The Colleges in Siena and Montepulciano (1550S–1620S)

chapter 5 The Colleges in Siena and Montepulciano (1550s–1620s)

The “Jesuits” arrived in Siena and its surrounding region before the Society of Jesus was founded, and before their appearance in any other major Tuscan city. Still, they did not open a college in the region until assured of the safety of the one in Florence, and of the conquest of Republic of Siena. This was in keeping with both Medici and Jesuit strategies: it concentrated on urban areas (as the Society preferred), while favoring the most important city of the duchy and helping to subjugate the territory now under ducal power.1 In 1556–57, Diego Laínez, who was at the time vicar general of the Society of Jesus, worked with Fulvio Androzzi and Louis de Coudret, both of whom were former rectors of San Giovannino, as well as several interested Sienese and Florentine parties, to open the Collegio di Siena.2 The initial concerns were predictable. The Jesuits needed money, and, as Laínez admitted, they hoped the ruling family would supply it.3 In addition, Siena was home to known heretics; both the Medici and the Society wanted to stamp out those troublemakers. Meanwhile, in Montepulciano, Polanco, Laínez, and the rectors of Florence acted as they had in Siena, cooperating with several enthusiastic local nobles and capitalizing on the failure of an attempted foundation in Gubbio. In each case, small urban settings, financial difficulties, and local resistance to interference from both a new religious order and a new secular government combined to create strug- gling institutions which sought to transform the religious landscape. What eventually became the Collegio di San Vigilio in Siena had modest beginnings. Four Jesuits arrived in Siena in April 1556 to begin the foundation. Alessandro Piccolomini (1508–78), Sienese noble, humanist, and archbishop

1 Ravier, Compagnie de Jésus, 21–22 and 45. 2 De Coudret’s term as rector of Florence ended in 1556, when he moved to Montepul- ciano. Androzzi moved from Siena to Florence in either 1556 or 1557 and remained until 1560. Mario Scaduto, Catalogo dei gesuiti d’Italia, 1540–1565 (Rome: IHSI, 1968); Alberto Merola, “Androzi, Fulvio,” DBI 3 (1961), at (accessed April 5, 2016). Laínez was vicar general after Ignatius’s death in 1556 until an election for general was finally held in 1558. He served as superior general of the Society until his death in 1565. 3 LaMonEp, 1: esp. letter 171, September 26, 1556, Laínez in Rome to Marchantio in Siena, 396–98.

The Colleges in Siena and Montepulciano 141 of Patras in Greece (1574–78), along with “some friends,” provided aid.4 The total number of extern students reported in the quadrimestral letter of September 6, 1556 was 180. The report details conditions in the city, noting that many soldiers and “the most respectable citizens” came to the Jesuits to con- fess, to hear spiritual counsel, and to resolve disputes.5 By the following year, the Jesuits had sent twelve of their novices who were still studying to Siena, largely from Flor ence. These included eight referred to in passing, but not identified by name, in a letter of September 7, 1557. Laínez asked de Coudret to send coadjutors to help with confessions and teaching, and some to handle ad- ministrative duties, noting that this was no guarantee of the college’s survival. The congregation, he feared, might balk at a foundation with so few Jesuits on site.6 In fact, on several occasions during 1555 and 1556, Ignatius had expressed his support for a foundation in Siena, where he perceived a great need for the services of the Society.7 In September 1557, seventeen months after the foundation, Ettore Leonello (1532–76), in his quarterly letter, noted the entrance of two prize recruits. Fran- cisco Truxillo (1536–72) and Vincenzo Tonda (c.1535–66), former Spanish soldiers, were now prepared to devote their lives to God, despite enduring ridicule from others with whom they served.8 A third potential entrant was Jerónimo Glioris (b. c.1537), from Valencia, “who had no other desire than to leave behind

4 PolChron, 6: 139. 5 LitQuad, 4: letter 540, September 6, 1556, Ettore Leonello in Siena to Laínez in Rome, 482–86, here 483. 6 ARSI Rom. 126: Relatione del principio del collegio di Siena havuta da M. Lorenzo Alessandrini l’anno 36 o 37 in circa, fols. 254r–259v, here fol. 255r (some folios are renumbered in descend- ing order. I retained the numeration in which all progress in ascending order); and LaMonEp, vol. 2, 1557 (Madrid: Gabriel López del Horno, 1912), letter 557, September 7, 1557, Laínez in Rome to de Coudret in Montepulciano, 423–26. See Ganss, “Origin of Jesuit Colleges for Ex- terns,” 142, table: “Persons Living in Jesuit Domiciles in 1556.” This table is a partial reprint of one in László Lukács, “De origine collegiorum externorum deque controversiis circa eorum paupertatem obortis,” AHSI 29 (1960): 189–345, here 242–43. The article is continued in 30 (1961): 61–89. 7 EpMix, 5: letter 1109, March 11, 1556, Ignatius in Rome to Francisco de Mendoza, the cardinal of Burgos and governor of Siena, in Siena, 252–53; IgnEpisInstr, 9: letter 5560, July 25, 1555, Ignatius in Rome to Borja [no place given], 363–67, here 365; IgnEpisInstr, vol. 11 (Madrid: Gabriel López del Horno, 1911), letter 6498, May 23, 1556, Ignatius in Rome to Merchantio in Siena, 432. 8 This Truxillo was likely not related to the Cristóbal Truxillo who had caused so much trouble for his family upon wishing to enter the Society; Cristóbal was from León, whereas Francisco was from Andalucía.