wiki143 - User contributions [en]

Ildibad

2025-02-17T00:00:14Z

87.2.41.210:

{{short description|6th-century Ostrogothic king}}
{{Infobox monarch
| name = Ildibad
| title = King of the Ostrogoths
| spouse =
| reign = 540{{snd}}541
| issue =
| father =
| mother =
| predecessor = [[Vitiges]]
| successor = [[Eraric]]
| birth_date =
| death_date = 541
| image = Portret van Ildobaldo, RP-P-1909-6130.jpg
| caption = Engraving of Ildibad. From [[Emanuele Tesauro]]. ''Del regno d'Italia sotto i barbari''. Turin: Bartolomeo Zavatta, 1664, p. 36.
}}
'''Ildibad''' (sometimes rendered '''Ildebad''', '''Ildebadus''', '''Hildebad''' or '''Heldebadus''') (died 541) was a king of the [[Ostrogothic Kingdom]] in AD 540–541.

==Biography==
Ildibad was a nephew of [[Theudis]], an [[Ostrogoth]] king of the [[Visigothic Kingdom|Visigoths]] in [[Spain]]. This relationship led [[Peter Heather]] to suggest that both belonged to a powerful, non-royal clan.<ref>{{harvnb|Heather|1998|p=242}}</ref> In 540, the Ostrogothic king [[Witiges]] was taken prisoner by [[Belisarius]] in [[Ravenna]]. Ildibad's children were also taken prisoner.<ref name="Wolfram349">{{harvnb|Wolfram|1990|pp=349–353}}</ref> Ildibad was one of the Goths north of the [[Po (river)|Po river]] who still refused to surrender to Roman authority. Following Witiges' capture, however, Ildibad had attempted to negotiate terms of surrender with [[Belisarius]], perhaps because of the fate of his children.<ref name="Wolfram349"/>

After Witiges's capture, the leading candidate for the Ostrogothic throne became [[Uraias]], who was Witiges' nephew, a skilled military commander and in charge of [[Ticinum]] ([[Pavia]]). Uraias, however, declined because his family lacked "royal fortune", and instead suggested Ildibad, who was at that time in charge of [[Verona]].<ref name="Wolfram349"/> These were the only cities still held by the Ostrogoths at this time.<ref name="Bury227">{{harvnb|Bury|2013|pp=227–228}}</ref> After being elected king in 540, Ildibad moved his capital to Pavia. Ildibad again attempted to negotiate a surrender, but after Belisarius sailed to [[Constantinople]] along with Witiges and Ildibad's family, the war resumed.<ref name="Wolfram349"/> The Gothic territory at this time consisted only of a narrow strip of land between Pavia and Verona, while the army consisted of barely 1,000 men, although this number was growing.<ref name="Wolfram349"/>

The lack of coordination among the remaining Byzantine commanders enabled Ildibad to extend his authority throughout [[Liguria]] and [[Veneto|Venetia]].<ref name="Bury227"/> In AD 541 he was [[Battle of Treviso|engaged]] outside the heavily defended city of [[Treviso]] by its military commander Vitalius and a sizable body of [[Herules]].<ref name="Wolfram349"/> The battle was a decisive victory for the Goths, with Vitalius barely escaping while the [[Heruli]] leader was killed.<ref name="Bury227"/> His nephew [[Totila]] then became military commander of [[Treviso]].<ref name="Wolfram349"/> Ildibad was subsequently able to extend his authority across the entire [[Po Valley]]. The victory gave him increased support among the Goths, while the ruinous Roman taxation of the provinces and lack of coordination among generals enabled him to acquire many Roman deserters.<ref name="Wolfram349"/>

