History of Florence and of the Affairs of Italy: From the Earliest Times to the Death of Lorenzo the Magnificent — Niccolo Machiavelli — John Shaqi
History of Florence and of the Affairs of Italy: From the Earliest Times to the Death of Lorenzo the Magnificent
Niccolo Machiavelli · en
The Florentines, being thus relieved from the attack in the direction of
Pisa, assembled the whole force between Colle and Santo Geminiano. But
the army, on the arrival of Count Carlo, being composed of Sforzeschi
and Bracceschi, their hereditary feuds soon broke forth, and it was
thought that if they remained long in company, they would turn their
arms against each other. It was therefore determined, as the smaller
evil, to divide them; to send one party, under Count Carlo, into the
district of Perugia, and establish the other at Poggibonzi, where
they formed a strong encampment in order to prevent the enemy from
penetrating the Florentine territory. By this they also hoped to compel
the enemy to divide their forces; for Count Carlo was understood to have
many partisans in Perugia, and it was therefore expected, either that
he would occupy the place, or that the pope would be compelled to send
a large body of men for its defense. To reduce the pontiff to greater
necessity, they ordered Niccolo Vitelli, who had been expelled from
Citta di Castello, where his enemy Lorenzo Vitelli commanded, to lead a
force against that place, with the view of driving out his adversary
and withdrawing it from obedience to the pope. At the beginning of the
campaign, fortune seemed to favor the Florentines; for Count Carlo made
rapid advances in the Perugino, and Niccolo Vitelli, though unable to
enter Castello, was superior in the field, and plundered the surrounding
country without opposition. The forces also, at Poggibonzi, constantly
overran the country up to the walls of Sienna. These hopes, however,
were not realized; for in the first place, Count Carlo died, while in
the fullest tide of success; though the consequences of this would have
been less detrimental to the Florentines, had not the victory to which
it gave occasion, been nullified by the misconduct of others. The death
of the count being known, the forces of the church, which had already
assembled in Perugia, conceived hopes of overcoming the Florentines, and
encamped upon the lake, within three miles of the enemy. On the other
side, Jacopo Guicciardini, commissary to the army, by the advice
of Roberto da Rimino, who, after the death of Count Carlo, was the
principal commander, knowing the ground of their sanguine expectations,
determined to meet them, and coming to an engagement near the lake,
upon the site of the memorable rout of the Romans, by Hannibal, the
Carthaginian general, the papal forces were vanquished. The news of the
victory, which did great honor to the commanders, diffused universal
joy at Florence, and would have ensured a favorable termination of the
campaign, had not the disorders which arose in the army at Poggibonzi
thrown all into confusion; for the advantage obtained by the valor of
the one, was more than counterbalanced by the disgraceful proceedings
of the other. Having made considerable booty in the Siennese territory,