Ormanno Tedici was an abbot and Italian politician who served as the Lord of Pistoia between 1322 and 1324.
Born in 1250 in Tuscany, Ormanno Tedici was the son of Messer Jacopo di Fortebraccio Tedici, who tried briefly to establish himself as lord of Pistoia. He was a relative of Agolante, who served as lord of Pistoia in 1237. [1]
Ormanno entered the Benedictine-Vallombrosan order, becoming abbot of Badia a Pacciana. A wealthy and influential landowner, he was among the most prominent citizens of Pistoia in the second decade of the fourteenth century. In 1323, Ormanno was acclaimed April 1322, with the support of the local prominent Cancellieri and Taviani families, Ormanno was acclaimed Capitano (Captain) of the people of Pistoia. [2]
From the 13th-century onward, the predominantly Guelph city of Florence began to exert influence and control over the predominantly Ghibelline city of Pistoia. This however led to worsening internecine conflicts between families, whose alliances were either Ghibelline or to one of the splintered groups of Guelphs, the Bianchi or the Neri. Under these circumstances of civil discord a successful condottieri from Lucca, Castruccio Castracani, came to power who ravaged rural communities belonging to Tuscany, thus isolating towns like Pistoia from the subjugation of Florence. Castracani's raids inflicted much hardship on Pistoia, escalating into a small war between the cities that lasted from 1302 to 1306. Given these circumstances, Ormanno, who had been abbot of the Monastery of Santa Maria di Pacciana, became the leader of a faction seeking a truce with Castracani. These accommodations with the Lucchese general were independent of Florentine wishes. [3]
In 1305, the Castruccio Castracani degli Antelminelli, the Lord of Lucca, officially accepted Ormanno's truce. For this accomplishment, the Pistoians elevated Ormanno's title to Lord. [4]
Prior to his ascent to power, Pistoia had undergone years of war and devastation. During his tenure, however, Pistoia thrived and remained at peace, thanks to Ormanno's skillful triangular diplomacy with the two major regional powers of the time, Florence and Lucca. Moreover, Ormanno's government was not despotic. A modest person, he continued to live in the monastery rather than setting up a residency in the town hall. [5]
In 1324, however, Ormanno was deposed by his nephew, Filippo Tedici, often referred to as the Traditore di Pistoia or traitor of Pistoia, who sold the city to Castracani, in return for which he was paid 10,000 gold florins and given the hand of Castracani's daughter, Dialta. After being deposed, Ormanno retired to his abbey. He died the next year, perhaps as a result of poisoning. After the death of Castracani, scourge of Florence, in 1328, Filippo Tedici's fortunes also soured, and he was killed and decapitated. [6] [7] [8]
Ormanno Tedici figures significantly in Machiavelli’s Life of Castruccio Castracani , in Mary Shelley’s novel Valperga , and in President John Adams’s Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America . [9]
Pistoia is a city and comune in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about 30 kilometres (19 mi) west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typical Italian medieval city, and it attracts many tourists, especially in the summer. The city is famous throughout Europe for its plant nurseries.
The Guelphs and Ghibellines were factions supporting respectively the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy during the Middle Ages.
The Battle of Campaldino was fought between the Guelphs and Ghibellines on 11 June 1289. Mixed bands of pro-papal Guelf forces of Florence and allies, Pistoia, Lucca, Siena, and Prato, all loosely commanded by the paid condottiero Amerigo di Narbona with his own professional following, met a Ghibelline force from Arezzo including the perhaps reluctant bishop, Guglielmino degli Ubertini, in the plain of Campaldino, which leads from Pratovecchio to Poppi, part of the Tuscan countryside along the upper Arno called the Casentino. One of the combatants on the Guelph side was Dante Alighieri, twenty-four years old at the time.
Uguccione della Faggiuola was an Italian condottiero, and Ghibelline magistrate of Pisa, Lucca and Forlì.
Castruccio Castracani degli Antelminelli was an Italian condottiero and duke of Lucca.
The Republic of Lucca was a medieval and early modern state that was centered on the Italian city of Lucca in Tuscany, which lasted from 1160 to 1805.
San Miniato is a town and comune in the province of Pisa, in the region of Tuscany, Italy.
Altopascio is a comune in the Province of Lucca in the Tuscany region of Italy with a population of 15,572.
Monsummano Terme is an comune located in the Province of Pistoia, Tuscany, central Italy. It is located in the Valdinievole, and is a popular spa resort.
Signa is a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 12 kilometres (7 mi) west of Florence.
The Simonetti family is an Italian noble family with origins in Tuscany. During the 12th century different branches in Florence, Terni, Lucca, Pistoia and Pescia developed. Other famous branches of this family were established in Jesi, Palermo, Milan and Bologna.
The House of Antelminelli was a noble family from Lucca. The family was involved in the struggle between the Guelph and the Ghibellini parties in Tuscany. The leader of the family in the early 14th century was Castruccio Castracani a famous Ghibelline leader. Serving under the Ghibelline chief, Uguccione della Faggiuola, he was elected lord of Lucca on June 12, 1316, displacing the Quartigiani family, and was appointed Duke of Lucca, Pistoia, Volterra and Luni by emperor Frederick of Austria. In the following generation the power of the family collapsed in the general success of the Guelfs.
Guido Tarlati was a lord and Bishop of Arezzo.
The Battle of Altopascio was a battle fought in 1325 in Tuscany, between the Ghibelline forces of Lucca under Castruccio Castracani and those of Guelph Florence.
Paolo Guinigi was the lord of Lucca from 1400 until 1430.
Palazzo Panciatichi or Palazzo del Balì is a medieval aristocratic palace located on Via Camillo Benso Cavour #35 in Pistoia, Tuscany, Italy. It a block away from the Palazzo Fioravanti.
Vasco Ferretti is an Italian novelist, historian, professor and journalist from Buggiano, Tuscany. He has written books in the fiction genres of historical novels and the Romance novel. His most important books are Kesselring (2009), Vip & Stars (1983), Dante Alighieri e la battaglia di Montecatini (2015), Le stragi naziste sotto la linea gotica 1944: Sant'Anna di Stazzema, Padule di Fucecchio, Marzabotto (2004).
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Lucca in the Tuscany region of Italy.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Pistoia in the Tuscany region of Italy.