In 541, Ildibad had Uraias murdered.<ref name="Bury227"/> According to [[Procopius]], Uraias's murder had been instigated by Ildibad's wife, who felt insulted by the lavish lifestyle of Uraias' wife.<ref name="Bury227"/> [[Herwig Wolfram]] suggests that this is an invention by [[Procopius]] to "personalize" the causes of political events, and that the real reason for Uraias' murder was that the Witiges clan had allied with non-Gothic barbarians, including the [[Rugii]] and probably [[Gepids]], to conspire against Ildibad's rule.<ref name="Wolfram349"/> In any case, in May 541, Ildibad was murdered at a royal [[banquet]] by his [[Gepid]] bodyguard Velas whose Gothic lover was married off to someone else by Ildibad while Velas was away.<ref name="urlRome Resurgent: War and Empire in the Age of Justinian - Peter Heather - Google Książki">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TE1YDwAAQBAJ&q=venetius+roman+military+deteriorated&pg=PT346 |title=Rome Resurgent: War and Empire in the Age of Justinian |page=346 |isbn=9780199362769 |last1=Heather |first1=Peter |author1-link=Peter Heather |date=May 2018 |publisher=Oxford University Press }}</ref><ref name="Bury227"/> The lack of a suitable Gothic successor enabled the Rugians to make their chief [[Eraric]] king of the Goths.<ref name="Wolfram349"/> Eraric, however, betrayed the Goths and secretly offered to surrender the Gothic kingdom to the Byzantines in return for money.<ref name="Bury227"/> As a result, the Goths at Pavia offered Ildibad's nephew Totila the throne.<ref name="Wolfram349"/> Totila was at that point himself negotiating with the imperial commander at [[Ravenna]], and demanded the killing of Eraric if he was to accept the throne.<ref name="Wolfram349"/> After [[Eraric]] was killed in October 541, Totila became king of the Ostrogoths, a title he held for more than ten years.<ref name="Wolfram349"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{cite book |last=Bury |first=J. B. |author-link=J.B. Bury |date=23 April 2013 |title=History of the Later Roman Empire, Vol. 2: From the Death of Theodosius I to the Death of Justinian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5c-uJvg3eJsC |publisher=[[Courier Corporation]] |isbn=978-0486143392 |access-date=15 June 2015}}
*{{cite book |last=Heather |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Heather |date=8 June 1998 |title=The Goths|url={{Google books|eCf0Tjg0BukC|plain-url=y}}|publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons|Wiley]] |isbn=0631209328 }}
*{{cite book |last=Wolfram |first=Herwig |author-link=Herwig Wolfram |date=1 January 1990 |title=History of the Goths|url={{Google books|xsQxcJvaLjAC|plain-url=y}}|translator=Thomas J. Dunlap|edition=New revised|publisher=[[University of California Press]] |isbn=0520069838 }}

{{s-start}}
{{s-reg}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Witiges]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Ostrogoth|King of the Ostrogoths]]|years=540–541}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Eraric]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Antique Kings of Italy}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:541 deaths]]
[[Category:6th-century kings of Italy]]
[[Category:6th-century monarchs in Europe]]
[[Category:Assassinated Gothic people]]
[[Category:6th-century murdered monarchs]]
[[Category:Ostrogothic kings]]
[[Category:People of the Gothic War (535–554)]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:6th-century Ostrogothic people]]

Prince of Belmonte

2025-02-16T12:32:06Z

87.2.41.210: /* Further reading */

{{Infobox nobility title
| name = Princedom of Belmonte
| image = [[File:Coat of arms of the House of Granito.svg|150px|Arms of the Prince of Belmonte]]
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| creation_date = 1619
| creation =
| monarch = [[Philip III of Spain]]
| peerage = Spanish [[Kingdom of Naples]]
| baronetage =
| first_holder = Orazio Giovan Battista Ravaschieri Fieschi, 1st Prince of Belmonte
| last_holder =
| present_holder = [[Angelo Gennaro Granito Pignatelli, 13th Prince of Belmonte]]
| heir_apparent =
| heir_presumptive =
| remainder_to = [[Male-preference primogeniture]]
| subsidiary_titles = [[Duke of Acerenza]], [[Marquess of Galatone]], [[Marquess of Castellabate]], [[Count of Copertino]]
| status =
| extinction_date =
| family_seat =
| former_seat =
| motto =
| footnotes =
}}
'''Prince of Belmonte''' ({{langx|it|Principe di Belmonte}}; {{langx|es|Príncipe de Belmonte}}) is a noble title created in 1619 by the Spanish crown for the Barons of Badolato and Belmonte. The name of the title is taken from the fortress town of Belmonte in [[Calabria]], historically important for the defence of the Italian coast from [[Saracen]] invasion. Belmonte has been known since the ''[[Risorgimento]]'' as [[Belmonte Calabro]].

