Historical figure Buondelmonte

Born in: 0  - Died in: 0
The origins of the family are with Sichelmo (X century), whose descendants came to dominate a large part of the Greve and Pesa valleys. The family moved to Florence around 1137 with Uguccione and Rosso, following the destruction of their castle of Montebuoni, from which a lineage derived that gave the city prestigious condottieri and politicians.

An exponent of the Buondelmonti, Buondelmonte, was the protagonist of the clashes with the Amidei of 1216, which according to the Florentine chroniclers were the origin of the civil fracture between Guelphs and Ghibellines in the city. In fact, Buondelmonte had to marry an Amidei, but did not present himself at the wedding decided to marry a Donati: the offense was washed with blood in an ambush near the Ponte Vecchio, where Buondelmonte died. It soon became a reparative marriage of a daughter of Rinieri Buondelmonti in 1239 with Neri Piccolino degli Uberti, a Ghibelline. Since then the family sided decidedly, by force of things, with the Guelph party, political position that was at the base of the fortunes after the definitive defeat of the Ghibelline side. The first houses of the family were in Borgo Santi Apostoli, in whose vicinity the Buondelmonti tower still stands today. At that time they joined the Acciaiuoli, whose houses were close.

In the following centuries, although some branches were extinct, the Buondelmonti were always among the most prominent families in Florence, obtaining positions and awards both from the Florentine Republic and from the Medici. In the fifteenth century Jacopo was one of the rare cases in the family of a successful merchant, active in Constantinople, while the family normally drew their wealth from the land rents.

The famous leader Pippo Spano was born Filippo Buondelmonti degli Scolari, and became commander of the armies of Sigismund of Hungary, where he obtained the title of count "ispàn". It was depicted in a famous fresco by Andrea del Castagno.

At Zanobi Buondelmonti, Niccolò Machiavelli dedicated the Discourses on the first Deca of Titus Livius; both, who frequented the Neo-Platonic Academy of the Ortic Oricellari, ended up then involved in the antimedicea conspiracy with the cardinal Giulio: the Buondelmonti saved only by fleeing to France.

The Buondelmonti family were a noble Florentine family, which became famous for the historic dispute with the Amidei family, from which the long struggles between Guelphs and Ghibellines in Florence had to be derived.
Peace with the Medici was promoted by other exponents of the family, like Leonardo who was a very rich merchant and favored by Clement VII, obtaining permission to build for the family a large mansion at the beginning of the sixteenth century, the Palazzo Buondelmonti which is still today in Piazza Santa Trinita. Benedetto Buondelmonti, in 1531, was among the twelve chosen by the Medici who had just returned to the city to be part of the Council of the Twelve, who had to draft a new constitution abolishing the ancient institute of the Lordship and of the gonfalonierato and establishing a purely honorary and consultative Senate.

The family became extinct in a male line in 1774 with Francesco Caccolinp, who lost two sons and whose daughter Luisa Giuseppa, who died in 1845, married the Marquis Ubaldo Feroni. Heirs of Luisa Giuseppa were the three cousins ​​Marianna, Emilia and Eleonora Rinuccini.

Buondelmonte Visited places

Castello di Pergolato

 Castello di Pergolato, 8 - 50026 San Cascinao Val di Pesa - Florence
Castle/Fortress/Tower

The Castello di Pergolato is a splendid example of a medieval castle situated in a dominant position in the valley of the Pesa river, in the heart of Chianti, a few kilometers from Florence. Dating... see

Offered services

Apartments / Rooms for rent / Bed&Breakfast, Swimming pool

Time period
Middle Ages

Where
Italy, Florence