A Short History of the Italian Renaissance by Bartlett Kenneth R.;

Author:Bartlett, Kenneth R.; [Kenneth R. Bartlett]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Published: 2015-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

Figure 9.2 Pavia, The Certosa. As well as starting construction on Milan’s remarkable cathedral—to this day an instantly recognizable symbol of that city—Giangaleazzo Visconti began building the similarly emblematic Carthusian monastery at Pavia. Designed by architect Marco Solari and considered one of the great monuments of the Milanese Renaissance, it contains the tombs of the Visconti.

First it was necessary to unite all of the Visconti patrimony. Ruling the Milanese was his uncle Bernabò, a tyrant feared and hated by his subjects. In Milan, the taxation on all classes was extreme, peasants in the countryside were brutally rack-rented, and felons had to endure torture before execution, all under the pretense of the Visconti love of justice. Bernabò also hated and despised his pious, lettered nephew, Giangaleazzo. In 1385, Bernabò decided to act. He planned to kill Giangaleazzo and seize his territory to reunite the Visconti dominions. However, Bernabò’s enemies leaked the plot to Pavia, so Giangaleazzo determined that it was time to realize the plan he had been meticulously and brilliantly preparing since he had come to the throne. Bernabò was invited to meet with his nephew outside Milan. Suspecting nothing of this despised, monkish young man, Bernabò not only accepted but also brought his two eldest sons as companions. All three were arrested and imprisoned, where they subsequently died, probably through poison.

Capitalizing quickly on this opportunity, Giangaleazzo extended his rule to Milan, Novara, Parma, Piacenza, Cremona, and Brescia. In 1387 he captured Verona; in 1389 Padua; and in 1399 he purchased Pisa for 200,000 florins. The next year, 1400, Giangaleazzo annexed Perugia, Assisi, and controlled the republic of Siena. In 1401 Lucca and Bologna (which had earlier reasserted its independence) fell. Only Florence stood between Milan and the domination of all of north and central Italy, a domination that doubtlessly would spread because of the weakness of the papacy during the Great Schism, a weakness on which the Milanese had played brilliantly. Were Giangaleazzo to succeed in subjugating Florence, he subsequently anticipated an assault on Naples by land and sea. In other words, the duke of Milan had the plan, the talent, and the resources to unite all of Italy—but not the opportunity. For in 1402, Giangaleazzo died of a fever, just as his armies were about to confront Florence.

Had Giangaleazzo succeeded, Italy’s history would have been quite different. The duke was more than a military adventurer; he was a profound ruler whose interest in learning, government, and patronage occupied him at least as much as his own ambition. He regulated public health throughout his dominions, including requiring the isolation of all infectious diseases. He initiated an extensive program of public works, building a canal from Milan to Pavia, creating in effect an inland water route across the peninsula. Thousands of acres of previously barren soil were irrigated and made fertile. All Milanese industries were fostered, particularly armaments, which were so necessary for Giangaleazzo’s wars. Nor did Giangaleazzo ignore scholarship. He invited to Italy Manuel Chrysoloras, the celebrated Byzantine teacher

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