In addition to the princely title, the princes were made [[Grandee|Grandees of Spain]] (First Class) in 1712, and in 1726 were granted the rank of [[Prince of the Holy Roman Empire]] ({{langx|de|Reichsfürst}}) with the style of [[Serene Highness]] ({{langx|de|Durchlaucht}}). The princes hold a number of [[subsidiary title]]s, including [[Duke of Acerenza]] (1593), [[Marquess of Galatone]] (1562) and [[Count of Copertino]] (1562).

The seat of the princes is Palazzo Belmonte, on the Bay of Salerno and south of [[Amalfi]]. The princes are descendants of the [[Fieschi]] family of [[Genoa]],<ref name="Lagomarsino 2009">{{cite news
| first=Isabella
| last=Lagomarsino
| title=Storia e dimore di una famiglia signorile tra Chiavari, Genova e Napoli
| publisher=de Ferrari
| year=2009
}}</ref> who were ennobled<ref>{{cite news
| first=Federico
| last=Federici
| title=Della Famiglia Fiesca
| publisher=Genova
| year=1645
}}</ref> as [[Count Palatine|Counts Palatine]] in the year 1010 by [[Henry the Holy]], [[King of Italy]] and later [[Holy Roman Emperor]]. The Emperor created the title of Count of Lavagna and appointed the Fieschi as Imperial Vice-Regents of all [[Tuscany]] and of the coast of Genoa.

==Ancestry==
The Princes of Belmonte descended from the [[Fieschi]], [[Count Palatine|Counts Palatine]] of [[Lavagna]]. The Fieschi were one of the main families of [[Genoa]], along with the [[House of Grimaldi|Grimaldi]], [[Spinola family|Spinola]] and [[Doria (family)|Doria]] families. In the 13th century, the Fieschi were allied to the [[House of Grimaldi]], modern day Princes of [[Monaco]], in the struggle between the [[Guelphs and Ghibellines]]. The current prince is 35th in line from Frisco, 1st Count of Lavagna.<ref name="Lagomarsino 2009"/>

The ancestors of the Princes of Belmonte include Sinibaldo, [[Pope Innocent IV]], and Ottobuono, [[Pope Adrian V]], as well as several cardinals, a King of Sicily, the Viceroy of Naples under [[René I of Naples]] (Jacopo Fieschi), three saints including [[Saint Catherine of Genoa]] (1447–1510), and both generals and admirals of Genoa and other states. Through their later marriage to a line of the Pignatelli, the Princes of Belmonte share blood with a third pope, [[Pope Innocent XII]], and the Jesuit [[Saint Joseph Pignatelli]].
[[Image:Coin Charles V 1516-1556 IBR.jpg|thumb|right|Coin of the Reign of Charles V, Mint of Naples and Aquila, showing IBR.]]

Ugone of Lavagna was alleged to have been the first to bear the name "Fiesco" or Fieschi, attributed to his control of the fiscal affairs of the [[Holy Roman Emperor]]. His descendant, Rubaldo Fieschi, was confirmed as Count of [[Lavagna]] in the 11th Century. Around 1156, [[Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor]] confirmed feudal rights in Lavagna to the Fieschi: the beneficiaries included Rubaldo and his nephews Gulielmo, Tebaldo, Enrico, Ruffino, Aldedado, Gherardo; Ottone and his brother Ugone; and Alberto and his brother Beltramino.<ref>{{cite news
| first=B.
| last=Bernabo
| title=I Conti di Lavagna e l'alta Val di Vara
| work=Atti del Convegno I Fieschi tra Papato e Impero
| pages=49–50
| orig-date=18 December 1994 |year=1998
}}</ref> The rank of [[Count Palatine]] was confirmed once again at [[Lucca]] on 27 May 1369 by [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor]] of the [[House of Luxembourg]].<ref>{{cite news
| last=von Frank
| title= Flisco (Fiesco)
}}</ref> Later confirmations of the Fieschi status as direct [[vassals]] to the [[Holy Roman Emperor]] were given by the [[House of Habsburg]] in 1521, 1529, 1568, and 1620.

