Stefano Porcari (1391 - 9 January 1453) was an Italian politician and humanist from Rome, known as the leader of a rebellion against

Pope Nicholas V Pope Nicholas V (; ; 15 November 1397 – 24 March 1455), born Tommaso Parentucelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 March 1447 until his death in March 1455. Pope Eugene IV made him a Cardinal (Catholic Chu ...

and the Papal secular authority in Rome.

Biography

Porcari was born into a wealthy family of Rome. He received a humanist education and became an admirer of the ancient

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

. Porcari trained as a lawyer, and in 1427 and 1428 was elected ''capitano del popolo'' of

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 ...

under the protection of Pope

Martin V Pope Martin V (; ; January/February 1369 – 20 February 1431), born Oddone Colonna, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 November 1417 to his death in February 1431. His election effectively ended the West ...

. There he met the humanist scholar

Leonardo Bruni Leonardo Bruni or Leonardo Aretino ( – March 9, 1444) was an Italian humanist, historian and statesman, often recognized as the most important humanist historian of the early Renaissance. He has been called the first modern historian. He was t ...

and the

Camaldolese The Camaldolese Hermits of Mount Corona () are a Catholic Church, Catholic monastic order of pontifical right for men founded by Romuald, St. Romuald. Its name is derived from the Holy Hermitage () in Camaldoli, high in the mountains of Tuscany, ...

monk

Ambrose Traversari Ambrogio Traversari, also referred to as Ambrose of Camaldoli (138620 October 1439), was an Italian monk and theologian who was a prime supporter of the papal cause in the 15th century. He is honored as a saint by the Camaldolese Order. Biography ...

. While in Florence, it was Porcari's habit, during public celebrations, to give speeches from a balcony on the

Palazzo della Signoria A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

, exhorting the people to honor justice, as the foundation of the ''commune''. He then traveled to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Ferdinand Gregorovius Ferdinand Gregorovius (; 19 January 1821 – 1 May 1891) was a German historian who specialized in the medieval history of Rome. Biography Gregorovius was the son of Neidenburg district justice council Ferdinand Timotheus Gregorovius and his wi ...

, ''History of Rome in the Middle Ages''. After his return to Italy in 1430, he held several positions in Italian communes such as the ''

podestà (), also potestate or podesta in English, was the name given to the holder of the highest civil office in the government of the cities of central and northern Italy during the Late Middle Ages. Sometimes, it meant the chief magistrate of a c ...

'' of

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

(1432),

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

(1434),

Orvieto Orvieto () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy, situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff. The city rises dramatically above the almost-vertical faces of tuff cliffs that are compl ...

(1435) and was also governor of the fortress of

Trani Trani () is a seaport of Apulia, Southern Italy, on the Adriatic Sea, by railway west-northwest of Bari. It is one of the capital cities of the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani (BAT). History Overview The city of ''Turenum'' appears for the ...

. He came back to Rome under the rule of

Pope Eugenius IV Pope Eugene IV (; ; 1383 – 23 February 1447), born Gabriele Condulmer, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 March 1431 to his death, in February 1447. Condulmer was a Venetian, and a nephew of Pope Gregory XII ...

. When the latter died and before the new pope was elected, he repeatedly addressed the populace to overthrow the papal rule, and to replace them by one based on the ancient Roman republic. The new pope,

Nicholas V Pope Nicholas V (; ; 15 November 1397 – 24 March 1455), born Tommaso Parentucelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 March 1447 until his death in March 1455. Pope Eugene IV made him a cardinal in 1446 afte ...

, pardoned him, but kept him away from Rome with several assignments. However, his participation in other plots (including one connected with the crowning of Frederick III in Rome), and an inflammatory speech in the

Piazza Navona Piazza Navona () is a public open space in Rome, Italy. It is built on the site of the 1st century AD Stadium of Domitian and follows the form of the open space of the stadium in an elongated oval. The ancient Romans went there to watch the '' a ...

against the government, led the pope to exile him to Bologna.

