Changes in Florence--The Ghibellines recalled--New form of government in
Florence--The Signory created--Victory over the Aretins--The Gonfalonier
of Justice created--Ubaldo Ruffoli the first Gonfalonier--Giano della
Bella--New reform by his advice--Giano della Bella becomes a voluntary
exile--Dissensions between the people and the nobility--The tumults
composed--Reform of Government--Public buildings--The prosperous state
of the city.
Florence was at this time in a very unhappy condition; for the great
Guelphic families had become insolent, and set aside the authority
of the magistrates; so that murders and other atrocities were daily
committed, and the perpetrators escaped unpunished, under the protection
of one or other of the nobility. The leaders of the people, in order
to restrain this insolence, determined to recall those who had been
expelled, and thus gave the legate an opportunity of uniting the city.
The Ghibellines returned, and, instead of twelve governors, fourteen
were appointed, seven for each party, who held their office one year,
and were to be chosen by the pope. The Florentines lived under this
government two years, till the pontificate of Martin, who restored to
Charles all the authority which had been taken from him by Nicholas, so
that parties were again active in Tuscany; for the Florentines took arms
against the emperor's governor, and to deprive the Ghibellines of power,
and restrain the nobility, established a new form of government. This
was in the year 1282, and the companies of the Arts, since magistrates
had been appointed and colors given to them, had acquired so great
influence, that of their own authority they ordered that, instead of
fourteen citizens, three should be appointed and called Priors, to hold
the government of the republic two months, and chosen from either the
people or the nobility. After the expiration of the first magistracy
they were augmented to six, that one might be chosen from each sixth
of the city, and this number was preserved till the year 1342, when the
city was divided into quarters, and the Priors became eight, although
upon some occasions during the interim they were twelve.
This government, as will be seen hereafter, occasioned the ruin of
the nobility; for the people by various causes excluded them from all
participation in it, and then trampled upon them without respect. The
nobles at first, owing to their divisions among themselves, made no
opposition; and each being anxious to rob the other of influence in the
state, they lost it altogether. To this government a palace was given,
in which they were to reside constantly, and all requisite officers
were appointed; it having been previously the custom of councils and
magistrates to assemble in churches. At first they were only called
Priors, but to increase their distinction the word signori, or lords,
was soon afterward adopted. The Florentines remained for some time in
domestic quiet, during which they made war with the Aretins for having
expelled the Guelphs, and obtained a complete victory over them at
Campaldino. The city being increased in riches and population, it was
found expedient to extend the walls, the circle of which was enlarged to
the extent it at present remains, although its diameter was previously
only the space between the old bridge and the church of St. Lorenzo.
Wars abroad and peace within the city had caused the Guelph and
Ghibelline factions to become almost extinct; and the only party feeling
which seemed occasionally to glow, was that which naturally exists in
all cities between the higher classes and the people; for the latter,
wishing to live in conformity with the laws, and the former to be
themselves the rulers of the people, it was not possible for them to
abide in perfect amity together. This ungenial disposition, while their
fear of the Ghibellines kept them in order, did not discover itself, but
no sooner were they subdued than it broke forth, and not a day passed
without some of the populace being injured, while the laws were
insufficient to procure redress, for every noble with his relations
and friends defended himself against the forces of the Priors and
the Capitano. To remedy this evil, the leaders of the Arts' companies
ordered that every Signory at the time of entering upon the duties of
office should appoint a Gonfalonier of Justice, chosen from the people,
and place a thousand armed men at his disposal divided into twenty
companies of fifty men each, and that he, with his gonfalon or banner
and his forces, should be ready to enforce the execution of the laws
whenever called upon, either by the Signors themselves or the Capitano.
The first elected to this high office was Ubaldo Ruffoli. This man
unfurled his gonfalon, and destroyed the houses of the Galletti, on
account of a member of that family having slain one of the Florentine
people in France. The violent animosities among the nobility enabled
the companies of the Arts to establish this law with facility; and the
former no sooner saw the provision which had been made against them than
they felt the acrimonious spirit with which it was enforced. At first
it impressed them with greater terror, but they soon after returned to
their accustomed insolence, for one or more of their body always
making part of the Signory, gave them opportunities of impeding the
Gonfalonier, so that he could not perform the duties of his office.
Besides this, the accuser always required a witness of the injury he had
received, and no one dared to give evidence against the nobility. Thus
in a short time Florence again fell into the same disorders as before,
and the tyranny exercised against the people was as great as ever; for
the decisions of justice were either prevented or delayed, and sentences
were not carried into execution.
In this unhappy state, the people not knowing what to do, Giano della
Bella, of a very noble family, and a lover of liberty, encouraged the
heads of the Arts to reform the constitution of the city; and by his
advice it was ordered that the Gonfalonier should reside with the
Priors, and have four thousand men at his command. They deprived
the nobility of the right to sit in the Signory. They condemned the
associates of a criminal to the same penalty as himself, and ordered
that public report should be taken as evidence. By these laws, which
were called the ordinations of justice, the people acquired great
influence, and Giano della Bella not a small share of trouble; for he
was thoroughly hated by the great, as the destroyer of their power,
while the opulent among the people envied him, for they thought he
possessed too great authority. This became very evident upon the first
occasion that presented itself.