Beltramino Fieschi, 7th Count of Lavagna, was succeeded by his son Gerardo Fieschi, 8th Count, who was known as 'Gerardo Ravascherius'. Taking the name Ravaschieri Fieschi, this branch rose to greater prominence as royal bankers in the Kingdom of Naples: Giovanni Battista was appointed Master of the Mint of Naples and Aquila (Maestro di Zecca di Napoli e L'Aquila) in 1552 under His Imperial Majesty [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor]] (1516–1554), and his seal of 'IBR' frequently appears on the coinage of that time.<ref>{{cite news
| first=Jose Maria de Francisco
| last=Olmos
| title=The First Coins of Prince Felipe de Espana (1554-1556): Sovereign of Milan, Naples and England
| work=Documenta & Instrumenta, 3 (2005)
| publisher=Universidad Complutense de Madrid
| pages=155–186
| year=2005
}}</ref> Giovanni Battista was one of 7 children, of whom the eldest brother Giovan Francesco, was Prior of Bari of the [[Order of Malta]] (died 1555). Germano followed his father as 'Maestro di Zecca', under King [[Philip II of Spain]], and was the father of Giovan Battista, 1st Baron of Badolato, and therefore grandfather of Orazio, the first Prince of Belmonte.

The princely title of Belmonte has descended to its present holder through the following houses: Ravaschieri Fieschi, Squarciafico Pinelli, and [[House of Pignatelli|Pignatelli y Aymerich]]. The heiress of the last of these married the Marquess of [[Castellabate]], uniting her lands and titles with those of the Granito family, patricians of [[Salerno]] (Seggio di Campo) since 1380.<ref>{{cite news
| title=Libro d'Oro della Nobiltà Italiana (XXII edizione 2000-2004)
| publisher=Consulta Araldica del Regno d’Italia
| date=September 2000
}}</ref>

==Residences==
*[[Palazzo Ravaschieri Fieschi della Torre]]
*[[Palace of Rivellino|Palazzo Rivellino]]
*[[Acerenza]]
*Castle of [[Galatone]]
*[[Copertino Castle]]
*Palace of [[Muro Leccese]]
*Palazzo Belmonte at [[Santa Maria di Castellabate]]

==See also==
* [[Belmonte Calabro]]
* [[Castellabate]]
* [[Muro Leccese]]
* [[Acerenza]]
* [[Corigliano d'Otranto]]
* [[Galatone]]
* [[Argençola]]
* [[Castellabate]]
* [[Copertino]]
* [[Badolato]]
* [[Veglie]]
* [[Leverano]]
* Rocca [[Cilento]]
* [[Santa Maria di Castellabate]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*Adels, Genealogisches Handbuch des, Fürstliche Häuser
*[[Scipione Ammirato|Ammirato, Scipione]] (1580, 1651), Delle famiglie nobili Napoletane, Firenze (2 volumes)
*Bernabo, B. (1994/1998), I Conti di Lavagna e l’alta Val di Vara, in Atti del Convegno I Fieschi tra Papato e Impero, ed. Calcagno, D., Lavagna and Chiavari Casa Ravaschiera
*Firpo, M. (1994/1998), La ricchezza e il potere: le origini patrimoniali dell’ascesa della famiglia Fieschi nella Liguria Orientale tra XII e XIII secolo, in Atti del Convegno I Fieschi tra Papato e Impero, ed. Calcagno, D., Lavagna and Chiavari
*Frank, Karl Friedrich von (1967–1975), Standeserhöhungen und Gnadenakte für das Reich und die österreichischen Erblande bis 1823, volumes I-V, Senfteneg
*Frank, Karl Friedrich von (1928), Alt-Österreichisches Adels-Lexikon, Vienna
*Ganducci, O. Famiglie nobili di Genova, secolo XVIII, ms. 94. Santa Margherita Ligure, Biblioteca Comunale
*Granito, Giacchino (1912), Memorie, notizie e docc. della Gente Granita, Napoli
*Ilari, Annibale (2001- Tipografica L. Palazzotti), I Gran Priori di Roma del Sovrano Militare Ordine di Malta
*Magri, Andrea (1640), Memorie della Nobilissima Famiglia Ravaschiera, Discendente da Gli'Antichissimi Conti di Lavagna
*Mediolani (1611), Antiquae Familie Scortiae, et Aliarum Comitum Lavaniae Antiquissima Monumenta
*Montefusco, Luigiantonio, Nobilta nel Salento Vol. III, Istituto Araldico Salentino, Lecce
*Musso, G.A. Stemmario p. 95
*Rietstap (1887), Armorial Général, 2eme Edition
*Rolland, V. H. (1926), Supplément à Rietstap
*Ruvigny, Marquis de (1914), The Titled Nobility of Europe
*Turchi, Gabriele (2004), Storia di Belmonte (Dalle origini alla fine del secolo XIX)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belmonte, Prince Or Princess}}
[[Category:Spanish princes]]
[[Category:Lists of Spanish nobility]]
[[Category:Princes of Belmonte]]
[[Category:Families of Genoa]]
[[Category:Papal families]]
[[Category:Counts of the Holy Roman Empire]]
[[Category:Knights of the Golden Fleece]]
[[Category:Noble titles created in 1619]]

