Altoviti: Difference between revisions
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In 1432 Oddo Altoviti married Giovanna Gherardini and was named in the same year [[Gonfaloniere of Justice]]. He becomes an ally of Tommaso Soderini and, together with [[Luca Pitti]], they use their influence to lift the ban of [[Cosimo de' Medici|Cosimo de Medici the Elder]]. They established personal relationships and profitable links with the Papal [[Curia (Catholic Church)|Curia]]. |
In 1432 Oddo Altoviti married Giovanna Gherardini and was named in the same year [[Gonfaloniere of Justice]]. He becomes an ally of Tommaso Soderini and, together with [[Luca Pitti]], they use their influence to lift the ban of [[Cosimo de' Medici|Cosimo de Medici the Elder]]. They established personal relationships and profitable links with the Papal [[Curia (Catholic Church)|Curia]]. |
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Antonio Altoviti married his cousin Dianora Altoviti Cybo. Known as ''La Papessa'' on account of the influence she held over her uncle [[Pope Innocent VIII|Giambattista Cybo, Pope Innocent VIII]], Antonio was made papal Master of the Mint. Like other Florentines banking families who provided loans to the popes in exchange for the rights to papal revenues, the Florentine and Roman branch of the Altoviti prospected. The family supported the construction of the church of [[San Giovanni dei Fiorentini]] and was a driving force behind the Compagnia della Misericordia. Some of the most famous members were [[Michelangelo]] and [[Leonardo da Vinci]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Polverini Fosi|first=Irene|title=Pietà, devozione e politica: due confraternite fiorentine nella Roma del Rinascimento|year=1991|location=Archivio Storico Italiano|pages=158}}</ref>[[File:Madonna dell’Impannata, by Raphael.jpg|thumb|Madonna dell'Impannata by Raphael |
Antonio Altoviti married his cousin Dianora Altoviti Cybo. Known as ''La Papessa'' on account of the influence she held over her uncle [[Pope Innocent VIII|Giambattista Cybo, Pope Innocent VIII]], Antonio was made papal Master of the Mint. Like other Florentines banking families who provided loans to the popes in exchange for the rights to papal revenues, the Florentine and Roman branch of the Altoviti prospected. The family supported the construction of the church of [[San Giovanni dei Fiorentini]] and was a driving force behind the Compagnia della Misericordia. Some of the most famous members were [[Michelangelo]] and [[Leonardo da Vinci]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Polverini Fosi|first=Irene|title=Pietà, devozione e politica: due confraternite fiorentine nella Roma del Rinascimento|year=1991|location=Archivio Storico Italiano|pages=158}}</ref>[[File:Madonna dell’Impannata, by Raphael.jpg|thumb|Madonna dell'Impannata by Raphael]]As the Altoviti had blood ties with Cybo and Medici, and alliances with the della Rovere, Pope Julius II (Giuliano della Rovere) became a mentor to his son Bindo, as he was to his later papal successors Leo X (Giovanni de' Medici) and Clemente VII (Giulio de' Medici). Bindo was included among the young noblemen educated at the papal court, where he was in attendance on the hostage [[Federico II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua|Federico Gonzaga]], the son of [[Isabella d'Este|Isabella d’Este]] and future [[duke of Mantua]]. During those years, he was introduced to [[Donato Bramante|Bramante]], [[Raphael]], and [[Michelangelo]]. [[File:Giorgio vasari, immacolata concezione (pala altoviti), 1540-41 (firenze, s. apostoli) 00.jpg|thumb|Allegory of the Immaculate Conception by Vasari]]Bindo was appointed as Depository General, the leading banker of the [[Papal States]] and chief commissioner for collecting taxes, mainly allocated for the reconstruction of the [[St. Peter's Basilica]]. After the death of [[Agostino Chigi]] and the [[Sack of Rome (1527)|sack of Rome in 1527]], only a few wealthy banks had the capital to prevent economic chaos. Competing with fierce Genoese bankers and the Germans [[Fugger]] and [[Welser]]; the [[Strozzi family|Strozzi]], [[Salviati family|Salviati]] and Altoviti became the leading Florentine and curial bankers, given the chance to participate in massive credit transactions, controlling an enlarging sphere of papal finance.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Fuggers|last=Ehrenberg|first=Richard|publisher=Gustav Fischer|year=192|pages=274.}}</ref> Bindo's son Giovanni Battista Altoviti married Clarice Ridolfi, daughter of Lorenzo Ridolfi, grandson of [[Lorenzo de' Medici|Lorenzo ''il Magnifico'' di Medici]] and [[Clarice Orsini]], tighten the bond between the Altoviti and the houses of Medici and Strozzi. |
