The Condottiere Raimondino De'Lupi, His Tomb in Padua and Its Influence on the Memorials of Other Condottieri in the Veneto*

The Veronese 1omb of Cangrande della Scala. who died conMilan by 1363: and the the ca.tic and succeeded in repelling the ossailants.' 1omb of Cansignorio dclla Scala, begun in ¼:rona before In 1346. when Luchino Visconti took power in Parn1a. 1375. ' TI1c aim of this essay is 10 demonstrate that begin­ thereby weakening the , trcngth of 1he nobles and usurping ning in the fourth quancr of the founccnth century les., their castles and villages. all of the Lupi despaired of ever powerful men who occupied the role of condoniere induced returning to Soragna . But knowing 1hnt Panna and its 1he crca1ion of sculptural memorials equally grand in .c:,lc territoric, belonged to the Empire. 1hcy turned for assis- and with a similar stress on military imagery. 1ancc 10 Charles IV, now King of 1hc Roman, and of The first condouicre 10 do so seems 10 have Ix-en Bohemia. On September 2 1. 1347. Charles. who was Raimondino de'Lupi. Marchese of Soragna. Clearly his friendly with the Pope. , igncd a diploma in Prague inves1ing successful li fe as a military ,nan who amassed great ,vcallh the Lupi with 1he Marche.,a10 of Soragna and other lands. during his career led him and his anists to rival in size and which he took from Parma. in imagery the funerary models produced by the anists of Soon after lhi,. Raimondino went into 1hc services of the: tyranb. In tum. Raimondino ·s monumcm. which once Charles. from whom he rccci"ed 1hc investiture of other s1ood in 1hc Oratory of St. George in Padua. cs1ablished an propenies in 1350. Charles named Raimondino hb coun­ imponan1 prcceden1 for 1hc monuments of 01her eondouieri sellor. familiar and secretary (cmuiglierl'. famigliare ,, in 1hc \'cnc10. bo1h funerary and conune111ora1ive. precisely Ui/ret/lrio). and in 1353 he gave him power 10 deal with his because of its immensity and i1s allusion~ to war. It is. in affai" concerning the Venetians. Paduans. Veronese. Fer• fac1. probably only because Raimondino ·s 10111b was almos1 rarcsc. Florentines. Pcrugians. Siencse. Aretincs. Tuscans complc1ely desiroyed after 1he Napoleonic invasion of 1797 and Lombards.6 In that same year Raimondino. acting as 1ha1 ii has become largely forgoucn and 1hat i1s role in 1he ambassador for Charles. helped forn, a league bc1wccn the developme111 of la1er monuments has not been properly king and the Venetian Republ ic.' and in Florence he served recognized. as a medimor between Charles and the Florentines.• While Raimondino's family is firsr documented with ccnainty in Tuscany he was captain of the Florentine army. in which in Soragna. a small village about 20 kilometers northwest of role he successfully rCCO\'Cred Barga ror the Republic.• Parma. in the 1hineen1h century. ' Though we do not km)w In 1355. after Charles had become Emperor. he began when Raimondino was born. we can begin to trnce his to give Raimondino an annual income of 700 gold Rorins. ascendent political and military career in 1325. In that year. Six years later he gave this same allowance to Raimondino ·s 1ogcthcr wi1h his bro1hers and cousins. Raimondino sided brother. Guido. and his five sons. Then. in 1366. Charles with the fac tion of Pope John XXll. 3 In 1332. shonly after issued a diploma declaring as citizens of Mantua. Parma. 1he entry into Italy of King John of Bohemia. who was Cremona and Reggio nor only Raimondino. but 1hrce of his favored by the Pope. Raimondino panicipa1cd in warfare. nephew, and one of his cousins. as well as his counsellors. Riding along with other Pannesans behind King John ·s son, household servants and 1able companions. In addition. he Charles IV, against armies from Ferrara. Mantua. Verona freed :,II of these people of every tax which could be and ~lilan. Raimondino helped rout and disperse 1he enemy. imposed on whate,•er propenies they might have in 1hose By way of celebration. Charles had himself knighted. and 1erri1orics- his i,urpose being to compensate the Lupi for all he made Raimondi no and others knights as well. they had suffered while in exile from Parma.•• In Dceember of 1336. the Scaligeri ordered the Lupi Al one point Raimondino seems 10 have fallen prisoner Castle at Sorngna destroyed .' By 1his rime. Raimondino to the Milanese. but just when he may have been cap111 rcd is apparently had become ensconced in Padua at the coun of a mauer of dispute. 11 In any event. one source suggests 1ha1 1he Carrarcsi. where he lived as a Guelph exile from Parma. he was released once 1he peace with Milan was signed on In Padua he was entrusted with ,.,,rious responsibilities. and November 10. 1370." so his exile was less harsh. In fact. by 1337 he was a On May 11 , 1372 Raimondino drew up his will in Mantua. This document reveals that Raimondino was by 1hen a very wcahhy man with a number of propenies in •An earlier version of this paper wa:. prcscmcd at the S1x t1."t"nth Annual Man1ua . 11 Other sources show that he had propeny in Conference of th< CcntC'r for Mcd1cvJJ and Early Rcnaiss-1~ Studic-~ in 14 B,nghanuoa. Ne\lo ) 'or$: on Oc1obcr 16. 198"2. In 1b present fonn. 11 i, Reggio and Cremona a, well as in Panna. In addition. the ckdicatcd to Jame~ Bed.. will states Raimondi no ·s in1ention 10 endow a ho,pi1al

