Piero di Tommaso Soderini (March 17, 1451 – June 13, 1522), also known as Pier Soderini, was an Italian

statesman A statesman or stateswoman is a politician or a leader in an organization who has had a long and respected career at the national or international level, or in a given field. Statesman or statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States ...

of the

Republic of Florence The Republic of Florence (; Old Italian: ), known officially as the Florentine Republic, was a medieval and early modern state that was centered on the Italian city of Florence in Tuscany, Italy. The republic originated in 1115, when the Flor ...

Biography

Soderini was born in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

to Tommaso di Lorenzo Soderini, a member of an old family who had become famous in medicine, and his second wife Dianora Tornabuoni, also of a prestigious Florentine family and in-law of Piero di Cosimo de' Medici. Soderini's brother was the statesman and supporter of

Girolamo Savonarola Girolamo Savonarola, OP (, ; ; 21 September 1452 – 23 May 1498), also referred to as Jerome Savonarola, was an ascetic Dominican friar from Ferrara and a preacher active in Renaissance Florence. He became known for his prophecies of civic ...

, Paolo Antonio Soderini. Their third brother was Cardinal Francesco Soderini, bishop of Volterra. In 1481 he was Prior of the city, and later became a favourite of

Piero di Lorenzo de' Medici Piero di Lorenzo de' Medici (15 February 1472 – 28 December 1503), called Piero the Fatuous or Piero the Unfortunate, was the lord of Florence from 1492 until his exile in 1494. Early life Piero di Lorenzo de' Medici was the eldest son of Lor ...

, receiving from him, in 1493, the honour of being the Ambassador to the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...

. He was elected '' gonfaloniere'' for life in 1502 by the Florentines, who wished to give greater stability to their republican institutions, which had been restored after the expulsion of Piero de' Medici and the execution of Savonarola. Soderini's rule proved moderate and wise, although he did not possess the qualities of a great statesman. He introduced a system of national

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

in the place of foreign

mercenaries A mercenary is a private individual who joins an War, armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rath ...

. During his government the long war with

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

was brought to a close with the capture of that city by the Florentines in 1509.

Niccolò Machiavelli Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527) was a Florentine diplomat, author, philosopher, and historian who lived during the Italian Renaissance. He is best known for his political treatise '' The Prince'' (), writte ...

, author of ''

The Prince ''The Prince'' ( ; ) is a 16th-century political treatise written by the Italian diplomat, philosopher, and Political philosophy, political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli in the form of a realistic instruction guide for new Prince#Prince as gener ...

'' and ''

Discourses on Livy The ''Discourses on Livy'' (, ) is a work of political history and philosophy written in the early 16th century () by the Italian writer and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli, best known as the author of ''The Prince''. The ''Discourses'' ...

'', served under him as second chancellor and as ambassador to

Cesare Borgia Cesare Borgia (13 September 1475 – 12 March 1507) was a Cardinal (Catholic Church)#Cardinal_deacons, cardinal deacon and later an Italians, Italian ''condottieri, condottiero''. He was the illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI of the Aragonese ...

, Rome and France. Although Machiavelli initially had much respect for Soderini, his attitude was changed by the events that led to Soderini's fall. Grateful to France, which had assisted him, Soderini always took the French side in Italian politics. But in 1512 the Medici returned to Florence with the help of a Spanish army, deposed Soderini, and drove him into exile. He took refuge at Orašac (near Dubrovnik) in

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

, where he remained until the election of

Pope Leo X Pope Leo X (; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political and banking Med ...

, who summoned him to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and conferred many favours on him. Soderini lived in Rome for the rest of his life and worked for the good of Florence, to which he was never allowed to return. He died in Rome in 1522 and was buried in the church of S. Maria del Popolo.Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani
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References

Bibliography

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Acknowledgment

* This work in turn cites: ** Silvano Razzi, ''Vita di Pier Soderini'' (Padua, 1737) {{DEFAULTSORT:Soderini, Piero Heads of state of Florence 1451 births 1522 deaths Ambassadors of the Republic of Florence Italian politicians 15th-century people from the Republic of Florence 16th-century people from the Republic of Florence 16th-century heads of government Italian republicans Niccolò Machiavelli