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Bindo was appointed as Depository General, the leading banker of the [[Papal States]] and chief commissioner for collecting taxes, mainly allocated for the reconstruction of the [[St. Peter's Basilica]]. After the death of [[Agostino Chigi]] and the [[Sack of Rome (1527)|sack of Rome in 1527]], only a few wealthy banks had the capital to prevent economic chaos. Competing with fierce Genoese bankers and the Germans [[Fugger]] and [[Welser]]; the [[Strozzi family|Strozzi]], [[Salviati family|Salviati]] and Altoviti became the leading Florentine and curial bankers, given the chance to participate in massive credit transactions, controlling an enlarging sphere of papal finance.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Fuggers|last=Ehrenberg|first=Richard|publisher=Gustav Fischer|year=192|pages=274.}}</ref> Bindo's son Giovanni Battista Altoviti married Clarice Ridolfi, daughter of Lorenzo Ridolfi, grandson of [[Lorenzo de' Medici|Lorenzo ''il Magnifico'' di Medici]] and [[Clarice Orsini]], tighten the bond between the Altoviti and the houses of Medici and Strozzi. |
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Bindo Altoviti gradually expanded and diversified his financial activities, established dependences of the Altoviti Bank in foreign money markets as France, Netherlands and England. Among his clients were duke [[Charles III, Duke of Savoy|Charles III of Savoy]] and king [[Henry II of France]] and by shrewd political and financial acumen he amassed one of the largest private fortunes in Italy. After the death of [[Pope Clement VII|Clement VII]] and duke [[Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence|Alessandro de Medici]], the Altoviti sided with [[Catherine de' Medici]] and [[Pope Paul III]], getting into an open confrontation with [[Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Cosimo I de' Medici]]. |
Bindo Altoviti gradually expanded and diversified his financial activities, established dependences of the Altoviti Bank in foreign money markets as France, Netherlands and England. Among his clients were duke [[Charles III, Duke of Savoy|Charles III of Savoy]] and king [[Henry II of France]] and by shrewd political and financial acumen he amassed one of the largest private fortunes in Italy. After the death of [[Pope Clement VII|Clement VII]] and duke [[Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence|Alessandro de Medici]], the Altoviti sided with [[Catherine de' Medici]] and [[Pope Paul III]], getting into an open confrontation with [[Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Cosimo I de' Medici]]. |
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One of his nieces became daughter of honor of [[Catherine de' Medici]], and before her marriage the mistress of the [[Counts and dukes of Anjou|Duke of Anjou]] and future king [[Henry III of France|Henri III of France]]. Another was one of the richest inhabitants of Marseille and mistress of [[Charles, Duke of Guise|Charles of Lorraine]], [[Duke of Guise]], governor of Provence. Her brother became the governor of Belle Ile and his godfather [[Philippe Emmanuel, Duke of Mercœur|Philippe Emmanuel of Lorraine]], [[Duke of Mercœur]], brother of the later Queen of France [[Louise of Lorraine]] consolidating the relationship with the royal court of France. |
One of his nieces became daughter of honor of [[Catherine de' Medici]], and before her marriage the mistress of the [[Counts and dukes of Anjou|Duke of Anjou]] and future king [[Henry III of France|Henri III of France]]. Another was one of the richest inhabitants of Marseille and mistress of [[Charles, Duke of Guise|Charles of Lorraine]], [[Duke of Guise]], governor of Provence. Her brother became the governor of Belle Ile and his godfather [[Philippe Emmanuel, Duke of Mercœur|Philippe Emmanuel of Lorraine]], [[Duke of Mercœur]], brother of the later Queen of France [[Louise of Lorraine]] consolidating the relationship with the royal court of France. |
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Bindo enjoyed the financial resources to undertake extensive renovations to the properties he inherited from his father and his suburban villa on the Tiber to indulge a growing passion for art. Known and endowed with a strong taste for art, he became a patron of the arts and friend to [[Giorgio Vasari|Vasari]], [[Benvenuto Cellini|Cellini]], [[Raphael]] and [[Michelangelo]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Michelangelo|last=de Tolnay|first=Charles|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=1969|pages=131.}}</ref> |
