Palla Strozzi
Palla di Onofrio Strozzi (1372 – May 8, 1462) was an Italian banker, politician, writer, philosopher and philologist.
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[edit] Biography
He was born in Florence into the rich family of the Strozzi. He was educated by humanists, learning Greek and Latin, and establishing an important collection of rare books. Vespasiano, in his Lives of illustrious men of the 15th century described him as rich, handsome, a family man, a scholar, and a great builder and collector[1]. He was the richest man in Florence with a gross taxable income of 162,925 florins in 1427 and more than 50 farms and over 30 houses.[2]
In his sixties, together with Rinaldo degli Albizzi, he became the leader of the opposition against Cosimo de' Medici, the man who practically controlled the political power in Florence. Initially successful, the two secured the imprisonment of Cosimo, forcing him into exile in 1433.
However, when Cosimo returned, both the Strozzi and Albizi families were exiled in turn. In 1434, Palla moved to Padua, where he started to plan a return to his native city, which however never occurred.
He died in 1462, leaving his collection to the monastery of Santa Giustina. As patron of the arts, he was commissioner of Gentile da Fabriano's Adoration of the Magi in the Strozzi Chapel of Santa Trinita church in Florence. He additionally commissioned Fra Angelico's Deposition of Christ in the Sacristy of Santa Trinita in Florence.
His descendants settled in Ferrara.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Waters, W. G., and Emily Waters. The Vespasiano memoirs: lives of illustrious men of the 15th century. Toronto: University of Toronto Press in association with the Renaissance Society of America, 1997.
- ^ Crabb, Ann. The Strozzi of Florence: widowhood and family solidarity in the Renaissance. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2000.
[edit] Sources
- Vannucci, Marcello (2006). Le grandi famiglie di Firenze. Newton &Compton. ISBN 88-8289-531-9.
