DELLA SCALA]
merits; and then on account of her queenly bearing it was turned again
to Regina.[32] The other marriage was that of Cangrande II., Mastino’s
eldest son, with Elizabeth, daughter of Louis of Bavaria. Mastino lived
but a short time after these marriages. He died in 1351, leaving three
legitimate sons: Cangrande II., Cansignorio, and Paolo Alboino. His
brother Alberto did not survive him long. He gave over the cares of
office absolutely to his three nephews, and died in the month of
September of the following year.
Cangrande II. who now succeeded to the chief power was neither a great
nor a good man. He was nicknamed “Canis rabidus,” though who gave him
the name, or why it was given, has not come to light. He loaded his
people with taxes, and made his rule so unpopular that a rebellion
raised against him by his natural brother, Fregnano, met with ready
support from Cangrande’s subjects and almost proved his undoing.
Cangrande had gone from Verona to Botzen to confer with his
brother-in-law the Margrave of Brandenburg, leaving the town in the
charge of Fregnano and Azzone di Correggio. Fregnano roused the citizens
to revolt; the Gonzagos of Mantua--to whom every rebuff given to the
Scaligers meant a gain to them--joined the rebels; and it is generally
supposed that Barnabŏ Visconti, lord of Milan, was not as opposed to
the rising as in his capacity of a loyal brother-in-law he ought to have
been. Fregnano, according to Giovanni Villani, was “beloved by the
people of Verona and Vicenza,” and his cause was warmly espoused by the
great mass of the populace. Cangrande however retraced his steps as
soon as he heard of the rebellion; he entered Verona with haste, and at
once attacked and defeated Fregnano, who fell fighting at the head of
his troops on the Ponte delle Navi.
The danger was averted, but Cangrande’s confidence in his so-called
allies of Milan and Mantua was destroyed for ever. His plans for
insuring his personal safety at all events against any further peril
took shape in the erection of the “Old Castle,” the Castel Vecchio,
which he now caused to be built beside the Adige, adding to it that fine
bridge which spans the river, and across which he could receive aid from
Germany whenever he required it. The building took three years to
complete, and when it was finished Cangrande removed into it and passed
the rest of his life there. He also introduced a special bodyguard of
soldiers from Brandenburg, who have left traces of their sojourn in
Verona in the shape of the little church of St Peter Martyr, said to
have been founded by these Knights of Brandenburg.
Cangrande II., who was neither loved nor respected by his people, died a
violent death on December 14, 1339, being put to death by his brother
Cansignorio, who slew him with his own hand. Cangrande left three sons:
Tebaldo, Guglielmo, and Fregnano, none of whom reigned as lords of
Verona, and of whom history has no stirring deeds to relate.
Cansignorio was proclaimed lord of Verona and Vicenza together with his
younger brother Paolo Alboino. The latter however was never admitted to
any share in the government; and after a few years Cansignorio, fearing
the young man’s ever-increasing popularity in Verona, caused him to be
imprisoned. Opinions as to the character of Cansignorio are not
invariably unanimous. Some writers, among them our
[Illustration: PONTE SCALIGERI. BRIDGE OF CASTEL VECCHIO]
own Ruskin, have been carried away by a fictitious glamour concerning
this last legitimate ruler of the Scaligers which facts and history
cannot altogether support. Others see in him only a fratricide, stained
whenever it suited his purpose with the blood of his brothers, with no
redeeming virtues save that of an interested solicitude for the welfare
of his people and for his native town. As usual in such judgments, there
is doubtless a good deal of truth on both sides, though few, perhaps,
can be found to agree altogether with Ruskin, who speaks of him as “a
prince who had in every way beautified and cared for the city; and among
other minor gifts, bestowed on it one by which it profits to this day,
the fountain of the great Square. He was deeply religious; meditated
constantly on his death, and believed that he should be entirely happy
in the next world if only he were assured of the prosperity and secure
reign of his children in this one.”[33]
Cansignorio, in common with all the princes of his house, had an
insatiable love of building, and many an edifice in Verona bears witness
to his taste and munificence in this respect. The greatest proof of it
is to be seen in the magnificent tomb which he caused to be erected for
himself during his lifetime, and of which mention will in time be made.