Bindo enjoyed the financial resources to undertake extensive renovations to the properties he inherited from his father and his suburban villa on the Tiber to indulge a growing passion for art. Known and endowed with a strong taste for art, he became a patron of the arts and friend to [[Giorgio Vasari|Vasari]], [[Benvenuto Cellini|Cellini]], [[Raphael]] and [[Michelangelo]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Michelangelo|last=de Tolnay|first=Charles|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=1969|pages=131.}}</ref>[[File:Benvenuto Cellini Bust of Bindo Altoviti.jpg|thumb|Bust of Bindo Altoviti by Cellini]]Immortalized by Raphael and Cellini, he harbored Michelangelo when he fled from Florence to Rome.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Renaissance Rivals: Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael, Titian|last=Goffen|first=Rona|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2002|pages=191}}</ref> Michelangelo had such a high esteem for him (while he despised his rival [[Agostino Chigi]]) that he gave him as a gift the cartoon of Noah's Blessing, used in the vault of the [[Sistine Chapel]] (lost) as well as a design of a Venus (lost) colored then by [[Giorgio Vasari|Vasari]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Vita di Michelangelo|last=Vasari|first=Giorgio|publisher=Edizioni Studio Tesi|year=1993|pages=118.}}</ref> |
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Immortalized by Raphael and Cellini, he harbored Michelangelo when he fled from Florence to Rome.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Renaissance Rivals: Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael, Titian|last=Goffen|first=Rona|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2002|pages=191}}</ref> Michelangelo had such a high esteem for him (while he despised his rival [[Agostino Chigi]]) that he gave him as a gift the cartoon of Noah's Blessing, used in the vault of the [[Sistine Chapel]] (lost) as well as a design of a Venus (lost) colored then by [[Giorgio Vasari|Vasari]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Vita di Michelangelo|last=Vasari|first=Giorgio|publisher=Edizioni Studio Tesi|year=1993|pages=118.}}</ref> |
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In Rome Vasari also used to stay at the Palazzo Altoviti where he frescoed the Triumph of Ceres, When the Palazzo Altoviti was demolished in order to create the Tiber's embankments, the frescos were removed and are now shown in the [[Palazzo Venezia|National Museum of Palazzo Venezia]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Giorgio Vasari: Art and History|last=Lee Rubin|first=Patricia Lee|publisher=Yale University|year=1995|pages=11,14,117.}}</ref> For Bindo's suburban villa Vasari frescoed a vast loggia called the Vineyard decorated with statues and burial marbles from emperor [[Hadrian|Hadrian's]] [[Hadrian's Villa|Villa Adriana]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=La grande enciclopedia di Roma|last=Rendina|first=Claudio|publisher=Newton & Compton|pages=62}}</ref> [[Andrea Sansovino]] also gave Bindo as a gift a terra-cotta model of the statue of St. James he sculptured for the [[Florence Cathedral|Duomo in Florence]]. Bindo was buried in the church of [[Trinità dei Monti|Santa Trinità dei Monte]] in Rome and [[Giovanni Battista Naldini]] was commissioned to paint the cycle of frescoes concerning St John the Baptist. |
In Rome Vasari also used to stay at the Palazzo Altoviti where he frescoed the Triumph of Ceres, When the Palazzo Altoviti was demolished in order to create the Tiber's embankments, the frescos were removed and are now shown in the [[Palazzo Venezia|National Museum of Palazzo Venezia]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Giorgio Vasari: Art and History|last=Lee Rubin|first=Patricia Lee|publisher=Yale University|year=1995|pages=11,14,117.}}</ref> For Bindo's suburban villa Vasari frescoed a vast loggia called the Vineyard decorated with statues and burial marbles from emperor [[Hadrian|Hadrian's]] [[Hadrian's Villa|Villa Adriana]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=La grande enciclopedia di Roma|last=Rendina|first=Claudio|publisher=Newton & Compton|pages=62}}</ref> [[Andrea Sansovino]] also gave Bindo as a gift a terra-cotta model of the statue of St. James he sculptured for the [[Florence Cathedral|Duomo in Florence]]. Bindo was buried in the church of [[Trinità dei Monti|Santa Trinità dei Monte]] in Rome and [[Giovanni Battista Naldini]] was commissioned to paint the cycle of frescoes concerning St John the Baptist. |
