Rinaldo degli Albizzi

Rinaldo degli Albizzi (* 1370 in Florence , † February 2, 1442 in Ancona ) from the Florentine patrician family Albizzi was the one of the family who finally lost in the power struggle with the Medici .

Life

Rinaldo was the son of Maso degli Albizzi. In 1398 he became mayor of Città di Castello . From the following year he supported his father Maso politically and became his right-hand man. From 1408 he was diplomatic for Pope Gregory XII. active, between 1413 and 1415 he negotiated at his side about the end of the Great Western Schism . After the death of his father in October 1417, Rinaldo became one of the most powerful men in Florence; he practically exercised the power of government in the republic and, in contrast to Maso degli Albizzi, also presented it to the outside world.

In 1432 and 1433, Florence and Venice fought another costly war with Milan. The mismanagement of the campaign resulted in a dispute between the aristocratic party led by Rinaldo degli Albizzi and the popular party led by Cosimo de 'Medici , although both had previously agreed to the war. Rinaldo was determined to crush the Medici Party and successfully enforced Cosimo's banishment. The Albizzi tried to strengthen their position by conferring exceptional powers on the Capitano del popolo , but the Medici still had great popular support. Rinaldo's proposal for a coup d'etat found no response in his own party, and he could not prevent the election of a pro-Medici Signoria in 1434 . He and other party leaders were summoned to the palace to counter allegations of conspiracy against the state. He responded by summoning 800 armed supporters. A revolution was only averted by the intervention of Pope Eugen IV , who was in Florence at the time.

A parliament was convened, and the elected Balia decided to return Cosimo and exile Rinaldo degli Albizzi, Rodolfo Peruzzi , Niccolò Barbadori and others, despite a weak attempt by Eugen to protect them. On 6. October 1434 returned Cosimo returned to Florence, and in the next three centuries, the history of the city is by the house Medici determined. After he had again unsuccessfully fought against the Medici on the side of the Visconti , Rinaldo degli Albizzi withdrew from politics in 1440. He spent the last years of his life in Ancona, where he died during the wedding of his daughter Nicoletta.

He was married to Alessandra di Gucciozzo de 'Ricci in 1392 and had twelve children with her.

literature

• Umberto Dorini: ALBIZZI, Rinaldo degli in: Enciclopedia Italiana (1929)
• Arnaldo D'Addario:  Albizzi, Rinaldo. In: Alberto M. Ghisalberti (Ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 2:  Albicante – Ammannati. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 1960.