Ridolfo II da Varano di Camerino

2025-02-16T12:27:43Z

87.2.41.210: /* References */

'''Ridolfo''' (sometimes '''Rodolfo''') '''II da Varano, signore di Camerino''' (flourishing 1344 — 1384), was a ''[[condottiero]]'' operating in Italy from the 1360s. His forebears had long held<ref>In 1239 one Ridolfo di Gentile da Varano was named as holding the fortified height.</ref> the ''[[Rocca (architecture)|rocca]]'' of [[Camerino|Varano]] on the [[Marches|borderland]] of the [[Papal States]], controlling a major strategic pass between [[Umbria]] and the [[Marche]], a link between [[Rome]] and the [[Adriatic Sea|Adriatic coast]].<ref>[http://www.sistemamuseale-mc.it/?p=117&lang=en Sistema Museale della provincia di Macerata]</ref> He inherited from Gentile di Berardo da Varano in 1355, and undertook the improvement of the fortifications that protected the commune and its ''rocca''.

The son of Berardo da Varano and nephew of Gentile di Berardo da Varano, whom he succeeded in 1355,<ref>[[:it:Varano (famiglia)]]</ref> Ridolfo had proved his mettle in a dramatic capture of [[Smyrna]] in 1344, in guise of a "crusade" for the [[Knights of Rhodes]] under Jean de Biandra, Prior of Lombardy.<ref>[http://giornale.regione.marche.it/archivio/num0502/artcom26.htm P.L. Falaschi, "Splendori di una Signoria inedita", in AA.VV. ''I volti di una dinastia'', Milano 2001] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716051815/http://giornale.regione.marche.it/archivio/num0502/artcom26.htm |date=2011-07-16 }}</ref> In the year of his inheritance he gained a signal victory over [[Galeotto I Malatesta|Galeotto de' Malatesta]] near Paderno di Ancona in 1355, captured [[Recanati]] and at [[Castelfidardo]] made Galeotto prisoner; on 2 June 1355, a treaty was concluded, approved by [[Pope Innocent VI]] on 20 June.<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06558a.htm M. Ott, "Alvarez Carillo Gil de Albornoz, ''The Catholic Encyclopedia''. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909]. Retrieved December 23, 2009.</ref> The treaty was cemented by Galeotto's marriage to his daughter. In 1360 he fought for [[Pope Clement VI]]. Subsequently, he was created [[Papal gonfaloniere]] and reconquered [[Rimini]], [[Fano]], [[Pesaro]], [[Fossombrone]], [[Ascoli Piceno]] and [[Forlì]]. Later he was hired by the [[Capetian House of Anjou|Angevines]] of [[kingdom of Naples|Naples]], for whom he was governor of [[Abruzzo]].

In 1362 he fought for the Florentines against Pisa, notably in the capture of Peccioli, where he succeeded Bonifazio Lupo, to whom Matteo, the continuator of [[Giovanni Villani]]'s chronicle, compared him, as "nobler in birth, but much inferior in swiftness and mind"<ref>.''più illustre di nascita, ma inferiore assai per prontezza e per mente''. [http://www.isbrigatodapeccioli.it/capit_ventura.htm "Assedio di Peccioli"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722035740/http://www.isbrigatodapeccioli.it/capit_ventura.htm |date=2011-07-22 }}</ref> a lack of initiative: "He remained sleeping mornings until the third hour, in a bed supplied with [[Camp follower|low company]] and leading a quiet, courtly life>"<ref>''Stava dormendo la mattina fino alla terza, con letto fornito di disonesta compagnia e menando vita di corte quieta''</ref>