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In Florence on Piazza del Limbo they had a palazzo with a large family coat of arms on the facade and detained the patronage of the church [[Santi Apostoli, Florence|Santi Apostoli]]. It was also Michelangelo who convinced Bindo, not to rebuild, but to preserve the church. Vasari painted the Allegory of the Immaculate Conception for the family chapel.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Giusti|first=Anna Maria|title=Pierre Dure, The Art of Semiprecious Stonework|publisher=Thames & Hudson|year=2006|pages=28}}</ref> |
In Florence on Piazza del Limbo they had a palazzo with a large family coat of arms on the facade and detained the patronage of the church [[Santi Apostoli, Florence|Santi Apostoli]]. It was also Michelangelo who convinced Bindo, not to rebuild, but to preserve the church. Vasari painted the Allegory of the Immaculate Conception for the family chapel.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Giusti|first=Anna Maria|title=Pierre Dure, The Art of Semiprecious Stonework|publisher=Thames & Hudson|year=2006|pages=28}}</ref> |
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In the late 16th century, Giovanni Battista Sacchetti, a trading partner of the [[Barberini family]] of [[Pope Urban VIII]] and married Francesca Altoviti. The marriage had the effect of transferring to the Sacchetti financial resources, property including some of the collection of the Altoviti and profitable links with the curia and client relations already established by the Altoviti.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Marriage in Italy, 1300-1650|last=Trevor Dean|first=& K.J.P Lowe|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1998|pages=209}}</ref> Their son [[Giulio Cesare Sacchetti]] was an influential cardinal, supporter of Galileo Galilei and twice included in the French Court's list of acceptable candidates ([[Papal conclave, 1644|papal conclave of 1644]] and [[Papal conclave, 1655|papal conclave of 1655]]) for the papacy. Their other son Marcello Sacchetti became papal treasurer to Urban VIII and his art agent. He continued to expand the family collection and became one of the most respected collectors of the Baroque and patron of [[Nicolas Poussin]], [[Guido Reni]] and [[Pietro da Cortona]]. The family collection had over 800 paintings and later became the foundation for the [[Capitoline Museums|Capitoline Museum]] in Rome.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Ave Papa/Ave Papabile: The Sacchetti Family, Their Art Patronage, and Political Aspirations|last=Zirpolo|first=Lilian H.|publisher=CRRS Publications University of Toronto|year=2005|pages=116}}</ref> |
In the late 16th century, Giovanni Battista Sacchetti, a trading partner of the [[Barberini family]] of [[Pope Urban VIII]] and married Francesca Altoviti. The marriage had the effect of transferring to the Sacchetti financial resources, property including some of the collection of the Altoviti and profitable links with the curia and client relations already established by the Altoviti.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Marriage in Italy, 1300-1650|last=Trevor Dean|first=& K.J.P Lowe|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1998|pages=209}}</ref> Their son [[Giulio Cesare Sacchetti]] was an influential cardinal, supporter of Galileo Galilei and twice included in the French Court's list of acceptable candidates ([[Papal conclave, 1644|papal conclave of 1644]] and [[Papal conclave, 1655|papal conclave of 1655]]) for the papacy. Their other son Marcello Sacchetti became papal treasurer to Urban VIII and his art agent. He continued to expand the family collection and became one of the most respected collectors of the Baroque and patron of [[Nicolas Poussin]], [[Guido Reni]] and [[Pietro da Cortona]]. The family collection had over 800 paintings and later became the foundation for the [[Capitoline Museums|Capitoline Museum]] in Rome.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Ave Papa/Ave Papabile: The Sacchetti Family, Their Art Patronage, and Political Aspirations|last=Zirpolo|first=Lilian H.|publisher=CRRS Publications University of Toronto|year=2005|pages=116}}</ref>[[File:Ieri, Oggi, Domani.jpg|thumb]]Pope Clement XII had blood ties with the Altoviti and presided over the growth of a surplus in the papal finances. He thus became known for building the new façade of the [[Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano]], beginning construction of the [[Trevi Fountain]], and the purchase of Cardinal [[Alessandro Albani]]'s collection of antiquities for the papal gallery. In his 1738 bull ''[[In eminenti apostolatus]]'', he provides the first public papal condemnation of [[Freemasonry]]. |