Roberto Cessi Roberto Cessi (20 August 1885 – 19 January 1969) was an Italian historian and politician, specializing in Venetian history. Biography He was born in Rovigo, to painter Riccardo Cessi and Clementina Moretti. He studied at the University of Padu ...

suggests that if this was taken as anything more than a criticism of the local city administrators, he would have been dealt with more harshly. In late December 1452 Porcari was able to escape and return to Rome. Here he organized an insurrection whose result would be the proclamation of the Republic and, for Porcari, the title of tribune, the same held by

Cola di Rienzo Nicola di Lorenzo Gabrini (1313 8 October 1354), commonly known as Cola di Rienzo () or Rienzi, was an Italian politician and leader, who styled himself as the "tribune of the Roman people". During his lifetime, he advocated for the unificatio ...

in the 14th century. The action was set for the Feast of the Epiphany, 6 January 1453, and would be backed by some three hundred mercenaries.

George of Trebizond George of Trebizond (; 1395–1486) was a Byzantine Greek philosopher, scholar, and humanist. Life He was born on the Greek island of Crete (then a Venetian colony known as the Kingdom of Candia), and derived his surname Trapezuntius (Τραπ ...

claimed to have become aware of the conspiracy, through a disaffected priest, nearly a year before and attempted to warn Pope Nicholas.Monfasani, John. ''George of Trebizond: A Biography and a Study of His Rhetoric and Logic'', BRILL, 1976, p. 83
Nicholas V, warned by Cardinal

Basilios Bessarion Bessarion (; 2 January 1403 – 18 November 1472) was a Byzantine Greeks, Byzantine Greek Renaissance humanist, theologian, Catholic Church, Catholic Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal and one of the famed Greek scholars who contributed ...

that Porcari had disappeared, ordered investigations. Porcari had planned to arrest Nicholas at

Old St. Peter's Basilica Old St. Peter's Basilica was the church buildings that stood, from the 4th to 16th centuries, where St. Peter's Basilica stands today in Vatican City. Construction of the basilica, built over the historical site of the Circus of Nero, began dur ...

and kill members of the ''curia''. Among the co-conspirators were Stefano Infessura and members of the Orsini. The conspirators were captured, including Porcari, who had tried to take shelter in the house of prince

Latino Orsini Latino Orsini (1411 – 11 August 1477) was an Italian Cardinal. Life Of the Roman branch of the Orsini family, he was the fourth child of Carlo and Paola Gironima Orsini. He entered the ranks of the Roman clergy as a youth, became subdeacon ...

. He was subsequently tried and hanged at

Castel Sant'Angelo Castel Sant'Angelo ( ), also known as Mausoleum of Hadrian (), is a towering rotunda (cylindrical building) in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. ...

on 9 January 1453.Vanderjagt, Arjo. "The Case of Stefano porcari and the Christian Tradition", ''Antiquity Renewed: Late Classical and Early Modern Themes'', (Vm Schmidt, Z. R. W. M. von Martels, Victor Michael Schmidt eds.), Peeters Publishers, 2003, p. 63 et seq
Of Porcari's literary works, sixteen ''concioni'' (discourses) have survived. The description of his revolt was provided by

Leon Battista Alberti Leon Battista Alberti (; 14 February 1404 – 25 April 1472) was an Italian Renaissance humanist author, artist, architect, poet, Catholic priest, priest, linguistics, linguist, philosopher, and cryptography, cryptographer; he epitomised the natu ...

in the epistle ''De porcario coniuratione''.

References

External links

Machiavelli, ''History of Florence'' VI.43
* ttps://books.google.com/books?id=pw9JAAAAMAAJ&dq=porcari&pg=PR9 Speeches by Stefano Porcari {{DEFAULTSORT:Porcari, Stefano Writers from Rome Italian politicians Italian male writers Italian Renaissance humanists 1453 deaths 1391 births