Satis hoc; caetera norunt omnes;
the other, also in Latin, “for a cenotaph in some foreign city,” gives
us his opinion of himself.
“To Filippo Strozzi, by far the most illustrious of all Tuscans in
nobility, learning and wealth; who, when Rome was sacked by the
Imperial forces, and Pope Clement was besieged therein, restored
his country, then reduced to base slavery, to liberty. Ten years
afterwards, when again opposing resuscitated despotism, he was taken
prisoner at the castle of Montemurlo, and soon after cruelly put to
death. His seven surviving sons placed this monument to his memory amid
the tears of all good men. The tyrant did not blush to buy his blood at
a vast price, for he could find no means of remaining in security while
so powerful an enemy lived. But Liberty, knowing well that all her
hopes fell with him, willed to be buried in the same tomb. Pour forth
then, stranger, abundant tears if the Florentine Republic is aught to
thee; for thou wilt never have cause to mourn the loss of a greater
citizen. He lived forty-eight years, ... months, ... days. His last
words were, ‘It is sweet to die by whatsoever death for one’s country.’”
Filippo’s supposed will was commonly reported to have been written by
Pierfrancesco of Prato, who had been tutor to Duke Cosimo, and was
devoted to his interests.
The anonymous writer before mentioned gives the following description
of the great banker: “Filippo was tall of stature, and of a cheerful
and pleasing countenance; sallow of complexion, agile, and made more
for a life of action than for one of repose. No one was more agreeable
in manner, in gesture, deed and word; he was extremely affable, almost
always smiling when he first met people. His step was extraordinarily
rapid, and when his friends remarked upon it he would say nothing was
so irksome to him as loss of time, and that he did not see why, when
he could go quickly from place to place, he should go slowly. When
he could pass a day according to his fancy he was wont to divide it
into three portions; one he gave to his studies, one to his private
concerns, and one to his pleasures.... He was more inclined to pleasure
than was perhaps fitting, not only from inclination, but to adapt
himself to the wishes of his superiors and friends. When he was at
any public or private assembly where there were ladies, he would
lightly fall in love, for he was much inclined to the society of
women; attaching himself rather to those remarkable for elegance and
grace of manner than to those who were merely beautiful in feature. He
was exceedingly fond of music, sang well and accurately, and was not
ashamed to sing the penitential psalms at night in public together with
his brother Lorenzo and others such on holidays. He took much pleasure
also in composing in our own tongue both in prose and verse, as may be
seen by the translations and madrigals of his which are sung at the
present day. He was sumptuous in dress; as much so as any other man in
the city. He delighted in travel, and in seeing new manners and people,
but his many and various affairs did not permit him to indulge this
desire. To sum up his character in one word, those who were acquainted
with literature thought that he had never given his attention to other
things; while those who had business relations with him, and knew in
how masterly a fashion he conducted his affairs, could not easily be
persuaded that he ever attended to other matters; whilst those who knew
him as a man of pleasure could scarcely believe that he found time for
aught else.”
Filippo’s son, Piero Strozzi, went to Barcelona to plead the cause of
the exiles before Charles V., and after their disastrous defeat at
Montemurlo and his father’s murder, entered the service of Francis I.,
who created him Lord of Belleville and a knight of S. Michael. When
the Marquess Del Vasto was beaten by the Conte d’Enghien in 1544 at
Ceresole, Piero Strozzi attempted to seize Milan. Failing in this, he
crossed the Po at Piacenza, and fought his way down to Serravalle,
but had to retire into Piedmont, where he besieged and took the town
of Alba. He was recalled to France in 1545, when he fought against
the English, and the following year he joined the Protestant army in
Germany against Charles V. Later he took part with the Duc de Guise in
defending Metz, when besieged by the Emperor. On the Sienese appealing
to Francis I. for help against Duke Cosimo I. backed by Charles V.,
Strozzi rushed to their assistance armed with full powers from the
King, who made him a Marshal of France. When Siena was forced to
capitulate Piero, who knew that Duke Cosimo had offered a large reward
for his head, fled in disguise, but returned to Italy in 1556, sent by
Henry II. to the aid of Pope Paul IV. against the Emperor. After the
battle of St. Quintin in the Netherlands, where the Spaniards gained a
decisive victory, Strozzi was recalled to France, and assisted at the
taking of Calais by the Duc de Guise. Two years later he was killed at
the siege of Thionville.
His brother Leone, Prior of Capua, went to Malta, where he became
a Knight of the Order and Captain of the galleys. He fought with
distinction under Andrea Doria, and in 1541 entered the service of
Francis I., whose rivalry with the Emperor Charles V., patron of the
Medici, gave him hopes of revenging the murder of his father and of
liberating Tuscany from the yoke of a family he hated. In 1547 Leone
fought against England, and is said to have been the first European
admiral to sail through the Straits of Gibraltar. Four years later
after vainly trying to force Andrea Doria to fight, he drove his fleet
from the coasts of France, and setting sail for Barcelona, captured
several of the enemy’s ships within sight of shore. Discovering that
the Connetable Anne de Montmorency was intriguing against him, Leone
sent back his standard to the King and, breaking the chains which
closed the port of Marseilles, sailed back to Malta, where he planned
the fortifications of S. Elmo and S. Michael. When the Sienese rose
against Cosimo I. he re-entered the service of France and, summoned
by his brother Piero, preceded the fleet with three swift galleys and
landed at Scarlino on the coast of Tuscany, where he was killed whilst
reconnoitring.
The noble palace belongs to Prince Piero Strozzi, head of the family;
as in 1568 Cosimo I. restored to the Cardinal Lorenzo Strozzi and his
nephew Leone the half of the building confiscated by the State when
Filippo Strozzi rebelled.[97]