Ghibelline farinata degli uberti biography
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The Battle of Montaperti, the first major and, perhaps, most well known battle between the two city-states occurred on September 4th, The battle, commonly known as the bloodiest day of the Italian Middle Ages, found its roots in the conflicting ideologies between two groups, the Guelphs and the Ghibellines. The Guelphs, who by had gained influence over Florence, aligned themselves with the Papacy, whereas the Ghibellines, who had power in Siena, supported the Holy Roman Empire. Despite the fact that the two cities had signed ‘an eternal peace” on July 31st, , the friction between them eventually reached a boiling point due to a handful small skirmishes and overall ill will. In the early fall of , the Florentines and their Tuscan allies assembled an army of 35, and marched towards Siena. Siena, led by a Ghibelline who had been exiled from Florence named Farinata degli Uberti, summoned only 20, men, but prepared to defend their city all the same. The armies met at a hill called Montaperti, hence the name of the battle. The hill, renamed Montaperti after the battle, directly translates to ‘hill of death’. In the traditional battle stratagem of the era, both armies focused on overtaking the opposing ‘Carroccio’, or, “the holy wagon that always accompanied medieval Italian ar
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&#;I disregard all notions of the "soul". With the body goes all else, so why not live out one's terrestrial days in happiness? Oh, but for these Epicurean beliefs, I am deemed "heretic", and cast into the fire.&#; &#;&#;Farinata Uberti
Farinata degli Uberti, also known simply as Farinata, was one of The Damned who Dante must punish or absolve for "The Damned" achievement/trophy. He was encountered in the circle of Heresy.
Description[]
"Tuscan Aristocrat and military leader who believed that the soul dies with the body, denying life after death. He was condemned as a Heretic for his beliefs."
Background[]
Farinata degli Uberti was a Florentine aristocrat and military leader, a member of the Ghibelline faction. He managed to defeat the Ghibelline archenemy, the Guelphs, and capture the city of Florence from them. However, he forbade the Ghibellines from destroying the city, even going so far as to offer to fight against his fellow Ghibellines to protect it. His ironic yet ardent loyalty to Florence protected the city from total destruction at the hands of the Ghibellines.
After the death of Farinata and his wife, their bodies were exhumed and tried for heresy by an Italian subset of the Inquisition (in these times, corpses could be dug up, charged and convicted
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| Toynbee "Farinata" |