Palleschi

The palleschi, also known as bigi, were partisans of the Medici family in Florence. The name derived by the Medici Coat of Arm, containing six 'balls' (palle).

Massimo D'Azeglio, an italian writer and historian, in his "Niccolò de' Lapi, or the Palleschi and the Piagnoni", [1] wrote explicitely: "the part of the citizens which improved their reputation and got rich under the Medici.... was called pallesca" (D'Azeglio, 1866)

On April, 26th 1478, at the end of the so called "Pazzi Conspiracy" which resulted the death of Giuliano de' Medici (brother of Lorenzo, which was himself seriously wounded) the people of Florence responded to the cry "Liberty, Liberty" by Jacopo de' Pazzi with "Palle, palle!", in a clear reference to the Medici coat of arms and, more broadly, to their partisans palleschi. Aldo Arcangeli, in his book 'The Strozzavolpe Castle' says that the conspirator Joacopo Bracciolini, secretary of Girolamo Riario, 'was hang by the Palleschi because of the Pazzi conspiracy" (Arcangeli, 1960).

The substantial equivalence between Palleschi and Medici partisans is confirmed by the letter written by Niccolò Machiavelli "Il ricordo ai Palleschi del 1512" [2], a plea to the Palleschi, returned in Florence after twenty years of exile, in favor of the Gonfaloniere Piero Soderini "exiled by the government of the Florence Republic"(Vivanti, 1997).

In the same way is clear the rivalry among the Palleschi, partisans of the Medici family, and the Piagnoni, followers of Girolamo Savonarola. Massimo D'Azeglio in "Niccolò de' Lapi" says that "the parts of Piagnoni and Palleschi, rivals for old rancors and new insults, kept the city divided'(D'Azeglio, 1866).

After the death of Savonarola, the interests of the Palleschi become differentiating from the Medici, as testified by the "Storia Fiorentina" of Benedetto Varchi (Firenze 1503-1565) in relation to the opposition of the Palleschi against the Pope Clemente VII Medici (Varchi, 1857).

The fortunes of the Palleschi were nevertheless strictly connected to the Medici, as for example during the siege of Florence by Charles V when the Florence government hardly repressed "the enemies within the walls", i.e. the Palleschi which stayed in the city. (Bertelli, 1986)

Many of them preferred the exile to Venice, Bologna or Rome for avoiding the arrest and the violences described by D'Azeglio in "Niccolò de' Lapi". (D'Azeglio, 1866)

From adjective to surname

Despite the fact that the roots of the family are definitely Florentine, the presence of Palleschi in Tuscany is limited, at present time. It is indeed plausible that the adjective 'palleschi' became a surname after the first exile of the Medici from Florence and the resulting escape of the 'palleschi' towards more friendly territories. (Palleschi, 1998). This migration of the Medici partisans is probably responsible of the present concentration of Palleschi in territories that were, at the time, under the influence of the Pope (Fontana Liri, Monte S. Giovanni Campano), in Marche and Abruzzi (Montefiore, Capistrello) and in central Europe, where the Medici maintained strong economical interests. At present time, the largest number of Palleschi families resides near Rome and Frosinone, in the former Terra di Lavoro province. The presence of the Palleschi family in that region is testified by the fact that one of the most important building in Fontana Liri is the Palleschi Palace [3]. It also seems that around 1800 a bandit named Mario Palleschi was raiding the region between Lazio and Abruzzi with a big rifle but, in fact, 'he never harmed anyone'. (Pistilli, 1987). The phonetic variants 'Pallesco', 'Paleschi', 'Pallesi' and 'Pelleschi' are less diffused. However, in 1649 a Pietro Paleschi, notary of Montefiore and benefactor, "Ordered in his last wills that every year and forever a maiden would be helped to marry with the revenues of one of his property". (Palleschi, 1998). After the emigration at the end of XIX century, a large group of Palleschi left the region of Fontana Liri and Monte S. Giovanni Campano mainly towards United States and Canada, but also towards England, as testified by the fact that in 1948 a Pietro Palleschi, owner of a pub in Birmingham but born in Calamecca, near Piteglio (Pistoia), tried to assume the identity of the famous runner Dorando Pietri. His plot was discovered while he was ready to reach London, where he was supposed to start the Olympic marathon [4]. The descendants of the Palleschi emigrated abroad are now living mainly in United States and Canada, where they have roles of high responsibility and social prestige.

The Palleschi in Hystory

The fist 'Palleschi' known with the surname is a Cicco (Francesco) which in 1565 founded a chapel in the name of the Madonna of Loreto, in Fontana (now Fontana Liri). However, it's possible that the first record of the Palleschi surname, although distorted, should be referred to a Peter Achin (Joachin) Pal(l)eske which bought in 1433 a property (Freihof) in Penkun, near Stettin, for the trading of salt. (Montorio, 1715). Assuming that 'Palleske' would be a phonetic variation of the surname, among the members of the family should be also considered the German actress Heidi von Palleske. [5]

Bibliography

• F. Serafino Montorio, "Lo Zodiaco di Maria", Napoli 1715
• Benedetto Varchi, "Storia Fiorentina", Felice Le Monnier, Firenze 1857
• Massimo D'Azeglio, "Niccolò de' Lapi, ovvero, i Palleschi e i Piagnoni", Felice Le Monnier, Firenze 1866
• Sergio Bertelli, Franco Cardini, Elvira Galbero Zorzi, "Le Corti Italiane del Rinascimento", Mondadori 1986
• Aldo Arcangeli, "Il castello di Strozzavolpe", Ed. Nencini, Poggibonsi 1960.
• Generoso Pistilli, "Fontana Liri, due centri, una storia", Fontana Liri 1987
• "Niccolò Machiavelli - Opere - volume I", a cura di Corrado Vivanti, Einaudi-Gallimard, Torino 1997
• Augusto Palleschi, "I Palleschi", Roma 1998

External Links

Web site of the Palleschi family