Italy Renaissance Period : Nonina Strozzi, Wife of Bernardo del Barbigia Reference: Hill 957 | Engraver: Niccolo Fiorentino, Florence 1489 Bronze Uniface Medal 90mm (148.68 grams) VXOR BERNARDVS BARBIGE NONINA STROZA, Nonina facing right. Incuse.
Medal Notes: Bernardo de Niccolo di Giovanni del Barbigia was born in 1453 and was Prior of Liberty in 1486-7.
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Strozzi is the name of an ancient (later noble) Florentine family, who like their great rivals the Medici family, began in banking before moving into politics. Until its exile from Florence in 1434, the Strozzi family was by far the richest in the city, and was rivaled only by the Medici family, who ultimately took control of the government and ruined the Strozzi both financially and politically. This political and financial competition was the origin of the Strozzi-Medici rivalry. Later, while the Medici ruled Florence, the Strozzi family ruled Siena, which Florence attacked, causing great animosity between the two families. Soon afterward, the Strozzi married into the Medici family, essentially giving the Medici superiority.
Palla Strozzi (1372–1462) neglected the family bank, but played an important part in the public life of Florence, and founded the first public library in Florence in the monastery of Santa Trinita, as well as commissioning the important Strozzi Altarpiece of the Adoration of the Magi by Gentile da Fabriano. He played a leading part in forcing the exile of Cosimo de’ Medici in 1433, but after Cosimo’s pardon a year later, was himself exiled, and never returned.
Filippo Strozzi il Vecchio (1428–1491), son of Matteo Strozzi and of Alessandra Macinghi, was exiled as a young man and became a successful banker in Naples. He was also a condottiero or leader of mercenary soldiers and after his reconciliation with the Medici and return in 1466, began the Palazzo Strozzi, which was finished by his son Filippo II.
Filippo II (1488–1538) is probably the most well known member of the family. Although married to Clarice de’ Medici, a daughter of Piero di Lorenzo de’ Medici and thereby a member of the Medici family, he was vehemently opposed to the hegemony the Medicis had acquired as the unofficial rulers of the Florentine republic and was among the leaders of the uprising of 1527. Michelangelo’s Doni Tondo probably was commissioned by Agnolo Doni to commemorate his marriage to Maddalena Strozzi.
After the republic was overthrown in 1530 Alessandro de’ Medici attempted to win Filippo Strozzi’s support, but Strozzi declined and instead, retired to Venice. After the murder of Alessandro in 1537, Strozzi assumed leadership of a group of republican exiles with the object of re-entering the city but having been captured and subsequently tortured he committed suicide.
Filippo Strozzi’s older son Piero (1500–1558), married Laudomia de’ Medici, and fought in Scotland against the English, as well as in France against the Holy Roman Empire and Spain, and was made a Marshal of France in 1554. He took part in the French siege of Calais (1557), and died of wounds incurred in battle at Thionville, in Lorraine, in 1558. A younger son Leone (1515–1554) was a distinguished admiral in the service of France and fought against the Medici. He died of a wound received while attacking Sarlino in 1554. Another son, Lorenzo Strozzi (1513–1571) went into the Church, also in France, and ended as a cardinal and Archbishop of Siena from 1565. The son of Piero, Filippo di Piero Strozzi (1541–1582) was born in exile in France and served as a royal page and then in the French army, before being captured and killed by the Spaniards at the Battle of Terceira.
Later family members
Count Peter Strozzi (1626–1664), Austrian general, killed by the Ottomans during the Siege of Novi Zrin (1664)
It is unclear whether Bernardo Strozzi (c.1581–1644), a prominent and prolific Italian Baroque painter born and active mainly in Genoa and Venice, was a part of this immediate family.
Senator Carlo Strozzi (1587–1671) formed an important library and collected a valuable miscellany known as the Carte Strozziane, of which the most important part is now in the state archives of Florence. He was the author of a Storietta della città di Firenze dal 1219 al 1292 (unpublished) and a Storia della casa Barberini (Rome, 1640).
The poet Giulio Strozzi was a member of the family. He adopted the composer Barbara Strozzi (1619–1677), who presumably was his natural daughter.
The Strozzi acquired by marriage the titles of Princes of Forano and Dukes of Bagnolo. A branch of the family moved to Vienna and built the Palais Strozzi there. The Palazzo Strozzi in Florence belonged to the family until 1937 when it was sold to the Istituto Nazionale delle Assicurazioni (INA). From 1999 it became property of the Italian State.
Today, Strozzi descendants are still living in Florence and elsewhere, including in America.
The Villa Cusona is the Tuscan home of the family, operated as a vineyard by Prince Girolamo Strozzi and his family.
Italy, officially the Italian Republic (Italian: Repubblica Italiana), is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 (116,347 sq mi) and has a largely temperate climate; due to its shape, it is often referred to in Italy as lo Stivale (the Boot). With 61 million inhabitants, it is the 4th most populous EU member state. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino and Vatican City.
Since ancient times, Greek, Etruscan, Celtic, and other cultures have thrived on the Italian Peninsula. Rome ultimately emerged as the dominant power, conquering much of the ancient world and becoming the leading cultural, political, and religious centre of Western civilisation. During the Dark Ages, the region suffered sociopolitical collapse amid calamitous barbarian invasions, but by the 11th century, numerous Italian city-states rose to great prosperity through shipping, commerce and banking, and even laid the groundwork for capitalism. The Renaissance led to a flourishing of Italian culture, producing famous scholars, artists, and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. Italian explorers such as Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, and Giovanni da Verrazzano discovered new routes to the Far East and the New World, helping to usher in the European Age of Discovery. Nevertheless, Italy remained politically fragmented and fell prey to European powers such as France, Spain, and later Austria, subsequently entering a long period of decline that lasted until the mid-19th century.
After various unsuccessful attempts, the second and the third wars for Italian independence resulted in the eventual unification of most of present-day Italy by 1866. From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, the new Kingdom of Italy rapidly industrialised and acquired a colonial empire, becoming a great power. However, southern and rural areas of the country remained largely excluded from industrialisation, fuelling a large and influential diaspora. Despite being one of the main victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil, leading the way to the rise of a Fascist dictatorship in 1922. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in military defeat, economic destruction and civil war. In the years that followed, Italy abolished the monarchy, reinstated democracy, and enjoyed a prolonged economic boom, thus becoming one of the world’s most developed nations.
Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and the eighth largest economy in the world. It has a very high level of human development and enjoys the highest life expectancy in the EU. Italy plays a prominent role in global military, cultural and diplomatic affairs and is also considered to be a major regional power in Europe. Italy is a founding and leading member of the European Union and the member of numerous international institutions, including the UN, NATO, the OECD, the OSCE, the WTO, the G7/G8, G20, the Union for the Mediterranean, the Council of Europe, Uniting for Consensus, and many more. As a reflection of its vast cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is one of the most visited countries.
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