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Pope Clement XII had blood ties with the Altoviti and presided over the growth of a surplus in the papal finances. He thus became known for building the new façade of the [[Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano]], beginning construction of the [[Trevi Fountain]], and the purchase of Cardinal [[Alessandro Albani]]'s collection of antiquities for the papal gallery. In his 1738 bull ''[[In eminenti apostolatus]]'', he provides the first public papal condemnation of [[Freemasonry]]. |
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The Altoviti also had a palazzo called ''dei Viscacci'' with portraits of famous Florentine people such as [[Amerigo Vespucci]], [[Francesco Guicciardini]] and [[Dante Alighieri|Dante]] carved in the facade, and the halls frescoed by [[Lorenzo del Moro]] and [[Tommaso Redi (painter)|Tommaso Redi]]. The palazzo ironically became later home to the Florentine masonic lodge of the [[Grand Orient of Italy|Grande Oriente d’Italia]]. |
The Altoviti also had a palazzo called ''dei Viscacci'' with portraits of famous Florentine people such as [[Amerigo Vespucci]], [[Francesco Guicciardini]] and [[Dante Alighieri|Dante]] carved in the facade, and the halls frescoed by [[Lorenzo del Moro]] and [[Tommaso Redi (painter)|Tommaso Redi]]. The palazzo ironically became later home to the Florentine masonic lodge of the [[Grand Orient of Italy|Grande Oriente d’Italia]]. |
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In the 18th century, Giovambattista Altoviti was able to expand his collection as he inherited at the request of his friend Pietro Paolo Avila, his palazzo in Rome together with his prestigious art collection and the name Avila was joined to the name Altoviti. When in the 19th century parts of the collection were sold, the portrait of Bindo Altoviti was sold to [[Ludwig I of Bavaria]] and the statues of the [[Hadrian's Villa|Villa Adriana]] to the [[Borghese family|Borghese]]. |
In the 18th century, Giovambattista Altoviti was able to expand his collection as he inherited at the request of his friend Pietro Paolo Avila, his palazzo in Rome together with his prestigious art collection and the name Avila was joined to the name Altoviti. When in the 19th century parts of the collection were sold, the portrait of Bindo Altoviti was sold to [[Ludwig I of Bavaria]] and the statues of the [[Hadrian's Villa|Villa Adriana]] to the [[Borghese family|Borghese]]. |
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[[File:Ieri, Oggi, Domani.jpg|thumb]] |
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In the mid 19th century, descendants of the Altoviti married to [[Radziwiłł family]], magnates of Poland and Lithuania, instituting a closer relationship to the Imperial Court of Prussia, cultivating relationships with [[Frédéric Chopin]], [[Vincenzo Bellini]], [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]] and [[Theodor Fontane]]. [[Stanisław Albrecht Radziwiłł|Prince Stanisław Albrecht Radziwiłł]] was one of the organisers of the [[Sikorski Historical Institute]] in [[London]]. He was married to Caroline Lee Radziwill, sister of the late First Lady, [[Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis]], and sister-in-law of [[John F. Kennedy|President John F. Kennedy]]. |
In the mid 19th century, descendants of the Altoviti married to [[Radziwiłł family]], magnates of Poland and Lithuania, instituting a closer relationship to the Imperial Court of Prussia, cultivating relationships with [[Frédéric Chopin]], [[Vincenzo Bellini]], [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]] and [[Theodor Fontane]]. [[Stanisław Albrecht Radziwiłł|Prince Stanisław Albrecht Radziwiłł]] was one of the organisers of the [[Sikorski Historical Institute]] in [[London]]. He was married to Caroline Lee Radziwill, sister of the late First Lady, [[Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis]], and sister-in-law of [[John F. Kennedy|President John F. Kennedy]]. |
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Revision as of 12:41, 31 October 2021
| House of Altoviti | |
|---|---|
| Noble family | |
 | |
| Country | Florence, Italy |
| Founded | 1200 |
| Founder | Altovito Corbizzi (1200 - 1250) |
| Titles | Marquis Count Patriarch of Antioch Archbishop of Athens Archbishop of Fiesole Archbishop of Florence |
| Cadet branches | Altoviti Medici Altoviti Cybo Altoviti Avila Altoviti SanGalletti |
The Altoviti are a prominent noble family of Florence, Tuscany, Italy.