In 1370 he victoriously warred for [[Republic of Florence|Florence]] against [[Bernabò Visconti]]. The commune of [[Camerino]] was one of many in the Papal States that rose in rebellion against papal authority during the war headed by [[Florence]] against the French-allied papacy of [[Pope Gregory XI|Gregory XI]], in which Ser [[John Hawkwood]] ("Giovanni Acuto") distinguished himself. In 1375 Ridolfo held [[Bologna]], until recently occupied by papal troops under a legate, for the appointed emergency [[Florence|Florentine]] magistracy, the ''Otto di Guardia'' ("Eight of War").<ref>Bella Duffy, ''The Tuscan Republics (Florence, Siena, Pisa, and Lucca) with Genoa'' 1892:174ff, mentioned p. 177.</ref> Then, however, in a reverse typical of the times, in 1377 he was made commander-in-chief by Gregory XI, and was sent to fight against Florence. As an ally of the cardinal general of papal forces, [[Gil Álvarez Carrillo de Albornoz|Gil de Albornoz]], in operations once more against the [[House of Malatesta|Malatesta]] of [[Rimini]], turning over to him the supreme command of the papal army.
For this the Florentines had him depicted on the facade of a public building, in a ''[[pittura infamante|defaming portrait]]'', "traitor to the Holy Mother Church, to the popolo and commune of Florence and to all its allies," as hanging by his left foot, upside down on a gallows, with a [[Siren (mythology)|siren]] on his left and a [[basilisk]] on his right while wearing a bishop's [[mitre]] (circa 13 October 1377),<ref>Trevor Dean, ''The Towns of Italy in the Later Middle Ages'' (Manchester University Press) 2000:45.</ref>

His rise as papal commander was however halted when, due to strife with Albornoz, the latter had him imprisoned. After being freed, Rodolfo moved again to support the [[Republic of Florence]], for which he took part in the conquest of [[Pisa]] in 1362. The following year he warred for [[Perugia]]. In the same period, with the consent of [[Pope Urban V]], he had his uncle killed and therefore he became lord of [[Camerino]]. He became also lord of [[Macerata]]. Rodolfo suffered however two defeats at Montemilone and [[Fabriano]].

He died at [[Tolentino]] in 1384.

Issue

Elisabetta da Varano, married to [[Galeotto I Malatesta]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==References==
*{{cite book|last=Ammirato |first=Scipione|author-link=Scipione Ammirato|title=Storie fiorentine|location=Florence|year=1647|publisher=Per A. Massi, a istanza di G. B. Landini}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Varano Di Camerino, Ridolfo Da}}
[[Category:14th-century condottieri]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:1384 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Camerino]]

Benedetto Varchi

2025-02-16T12:10:40Z

87.2.41.210:

{{Short description|Italian humanist, historian and poet}}
[[Image:Benedetto varchi tiziano.jpg|right|thumbnail|Benedetto Varchi, by [[Titian]]]]
'''Benedetto Varchi''' ({{IPA|it|beneˈdetto ˈvarki}}; 1502/1503{{snd}}1565) was an [[Renaissance Italy|Italian]] [[Renaissance Humanism|humanist]], [[historian]], and [[poet]].

==Biography==
Born in Florence to a family that had originated at [[Montevarchi]], he frequented the [[neoplatonic]] [[academy]] that Bernardo Rucellai organized in his garden, the [[Orti Oricellari]]; there, in spite of the fact that Rucellai was married to the elder sister of [[Lorenzo de' Medici]], republican ideals circulated, in the context of revived classical culture, that culminated in a plot in 1513 to subvert [[Medici]] rule in Florence. At Pisa, Varchi studied to become a notary.

