Since 1230, when the Corsini came from Poggibonsi, their name fills many a page of the history of Florence as Priors and Gonfaloniers of the city. Andrea, the beloved and revered bishop of Fiesole, left such a reputation for goodness and sanctity that he was beatified in 1440 and canonised by Urban VIII, in 1629. He restored the cathedral of his diocese and the façade we now see was built by him. His brother Neri succeeded him as bishop of Fiesole, while another brother, Matteo, went to England, where his uncle was Master of the Mint, and made a large fortune in trade. He is known as the author of interesting family records and of the _Rosaia della Vita_, often quoted in the dictionary of the Crusca as a model of pure and elegant Italian. Tommaso di Duccio, their uncle, a learned jurist and a great statesman, was one of the chief citizens of Florence in the fourteenth century, and to his prudent counsels and wise administration the Republic owed much of her prosperity and power. After long negotiations he induced the Visconti to make peace with Florence, and when this was at length signed in 1353 he withdrew from public life, entered the Order of the _Gaudenti_ (instituted for the protection of widows and orphans) and jointly with the Rossi and Manieri erected a monastery outside the Porta Romana. For himself he built a small house hard by the monastery and passed the rest of his days almost as a hermit, occupied in prayer and good works. Notwithstanding the large amount given in charity he left a very considerable fortune to his sons; the eldest, Amerigo, was bishop of Florence at the time of the Council of Constance, which put an end to the schism of the Church and elected Martino V, Pope. In order to conciliate the citizens Martino raised Florence to the rank of an archbishopric and bestowed the privilege of wearing the crimson robes of a cardinal on her archbishop.