He also embellished and improved the town in every possible way,
spending with a lavish hand, and with a recklessness which almost
savoured of extravagance. He rebuilt the Ponte delle Navi; he laid out
the public gardens near his palace; he added to the frescoes in his own
house; and the many statues and adornments that he caused to be set up
in Verona gained for the town the surname of “Marmorina.” The greatest
public benefit he ever conferred was that mentioned by Ruskin of
bringing drinkable water into the city. This he did by means of leaden
pipes laid down to the Piazza delle Erbe, where the beautiful fountain
in the middle stands as a record to this day of the good deed wrought
for the city by Cansignorio della Scala. He also did all that lay in his
power to alleviate the sufferings of his people, when from the years
1369 to 1371 they were stricken with famine; and in many ways he shewed
himself a wise and considerate ruler.
His love for his two natural sons however blinded him as to all sense of
right and wrong; and his eagerness to secure the succession for them
after his death made him absolutely unscrupulous, and a murderer. These
sons, Bartolomeo and Antonio, were Cansignorio’s only children, but
their illegitimacy barred their right to reign after their father, and
made Paolo Alboino, Cansignorio’s youngest brother, the rightful heir.
Cansignorio however was determined that his sons, and they only, should
be lords of Verona when he died. Though still a young man--he was not
yet thirty-six--he knew that his end was approaching, and he laid his
plans accordingly. A few years previously, as has been said, he had
imprisoned Paolo Alboino at Peschiera. The unfortunate youth, who was
much beloved by the people, was now put to death at the instigation of
his brother, it is generally supposed, though some writers lay the
murder at the door of Cansignorio’s sons. The most honourable and
exalted of the citizens were then called on to take the oath of
allegiance to Bartolomeo and Antonio; the youths were entrusted to the
care of Cansignorio’s most faithful councillors and friends; and on
October 19, 1375, this last great lord of Verona died.
Bartolomeo and Antonio reigned for a few years conjointly. Bartolomeo,
the elder, and who was generally acknowledged as the best of the two,
was treacherously
[Illustration: FOUNTAIN IN THE PIAZZA DELLE ERBE
(Statue said originally to be of the 3rd century)
]
murdered July 12, 1381, and his brother was declared to be the
murderer.[34] As sole ruler of Verona Antonio strove to protect himself
from the perils which were fast gathering up against him from the lords
of Milan and of Padua. He entered into an alliance with Venice, little
foreseeing that the great maritime republic had no idea of protecting
him, but dreamt only of increasing those possessions on the mainland
which it was now her ambition to add to her dominions. The doom of the
Scaligers was sealed. Antonio had alienated the two friends, Guglielmo
Bevilacqua and Giacomo del Verme, whose wisdom and prowess in the
council-chamber or on the battle-field could yet have upheld his power.
His extravagance, joined to that of his wife, Samaritana da Polenta, was
hastening to exhaust a failing exchequer; the power of the Visconti, and
of the Carraresi was every day assuming proportions of a threatening and
overwhelming nature; and help was nowhere to be looked for nor obtained.
Antonio endeavoured to restore his fallen fortunes by resorting to arms,
and more than one important engagement took place between his forces and
those of Padua under the famous English condottiere John Hawkwood, and
Giovanni d’Azzo. The Veronese troops were commanded first by Cortesia
Serego, and after the first defeat when he was taken prisoner, Guglielmo
degli Ordelaffi and Ostasia da Polenta were appointed as generals. They
met with no better fate: the armies of Verona were again routed, and
Antonio without a friend to stand by him or advise him, stole secretly
away from Verona the night of the 18th November 1387, handing his town
over to the ambassador of Wenceslaus, king of the Romans. Verona was
apportioned to the duchy of Milan, and the day after Antonio’s flight
the banner of the Visconti waved over the town. Antonio fled to Venice,
but he did not give up all hope of returning to Verona and resuming his
sway there. The following year he opened negotiations with Carlo
Visconti, a son of Barnabŏ’s, and he also essayed to gain the Pope
Urban VI. over to his cause. He died though before any of these dealings
could be concluded (August 1388) leaving his wife and family in such
straits that they had no choice but to accept the bounty that the
Venetian Republic vouchsafed to bestow upon them. Antonio left one only
son, Can Francesco, who died in 1392, only four years after his father,
and in him the male line of the Scaligers came to an end.
Several years later an effort was made to restore the rule of the della
Scalas in the person of Guglielmo, one of the illegitimate sons of
Cangrande II. The plot however failed; Guglielmo died a few days after
he had been proclaimed lord of Verona, and the hopes of restoring the
dynasty of the Scaligers were at an end for ever. Their rule had lasted
for one hundred and twenty-eight years, and it certainly comprised the
brightest, most stirring period in the annals of the town of Verona.
[Illustration: OLD SHIELD OF THE SCALIGERS]
[Illustration: VERONA]