9 dedicated 10 St. Lucy and St. Catherine. ,vhich he had enabled them 10 blockade Venice. At 1ha1 point. foam erected in Mantua . forced the Genovese Oecc to surrender by blocking the ·fo\, ard the end of hi~ life. Raimondino w:1, found channel at Oiioggia and starving it 001. This broke the back among the imperial leader:, in the retinue or Charles IV in of the Geno,·cse auack and. 1houth the war did not end until Udinc. '' But soon thereafter. still unable to return to Pamia. the following year. from 1h:11 tim.;- forward \ '<, nice controlled he mo,ed 10 Padua where he had relati ves.•• Documents the l..cvantinc trade. 11 ~ho,, thal he was li\ling in 1hat dty near Ponte Molino in Pisani died in August. 1380." On the twenty-secondo~ 1376. Moreover. in April of that year he began to acquire that month his body arrived in Venice. An extraordinary ne:irby lands from none mher than Francesco da Carrara crowd 1unicd om. and with great popular panicipation he himself." Shonly after 1ha1. he prepared 10 erect and endow was buried under the noor of the now demolished \'<,.nctian a mortuary chapel dedicated 10 St. George near Padua ·s church of San Antonio. Since his will of April II. 1380 Ba,ilica of San Antonio. ,,hich was built 10 contain his mentioned no tomb. his funerary monument apparently \\:IS ex1~oordinary tomb.'" He died on November 30. 1379. commissioned by someone other than himself af!er his All that remain, of Raimondi no ·s tomb today are the death. \\~ lters suggests that Pisani ·s family selected an sarcoph:igu<. measuring 85 cm. wide by 218 cm. long. and ani,1 and paid for the execu tion of the tomb. As )~t. 1wo fragments of the baldat'chino. The sarcophagu$ is however. there is no documentary evidence as to who the supponed by four columns with foliate capitals which are sculptor might have been or exactly when the monument mounwd on the backs of four couchan1 wolves. the wolf may have been carved. being the family emblem of the Lupi (Figure I). 11,e body of Vcttore Pisani ·s tomb originally was a wall monumenl. the sarcophagus conie. molded frames. three on each long side. one at each know it~ cornp0sirion 1oday primarily from n drawing end. ·n,e peaked lid of the ,:orcophagus is dccornted with published in 1754 by Grevembroch (Figure 3a). According c:orvcd panels also set within simple. molded frames. Most 10 the drawing. the monument consisted of a sarcophagus of the panels or the lid eo111ain vegetal motifs. but the and superstructure. The sarcophagus. which rested on the central panel on each long ,ide also holds a shield on which backs of c(>uthant lions supponed in turn by wall brackets, is carved a rampant wolf. was dccornted with fi gures in niches. These included the 111c comJX>si1ion of Raimondino ·s funerary complex is Virgin and Child in the central niche and probably St . Victor kno,\n lo us from cwo C)\:•'' itncss ac:-coums and three (the patron of the deceased) and St. Anthony Abboll (the funhcr 1cx1~. 19 Ac-cording to the tcxb. the tomb !)lood in the patron of the church) in the lateral niches. The supcrswc­ middle of a chapel on :, three-stepped pla1fom1 . The ture " as composed of an over-life-sized standing portrait or baldacchino which coverc-d ii was supponed by six columns Pis.rni which still survive,. a painted backdrop depicting place-cl equidistantly. three on each side. The vaults of the t,i..•o now.unrecognizable scr11cd tigures. and a canopy in the baldacchino were ~unnountcd by a large pyramid with two form of a hexagonal P)'ramid sunnounted by an angel. wolv..:::- at it~ apex whi('h nearly 1ouc.-hed the ceiling. Around Perhaps the pyramidal canopy derived from the baldaccbino the ba,c of the pyramid , 1000 ten over-life-si,ed figures­ of the Lupi tomb. In any case. Pisani himself. standing in a one a woman. nine men in annor placed three on c3ch long full ,uil of armor. i< reminiscent or the Lupi warriors .,idc. two on ca,·h ~nd. The men had shield~ and wore (Figure 3b). There is a notable difference. however: Pisani. crested helmets and bre:i>t plates. the lauer probably deco­ whose head is carved separate!)' in white marble. originally rntcd " ith a rampa111 wolf. judging from the surviving held in his right hand a standard. che o·e.,il/um S. Marci. not fragment,. a torso and the pelvic section of two of the a sword and/or a shield. Thus . he appears the relaxed statues (Figures I and 2). All ten figures stood on pedestals conqueror no longer in need of brandishing weaponry." which bore 1hcir name.,. and they ,,.rerc polychrorncd as well The next largc->eale tomb of a condouicre in the as decorated with ,ilvcr and gold. The in,criptions recorded Vcncto is that or Paolo Savelli in S.M. dei Frari in \\,nice. b)' Polidoro. Ponenari ruld others show that the ten included Savelli. a member of the noble Roman family of that name. Raimondino. his parent, and his male kinfolk· -specifically was condottiere firs t for Charles Ill. King of Sicily. then for his brother, and his nephew,. some of whom were also Gian Galeazzo Visconti of Milan . and finally for the condollicri . :o Venetian Republic during the principality of Michele Steno. \Vhal b noteworthy about this commission. given the Whi le engaged by Venice. Savelli took both Verona and grandiose scale of the,: tomb. is that it crunc from a P:,du:i. But on October 3. 1405 during the siege of Padua he conequestrian statue in the Frari in onler to SurCI) it was this imprc~ivc work of art \\hich inspired perpetuate Savelli ·s memory. 14 Since Sansovino rcpons later tomb, of memori:ob. equally grandiose and militaristic ebcwhcre that Savelli covered the costs for the construction in theme. 10 be cre<;ted in che Vcncto in the memory of other of the vaults of the Frari. it is only liuing that the general be condotticri. whether within or in from of other churches. buried in that church." The fi r>! tomb in the Vcneto for a condouiere which The Savelli monument is a wall tomb as well (Figure may lwve been inspired by Raimondino ·s tomb is that of 4). Below is foond a stone sarcophagus on which arc carved Veuorc Pisani. \ 'tuorc Pbani was a condouicrc for the Gabriel and the Annunciate Virgin at the comers. and a Venetian Republic. His cro"ning victory on behalf of the Madonna and Oiild in the center. Above is found tile Republic came during the War of Chioggia between Venice equestrian group. the figu re of Savelli made or wood. tile and Genoa (1378- 81). The Genovese had defeated the figure of the horse made of wood. cloth and , tucco. with Venetian, at Pola and then had taken Chioggia. which trappings of metal. Savelli carries a shield on his back. and