Since the medieval period they were one of the most distinguished banking and political families appointed to the highest offices of the Republic of Florence, friends and patrons of Galileo Galilei, Vasari, Raphael and Michelangelo.
They had a close personal relationship with the papacy. Through a predominant endogamous marriage policy they established alliances with dynasties of principal and papal nobility as the Medici, Cybo, Aldobrandini, Rospigliosi, Sacchetti and Corsini.
Three popes have blood relations with the Altoviti; Innocent VIII, Clement IX and Clement XII.
Pope Innocent VIII was the uncle of La Papessa Dianora Altoviti Cybo. Her son Bindo Altoviti became one of the most influential papal bankers and patron of the arts of the Renaissance.
The House of Altoviti is still present and descendants continue to be involved in art and culture.
Notable members
Frequently members of the family distinguished themselves in value, defending or serving the Florentine Republic holding prestigious public, political, military and religious offices.
- Giovanna Altoviti (1305-1395), known as Madonna Aldobrandini
- Iacopo Altoviti (1348-1403), Bishop of Fiesole
- Bardo di Altoviti (1342-1405), one of the Eight Saints
- Antonio Altoviti (1454-1507), papal banker and papal Master of the Mint
- Bindo Altoviti (1491-1557), papal banker and patron of the arts of the Renaissance
- Antonio Altoviti (1521-1573), Archbishop of Florence
- Giacomo Altoviti (1604-1693), Apostolic Nuncio to Venice, Patriarch of Antiochia and Archbishop of Athens
- Filippo Nero Altoviti (1634-1702), Bishop of Fiesole
- Antonio Altoviti Avila (1963, actor and producer, Academy Award-winning movie Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow)
Origins
Pope Pius II presumed the family would be of Roman origin as in Fiesole was found a tomb with a Roman inscription quoting Furio Cammillo Altovita grandson of Furio Camillo, general, statesman and one of the most famous heroes of the early Roman Republic, honored with the title of Second Founder of Rome for his victory over the Gauls during the Gallic siege of Rome.[1] According to the family legend, the silver Italian wolf on black background refers to the Roman origin of the family and is the mythical she-wolf Lupa Capitolina Romana who would have protected the founder of the dynasty Furio Camillo by devouring his enemies.
The genealogist Luigi Passerini Orsini believed the Altoviti were of Lombard heritage, descending from Tebalduolo Longobardo, baron and trusted advisor of king Alboin. The family came to Florence in the twelfth century. They engaged in the usual mix of culture, commerce (mainly wool and salt), banking and politics. Many were respected judges and diplomats in royal and papal courts. They belonged to the pro-papal elite of the Guelph faction. With an old military tradition, not a few members of the family were considered supremely valiant captains in numerous decisive battles of the Florentine Republic. Therefore, some scholars believe the heraldic wolf was granted by Emperor Frederick II as an award for brave captains.[2]
Art & Culture
In 1300 Rinaldo Altoviti was chosen, together with Iacopo Alberti and Dante Alighieri, as chief of the Priors, at the time possessed the supreme authority in the state. He was sent with Dante as ambassador to Boniface VIII to negotiate a truce between the rival Guelph factions. Years later the family became together with the Salviati, Gucci, Pucci, and Bardi strong supporters of the war against Pope Gregory XI, which contributed to the end of the Avignon Papacy, while Bardo Altoviti was one of the Eight Saints.
In 1432 Oddo Altoviti married Giovanna Gherardini and was named in the same year Gonfaloniere of Justice. He becomes an ally of Tommaso Soderini and, together with Luca Pitti, they use their influence to lift the ban of Cosimo de Medici the Elder. They established personal relationships and profitable links with the Papal Curia.