It happened that a man from the class of the people was killed in a
riot, in which several of the nobility had taken a part, and among the
rest Corso Donati, to whom, as the most forward of the party, the death
was attributed. He was, therefore, taken by the captain of the people,
and whether he was really innocent of the crime or the Capitano was
afraid of condemning him, he was acquitted. This acquittal displeased
the people so much, that, seizing their arms, they ran to the house of
Giano della Bella, to beg that he would compel the execution of those
laws which he had himself made. Giano, who wished Corso to be punished,
did not insist upon their laying down their arms, as many were of
opinion he ought to have done, but advised them to go to the
Signory, complain of the fact, and beg that they would take it into
consideration. The people, full of wrath, thinking themselves insulted
by the Capitano and abandoned by Giano della Bella, instead of going
to the Signory went to the palace of the Capitano, of which they made
themselves masters, and plundered it.
This outrage displeased the whole city, and those who wished the ruin of
Giano laid the entire blame upon him; and as in the succeeding Signory
there was an enemy of his, he was accused to the Capitano as the
originator of the riot. While the case was being tried, the people took
arms, and, proceeding to his house, offered to defend him against the
Signory and his enemies. Giano, however, did not wish to put this burst
of popular favor to the proof, or trust his life to the magistrates, for
he feared the malignity of the latter and the instability of the former;
so, in order to remove an occasion for his enemies to injure him, or
his friends to offend the laws, he determined to withdraw, deliver his
countrymen from the fear they had of him, and, leaving the city which
at his own charge and peril he had delivered from the servitude of the
great, become a voluntary exile.
After the departure of Giano della Bella the nobility began to entertain
hopes of recovering their authority; and judging their misfortune to
have arisen from their divisions, they sent two of their body to the
Signory, which they thought was favorable to them, to beg they would be
pleased to moderate the severity of the laws made against them. As soon
as their demand became known, the minds of the people were much excited;
for they were afraid the Signors would submit to them; and so, between
the desire of the nobility and the jealousy of the people, arms were
resorted to. The nobility were drawn together in three places: near the
church of St. John, in the New Market, and in the Piazza of the Mozzi,
under three leaders, Forese Adimari, Vanni de Mozzi, and Geri Spini.
The people assembled in immense numbers, under their ensigns, before the
palace of the Signory, which at that time was situated near St. Procolo;
and, as they suspected the integrity of the Signory, they added six
citizens to their number to take part in the management of affairs.
While both parties were preparing for the fight, some individuals, as
well of the people as of the nobility, accompanied by a few priests of
respectable character, mingled among them for the purpose of effecting
a pacification, reminding the nobility that their loss of power, and the
laws which were made against them, had been occasioned by their haughty
conduct, and the mischievous tendency of their proceedings; that
resorting to arms to recover by force what they had lost by illiberal
measures and disunion, would tend to the destruction of their country
and increase the difficulties of their own position; that they should
bear in mind that the people, both in riches, numbers, and hatred, were
far stronger than they; and that their nobility, on account of which
they assumed to be above others, did not contribute to win battles, and
would be found, when they came to arms, to be but an empty name, and
insufficient to defend them against so many. On the other hand, they
reminded the people that it is not prudent to wish always to have the
last blow; that it is an injudicious step to drive men to desperation,
for he who is without hope is also without fear; that they ought not
to forget that in the wars the nobility had always done honor to the
country, and therefore it was neither wise nor just to pursue them
with so much bitterness; and that although the nobility could bear with
patience the loss of the supreme magistracy, they could not endure that,
by the existing laws, it should be in the power of everyone to drive
them from their country; and, therefore, it would be well to qualify
these laws, and, in furtherance of so good a result, be better to lay
down their arms than, trusting to numbers, try the fortune of a battle;
for it is often seen that the many are overcome by the few. Variety of
opinion was found among the people; many wished to decide the question
by arms at once, for they were assured it would have to be done some
time, and that it would be better to do so then than delay till
the enemy had acquired greater strength; and that if they thought a
mitigation of the laws would satisfy them, that then they would be glad
to comply, but that the pride of the nobility was so great they would
not submit unless they were compelled. To many others, who were more
peaceable and better disposed, it appeared a less evil to qualify the
laws a little than to come to battle; and their opinion prevailing, it
was provided that no accusation against the nobility could be received
unless supported with sufficient testimony.
Although arms were laid aside, both parties remained full of suspicion,
and each fortified itself with men and places of strength. The people
reorganized the government, and lessened the number of its officers, to
which measure they were induced by finding that the Signors appointed
from the families, of which the following were the heads, had been
favorable to the nobility, viz.: the Mancini, Magalotti, Altoviti,
Peruzzi, and Cerretani. Having settled the government, for the greater
magnificence and security of the Signory, they laid the foundation of
their palace; and to make space for the piazza, removed the houses that
had belonged to the Uberti; they also at the same period commenced the
public prisons. These buildings were completed in a few years; nor did
our city ever enjoy a greater state of prosperity than in those times:
filled with men of great wealth and reputation; possessing within her
walls 30,000 men capable of bearing arms, and in the country 70,000,
while the whole of Tuscany, either as subjects or friends, owed
obedience to Florence. And although there might be some indignation and
jealousy between the nobility and the people, they did not produce any
evil effect, but all lived together in unity and peace. And if this
peace had not been disturbed by internal enmities there would have been
no cause of apprehension whatever, for the city had nothing to fear
either from the empire or from those citizens whom political reasons
kept from their homes, and was in condition to meet all the states of
Italy with her own forces. The evil, however, which external powers
could not effect, was brought about by those within.