/0 originally he carried a hammer in his hand similar 10 the one author is undocumented. apparently became a cenotaph. noi with which he was buried. lbAnnunciation Visconti. it appears 1ha1 the sculptural protot)'f)C of the above. fl ying angels in 1he middle section. and St. Dominic condouiere in the Veneto has now fused with 1ha1 of the and St. Thomas Aquinas below. TI1us. the complex is a tyrant. This fusion probably reflects the increased esteem lavish. multi-media exercise. with which the condouiere now was regarded in Nonhcrn The glorification of the condonicre did no1 stop with Italy. It may also reflect the influence, or even the author­ these works. Once the condouiere had been elevated 10 the ship. of Jacopo della Quercia. as has been argued. 27 back of a horse in his funerary monument. as in the previous 11,e last monumental sepulchral complex of a con­ two examples. it was but a shon step 10 the extraction of his douicre in the \~ne10 10 be discussed here is that associated equestrian por1rai1 from the tomb proper and the placement wi1h Conesia Marassi da Sarego in S. Anastasia in ¼!rona. of it on a pedestal out-of-doors as a public commemorative According 10 Sansovino. Concsia ·s name was appropriate. statue . Later. in the fifteenth century. precisely this was for he was said to have been "cor1essissimo. affabilissimo e done in Padua with Donatello's eques1rian s1a1ue of the di f(mto spirito," all of which made him auractivc to the condouicre. Gauarnelata (1445-53). and in Venice with Scaligcri." Conesia served as ambassador within Italy for Vcrrocchio ·s equestrian statue of the condouierc. Collconi 1ha1 family. and in this role Mastino della Scala once sent (1481-96)." him 10 Gian Galeazzo Visconti. who then was Duke of The tomb of Raimondino dc'Lupi took iL< shape Milan. Because of his valor and worldliness. Antonio dclla because of the patron ·s life as a condouiere who moved in Scala gave Conesia his sister. Lucia, as a wife. which royal and monied circles. On the one hand. Raimondi no ·s brought Conesia ·s family 10 Verona from Viccnia. Conesia experiences on the battle fie ld guided his anists icon• was Captain General for Antonio, who gave him many ographically, while on the other. his acquired wealth en­ lands and villas. reinvesting him with the Castello di Sarego abled these anists 10 work on a scale not yet seen in the in 1381. When he died. Concsia was taken with solemn tomb of a Capiain General in Italy. Once carved. the ceremony by all of the populace 10 be buried near the high mili1ary imagery and monumental dimensions of the Lupi altar of S. Anastasia. In his will of 1386. Conesia desig­ tomb set a preccden1 in 1he ¼!nc10 for the tombs of other nated one thousand golden ducats for the erection of a condouieri. Eventually. the equestrian mOlif fonnerly seen tomb. 19 In Sansovino ·s words. the chapel in S. Anastasia primarily in the funerary monumcn1s of the 1yrants of wJs "superbamente e magnificameme fabricara ,Jail" Jam• Northern Italy insinuated itself into the Nonh Italian monu­ iglia. • In fact. Cipolla and others have convincingly argued ments of the condoniere. Thus. the way was paved for the that the detai ls of the complex were specified by Concsia ·s rebinh of the large scale public commemorative statue of son. also named Cones ia. in his two wills of 1424 and Generals. or other leaders. which has continued 10 punctu­ 1429.'0 But in the son's hands. the monumenl. whose ate public squares 10 this day.