Antonio Altoviti married his cousin Dianora Altoviti Cybo. Known as La Papessa on account of the influence she held over her uncle Giambattista Cybo, Pope Innocent VIII, Antonio was made papal Master of the Mint. Like other Florentines banking families who provided loans to the popes in exchange for the rights to papal revenues, the Florentine and Roman branch of the Altoviti prospected. The family supported the construction of the church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini and was a driving force behind the Compagnia della Misericordia. Some of the most famous members were Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.[3]
As the Altoviti had blood ties with Cybo and Medici, and alliances with the della Rovere, Pope Julius II (Giuliano della Rovere) became a mentor to his son Bindo, as he was to his later papal successors Leo X (Giovanni de' Medici) and Clemente VII (Giulio de' Medici). Bindo was included among the young noblemen educated at the papal court, where he was in attendance on the hostage Federico Gonzaga, the son of Isabella d’Este and future duke of Mantua. During those years, he was introduced to Bramante, Raphael, and Michelangelo.
,_1540-41_(firenze,_s._apostoli)_00.jpg)
Bindo was appointed as Depository General, the leading banker of the Papal States and chief commissioner for collecting taxes, mainly allocated for the reconstruction of the St. Peter's Basilica. After the death of Agostino Chigi and the sack of Rome in 1527, only a few wealthy banks had the capital to prevent economic chaos. Competing with fierce Genoese bankers and the Germans Fugger and Welser; the Strozzi, Salviati and Altoviti became the leading Florentine and curial bankers, given the chance to participate in massive credit transactions, controlling an enlarging sphere of papal finance.[4] Bindo's son Giovanni Battista Altoviti married Clarice Ridolfi, daughter of Lorenzo Ridolfi, grandson of Lorenzo il Magnifico di Medici and Clarice Orsini, tighten the bond between the Altoviti and the houses of Medici and Strozzi.
Bindo Altoviti gradually expanded and diversified his financial activities, established dependences of the Altoviti Bank in foreign money markets as France, Netherlands and England. Among his clients were duke Charles III of Savoy and king Henry II of France and by shrewd political and financial acumen he amassed one of the largest private fortunes in Italy. After the death of Clement VII and duke Alessandro de Medici, the Altoviti sided with Catherine de' Medici and Pope Paul III, getting into an open confrontation with Cosimo I de' Medici.
One of his nieces became daughter of honor of Catherine de' Medici, and before her marriage the mistress of the Duke of Anjou and future king Henri III of France. Another was one of the richest inhabitants of Marseille and mistress of Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Guise, governor of Provence. Her brother became the governor of Belle Ile and his godfather Philippe Emmanuel of Lorraine, Duke of Mercœur, brother of the later Queen of France Louise of Lorraine consolidating the relationship with the royal court of France.
Bindo enjoyed the financial resources to undertake extensive renovations to the properties he inherited from his father and his suburban villa on the Tiber to indulge a growing passion for art. Known and endowed with a strong taste for art, he became a patron of the arts and friend to Vasari, Cellini, Raphael and Michelangelo.[5]
Immortalized by Raphael and Cellini, he harbored Michelangelo when he fled from Florence to Rome.[6] Michelangelo had such a high esteem for him (while he despised his rival Agostino Chigi) that he gave him as a gift the cartoon of Noah's Blessing, used in the vault of the Sistine Chapel (lost) as well as a design of a Venus (lost) colored then by Vasari.[7]
In Rome Vasari also used to stay at the Palazzo Altoviti where he frescoed the Triumph of Ceres, When the Palazzo Altoviti was demolished in order to create the Tiber's embankments, the frescos were removed and are now shown in the National Museum of Palazzo Venezia.[8] For Bindo's suburban villa Vasari frescoed a vast loggia called the Vineyard decorated with statues and burial marbles from emperor Hadrian's Villa Adriana.[9] Andrea Sansovino also gave Bindo as a gift a terra-cotta model of the statue of St. James he sculptured for the Duomo in Florence. Bindo was buried in the church of Santa Trinità dei Monte in Rome and Giovanni Battista Naldini was commissioned to paint the cycle of frescoes concerning St John the Baptist.
