Rodolfo Belenzani

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Rodolfo Belenzani (* around 1372 ; † July 5, 1409 in Trento ) was a nobleman and leader of the uprising of Trento in 1407.

Life

Origin and first years

Belenzani came from an aristocratic family originally resident on northern Lake Garda , who moved to Trento in the 13th century. Through a clever marriage policy , she succeeded in social and economic advancement to one of the most important families in the city. At the end of the 13th century she already owned numerous houses in Trento, a castle a little outside the city, Castel Pietrapiana, and lands in the near and far. The influence that the family must have exercised is evident from the fact that from the 14th century onwards, a district, the Contrada Belenzani , was named after it.

The name Rodolfo Belenzani appears for the first time in a document from 1385, when the still young Rodolfo was given some lands as fiefs by the Bishop of Trento Albert von Ortenburg , which had previously been granted to his deceased father. These fiefs were confirmed to him in 1391 by Georg I von Liechtenstein , the successor of Ortenburg, including Castel Pietrapiana.

Rodolfo was well educated and spoke Latin and German. Among his circle of friends were humanists and lawyers from Padua who served as vicars of the Curia in Trento. For study purposes, he often stayed in their offices in Padua.

At the end of the 14th century, the young Belenzani had already been entrusted with public offices. In 1399 he was a member of the municipal market committee and regulated the fish market with the episcopal vicar, but also dealt with the wages of the winegrowers. In 1406 he was the episcopal captain at Tenno Castle .

The uprising of 1407

In February 1407 an uprising broke out in Trento, which also spread to other areas of the prince-bishopric. It was the result of the increasing loss of power of the bishop in favor of the Counts of Tyrol due to the compacts first signed in 1363 , which indirectly questioned the episcopal feudal system and thus the economic and social basis of the local nobility. The attempt by Georg von Liechtenstein to strengthen his position of power by appointing loyal followers from his native Moravia made the situation even worse. His vicars took advantage of the prince-bishop's weak position and turned the population against them through poorly managed official business and an exaggerated tax and contribution policy, which also affected the lower classes.

On February 2, 1407 an angry crowd marched under the leadership of the noble Negro de 'Negri di S. Pietro in front of the Palazzo Pretorio in Trento and protested against the tax burden, and demanded the removal of the hated episcopal vicar. The unrest that broke out elsewhere took the bishop, who was being held in the Castello del Buonconsiglio, by surprise. During the month, Liechtenstein was forced to make concessions and surrender rights. On February 28, 1407 he finally signed the so-called Magna Charta Libertatum Tridenti . In doing so, he admitted, among other things, the election of a city council, control of the official business of the city vicar and the appointment of a speaker and so-called captain of the people.

Rodolfo Belenzani, who himself did not appear during the uprising, was entrusted with the task of captain. Liechtenstein regretted the concessions made soon and sought help from the from Parma derived Condottiere Ottobono da Parma, who in the service of the Duke of Milan was to suppress with its military support the uprising. The request for help did not go unnoticed and Belenzani tried for his part to get rid of the bishop, especially since the Count of Tyrol Frederick IV supported him in the matter. At the refusal of the Bishop to hand over Castel Buonconsiglio Belenzani, the latter was imprisoned in the Torre Vanga on April 4, 1407 . When the bishop's possessions were looted a few days later, Rodolfo asked the Count of Tyrol for help to prevent the unrest from escalating further. Shortly afterwards on April 16, 1407 occupied by Heinrich VI. Troops led by Rottenburg entered the city. Meanwhile, Belenzani and his troops besieged the castle of Pergine, which was held by a follower loyal to the bishop .

Frederick IV initially granted the city further rights, completely ignoring the bishop. Belenzani was awarded Castel Tenno as a fief for his services, as well as the title of captain and mayor. With the help of several lawyers from Padua who belonged to his circle of friends, Rodolfo worked out a statute for the city, which also served as a template for other municipal statutes in the prince-bishopric. The marginalized bishop refused any cooperation in the face of the new circumstances and was first placed under house arrest before he more or less fled Trento for Vienna in July 1407 , from where he did not return until the end of 1409.

The harmony between Frederick IV and the anti-bishop movement ended relatively soon. The increasing control exercised over the city council and the filling of important positions by followers of the count ended with the departure and finally in the open resistance of Belenzani and his supporters. Instead of the bishop, the upper class of the city now had to deal with Frederick IV.