With his return to Florence, he fought in the defence of the temporarily revived [[Republic of Florence]], during the [[siege of Florence (1530)|siege]] by the [[Medici|Medicean]]s and imperialists in 1530, and was exiled after the surrender of the city; he spent time at Padua (1537), where he was a protégé of the émigré [[Piero Strozzi]] and at Bologna (1540). In 1536 he took part in Strozzi's unsuccessful expedition against Medicean rule, but seven years later Varchi was called back to Florence by [[Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Cosimo I]], who gave him a pension and appointed him one of the three official historians of Florence along with [[Giovanni Battista Adriani]] and [[Scipione Ammirato]].<ref>{{cite book |last=De Gaetano |first=Armand L. |title=Giambattista Gelli and the Florentine Academy: The rebellion against Latin |date=1976 |publisher=[[Leo S. Olschki]] |isbn=978-8822222251 |location=Firenze |p=107}}</ref> His ''Storia fiorentina'' (16 vol.) covers the period from 1527 to 1538, though it was so frank it was not published in Florence until 1721. Varchi also wrote a number of plays, poems, dialogues, and translations from the classics.<ref name="Chisholm">{{EB1911|inline=1|wstitle=Varchi, Benedetto|volume=27|page=905}}</ref>

With his return to Medici patronage, he became a member of the [[Accademia Fiorentina|Accademia fiorentina]], occupied with studies of linguistics, literary criticism, esthetics, and philosophy, but also, as became a [[Renaissance humanist]] in botany and alchemy. His tract ''L'Hercolano'', in the form of a dialogue between the writer and a ''conte Ercolano'', discussed the [[Tuscan dialect]] as it was spoken at Florence, in the vulgar rather than in Latin, an innovation in works of linguistics; it was published posthumously, in 1570.<ref>[http://bepi1949.altervista.org/ercolano/ercolano.html ''Ercolano, dialogo nel qual si ragiona generalmente delle lingue e in particolare della fiorentina e della toscana''], Giunti, Firenze 1570.</ref> He wrote a comedy ''La Suocera'' ("The Mother-in-Law").

Towards the end of his life, he had a spiritual crisis and took holy orders.

In [[Ezra Pound]]'s ''[[The Cantos]]'', Varchi is mentioned with approbation (Canto V) for his honesty as a historian who did not try to fill in gaps in a historical record just to make that record neat. Rather, he was willing to admit that he did not know or that the motives or the events surrounding a particular incident could not be absolutely determined. Pound gives as an example of Varchi's honesty his investigation—for his history of Florence—of the murder of [[Alessandro de' Medici]]. Varchi admitted that after all his attempts to uncover the facts he could not decide on the motives of Alessandro's murderer ([[Lorenzino de' Medici]], Alessandro's cousin).

==Homosexuality==
In his time, Varchi was notorious for his many sonnets to young boys. Though his loves were not always reciprocated, and despite his denunciations of men who engaged in "filthy loves", he was criticized by his contemporaries for his attachments to young boys. One critic mocked him in a satire: "O father Varchi, new Socrates{{nbsp}}... his arms open and his trousers down, this is how your Bembo is waiting for you in the [[Elysium|Elysian Fields]]". Another comments on his legacy, "But since he was always inclined to boy love{{nbsp}}... he greatly lessened the reputation that would have been rightfully appropriate."<ref>''Homosexuality & Civilization'', [[Louis Crompton]], pages 277-8</ref> In 1545, Varchi was arrested and tried for pederasty, and was eventually pardoned by [[Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Cosimo de' Medici]] upon the intercession of his many friends.<ref>Encyclopedia of Italian literary studies By Gaetana Marrone, Paolo Puppa, Luca Somigli; p.1949</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}
*An extensive bibliography may be found at [[:it:Benedetto Varchi|Italian Wikipedia: "Benedetto Varchi"]]

==Further reading (Italian)==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070524083108/http://www.bibliotecaitaliana.it:6336/dynaweb/bibit/autori/v/varchi/due_lezioni ''Due lezioni'']
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070524083153/http://www.bibliotecaitaliana.it:6336/dynaweb/bibit/autori/v/varchi/discorso_bellezza_grazia ''Il discorso della bellezza e della grazia'']
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070524082940/http://www.bibliotecaitaliana.it:6336/dynaweb/bibit/autori/v/varchi/rime ''Rime'']

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Varchi, Benedetto}}
[[Category:1500s births]]
[[Category:1565 deaths]]
[[Category:16th-century Italian historians]]
[[Category:16th-century Italian male writers]]
[[Category:Italian male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Italian gay writers]]
[[Category:Italian LGBTQ poets]]
[[Category:Gay poets]]
[[Category:Writers from Florence]]
[[Category:16th-century Italian LGBTQ people]]
[[Category:Italian Renaissance humanists]]