In Florence on Piazza del Limbo they had a palazzo with a large family coat of arms on the facade and detained the patronage of the church Santi Apostoli. It was also Michelangelo who convinced Bindo, not to rebuild, but to preserve the church. Vasari painted the Allegory of the Immaculate Conception for the family chapel.[10]
In the late 16th century, Giovanni Battista Sacchetti, a trading partner of the Barberini family of Pope Urban VIII and married Francesca Altoviti. The marriage had the effect of transferring to the Sacchetti financial resources, property including some of the collection of the Altoviti and profitable links with the curia and client relations already established by the Altoviti.[11] Their son Giulio Cesare Sacchetti was an influential cardinal, supporter of Galileo Galilei and twice included in the French Court's list of acceptable candidates (papal conclave of 1644 and papal conclave of 1655) for the papacy. Their other son Marcello Sacchetti became papal treasurer to Urban VIII and his art agent. He continued to expand the family collection and became one of the most respected collectors of the Baroque and patron of Nicolas Poussin, Guido Reni and Pietro da Cortona. The family collection had over 800 paintings and later became the foundation for the Capitoline Museum in Rome.[12]
Pope Clement XII had blood ties with the Altoviti and presided over the growth of a surplus in the papal finances. He thus became known for building the new façade of the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano, beginning construction of the Trevi Fountain, and the purchase of Cardinal Alessandro Albani's collection of antiquities for the papal gallery. In his 1738 bull In eminenti apostolatus, he provides the first public papal condemnation of Freemasonry.
The Altoviti also had a palazzo called dei Viscacci with portraits of famous Florentine people such as Amerigo Vespucci, Francesco Guicciardini and Dante carved in the facade, and the halls frescoed by Lorenzo del Moro and Tommaso Redi. The palazzo ironically became later home to the Florentine masonic lodge of the Grande Oriente d’Italia.
In the 18th century, Giovambattista Altoviti was able to expand his collection as he inherited at the request of his friend Pietro Paolo Avila, his palazzo in Rome together with his prestigious art collection and the name Avila was joined to the name Altoviti. When in the 19th century parts of the collection were sold, the portrait of Bindo Altoviti was sold to Ludwig I of Bavaria and the statues of the Villa Adriana to the Borghese.
In the mid 19th century, descendants of the Altoviti married to Radziwiłł family, magnates of Poland and Lithuania, instituting a closer relationship to the Imperial Court of Prussia, cultivating relationships with Frédéric Chopin, Vincenzo Bellini, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Theodor Fontane. Prince Stanisław Albrecht Radziwiłł was one of the organisers of the Sikorski Historical Institute in London. He was married to Caroline Lee Radziwill, sister of the late First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and sister-in-law of President John F. Kennedy.
In the early 20th century, other members of the family cultivated relationships with Paul Klee, and married a relative of Katja Mann and Thomas Mann, involved in the Saturn and Apollo space program.
Later, marquis Antonio Altoviti Avila, married Maria Badoglio, daughter of Marshall of Italy Pietro Badoglio, Duke of Addis Abeba, Italian Ambassador to Brazil and first post-fascist Prime Minister of Italy. He become involved in the production of Academy-winning movie Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.
In recent years, another family member worked as agent with Grammy Award-winning artists like Eumir Deodato and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson.
References
- ^ Emil, O'Brien (2015). The Commentaries of Pope Pius II (1458-1464). Toronto University Press. p. 166.
- ^ Archivio della famiglia Altoviti
- ^ Polverini Fosi, Irene (1991). Pietà, devozione e politica: due confraternite fiorentine nella Roma del Rinascimento. Archivio Storico Italiano. p. 158.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Ehrenberg, Richard (192). The Fuggers. Gustav Fischer. p. 274.
- ^ de Tolnay, Charles (1969). Michelangelo. Princeton University Press. p. 131.
- ^ Goffen, Rona (2002). Renaissance Rivals: Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael, Titian. Yale University Press. p. 191.
- ^ Vasari, Giorgio (1993). Vita di Michelangelo. Edizioni Studio Tesi. p. 118.
- ^ Lee Rubin, Patricia Lee (1995). Giorgio Vasari: Art and History. Yale University. pp. 11, 14, 117.
- ^ Rendina, Claudio. La grande enciclopedia di Roma. Newton & Compton. p. 62.
- ^ Giusti, Anna Maria (2006). Pierre Dure, The Art of Semiprecious Stonework. Thames & Hudson. p. 28.
- ^ Trevor Dean, & K.J.P Lowe (1998). Marriage in Italy, 1300-1650. Cambridge University Press. p. 209.
- ^ Zirpolo, Lilian H. (2005). Ave Papa/Ave Papabile: The Sacchetti Family, Their Art Patronage, and Political Aspirations. CRRS Publications University of Toronto. p. 116.