On October 6, 1407, Rodolfo was arrested by the people of Frederick IV, the office of captain was dissolved and the privileges granted were partially abolished. Belenzani escaped the dungeon because a friend deposited 25,000 ducats as bail. Instead of appearing before the Count in January 1408, as imposed, he fled and looked for new allies he seemed to have identified in the Republic of Venice . In the city of Rovereto , held by Venice , he gathered a number of armed men around him. Some lords of the castle like Negro de 'Negri in Stenico also resisted the new orders. Venice, however, held back with an alliance, did not trust the insurgents and did not want to jeopardize its economic relations with its northern neighbors.

Left to himself, Belenzani and his followers moved to Trento on June 28, 1409. After some of them had been killed by the rebels, the Count's followers withdrew to the Castello di Buonconsiglio, which Rodolfo then besieged. The answer from Frederick IV was not long in coming and on July 5th his troops recaptured the city. Rodolfo Belenzani, who died on the same day, was fatally injured in the bloody clashes with the rebels.

reception

At the beginning of the 20th century, Belenzani was portrayed in a nationalistic way as the leader of a democratic uprising against foreign rule, especially among the bourgeoisie sympathizing with irredentism , ignoring the fact that it was a movement that was largely initiated and supported by the nobility .

literature

  • Bruno Andreolli: Per una campionatura delle rivolte cittadine e rurali nel Trentino medievale , in: Annali dell'Istituto Alcide Cervi, N. 16 (1994): Protesta e rivolta contadina nell'Italia medievale , Dedalo, Bari 1995. ISBN 978-88- 220-4150-0
  • Klaus Brandstätter : Vescovi, città e signori. Rivolte cittadine a Trento 1435–1437 (Collana di monografie edita dalla Società trentina di scienze storiche 51), Trento 1995, ISBN 978-88-8133-001-0 .
  • Brunella Brunelli, Franco Cagol: Rodolfo Belenzani e la rivolta cittadina del 1407 , Esperia, Trient 2009. ISBN 978-88-86802-71-0
  • Giorgio Cracco:  Belenzani, Rodolfo. In: Alberto M. Ghisalberti (Ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 7:  Bartolucci – Bellotto. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 1965, pp. 561-563.
  • Rodolfo De Negri De San Pietro: La famiglia De Grandis di Porta Oriola e loro parenti , in: Accademia degli Agiati (ed.): Congresso la regione Trentino-Alto Adige nel Medio Evo. Atti dell'Accademia degli Agiati Anno 235 (1985) Vol. 25, Rovereto 1986. ( PDF )
  • Gian Maria Varanini: Rodolfo Belenzani e il comune di Trento agli inizii del Quattrocento , in: Brunella Brunelli, Franco Cagol: Rodolfo Belenzani e la rivolta cittadina del 1407 , Esperia, Trento 2009. ISBN 978-88-86802-71-0

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Brunella Brunelli, Franco Cagol: Rodolfo Belenzani e la rivolta cittadina del 1407, pp. 63-65
  2. ↑ Brunella Brunelli, Franco Cagol: Rodolfo Belenzani e la rivolta cittadina del 1407 p. 45
  3. ↑ a b c d e Giorgio Cracco:  Rodolfo Belenzani. In: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI).
  4. ^ Bruno Andreolli: Per una campionatura delle rivolte cittadine e rurali nel Trentino medievale. Pp. 37-39
  5. ↑ Gian Maria Varanini: Rodolfo Belenzani e il comune di Trento agli inizi del Quattrocento p. 11
  6. ↑ Rodolfo De Negri De San Pietro: La famiglia De Grandis di Porta Oriola e loro parenti pp. 419-420
  7. ↑ Marco Bellabarba: Il principato vescovile di Trento nel Quattrocento: poteri urbani e poteri signorili p. 389
  8. ↑ Marco Bellabarba: Il principato vescovile di Trento nel Quattrocento: poteri urbani e poteri signorili p. 391
  9. ↑ Gian Maria Varanini: Rodolfo Belenzani e il comune di Trento agli inizii del Quattrocento p. 17
  10. ↑ Gian Maria Varanini: Rodolfo Belenzani e il Comune di Trento agli inizii del Quattrocento S. 18-19
  11. ↑ Marco Bellabarba: Il principato vescovile di Trento nel Quattrocento: poteri urbani e poteri signorili p. 390
  12. ^ Brunella Brunelli, Franco Cagol: Rodolfo Belenzani e la rivolta cittadina del 1407 p. 90
personal data
SURNAME Rodolfo Belenzani
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Nobleman and Revolutionary
DATE OF BIRTH around 1372
DATE OF DEATH July 5, 1409
Place of death Trent