I The date.~ uc those pro,·idcd by John While. For illummions and S 8 . Gonah. u, Basilicu di$. Anromo dt'J.amo t'd ,lho1ra1t1. II. P:.du•. C'OmJncn,s. SC<: his An ti111.I Arc·hitawr(' in /,al\·: 1250-1400. Ballimore. 1852. 80. doc . LIil. hereafter Gon1:.1i. GonL:ui docs nrn slate cxoctl)' 1966. pl<. 149. 190. 191 and 192 and pp. 314-1°S , nd 396-98. when Raimondino k-fl So,-agna for ~ood or when he arrfr~d in P:idua.

2 See I. AffO... A lbero dc'Marchc~i Lupi. ·· in A. Pc1.Zana Suma dt'II" 6 Affo. 69-70. ('iulufl Am,ia: !346-14()(). appcndiJt X. Pa.nna . 1937. 63. fot lhl: :1bo\'c

and for his belief 1ha1t exts suggc51ing 1ha1 1hc Lupi origin3fly came from 7 Sec L. Grouo dell ·Ero. -Lovati. Lupati, Lo\•i, Lupi. H in C,:,ini storici Jcru~lem or \bl.sci should be d1S<.-ounlcd. Jul/,: fi111TiJllit' ,ti Pudtwo t' s11i m<>r1m1mw JrlrUni\',rsiui. ed. A , de .\fan:hi, Padua, 1842, 145. 3 Aflo. 68. 8 Aflo. 70. J Aflo. 69.

II 9 Go1":a1i, II, 80 :md .'\(l'l,. 70 Sec :1ho \1. \ ,ifl.tn1 . Cron1td. 01x1k II. 2\ The ,1.1tui.· 1:,. 213 cm high, It t~•rrtmly i-. located 1n SS. G10\;inm c Chap. 76 and Book Ill. Ch.if) .l.S BJ.Jt.a hOO bttn ,1ndc-r 1hl· ,,cic or the P..oio ,n Venice whcrc 11 "'''" hrou~ht 1,1,hen San Antonio 1,1,m,

10 Afto. 70 71. 24 S« I- ~"'°',no.Dr/Ir ,-r,f(mt' rt dt" fatti Jr/Ir fami(hr 1llt1J111 J'ltnlra. \'i~~1J. 1609. 316 For 3 bncf J1"("uss100 of the 1omb and the 1t1cr.arurt II Gnic1c> ddl'Eru. 145. "r,1c, 1h.a1 RaunonJ1M "a, ,·Jptur(J ul 1.156 A. ,,n 11. \CC al'4l \\bllec'\, II. 229 :\0 \\biters. nocing 1h:u Samo,·ino is Pc11Jn.1, Swri11 ddla t'1ll11 ,Ji Pamu,: /J./6-/.100. 1\tm\;i. 1xn. 52. JI)() noc 1nf,1ll1ble. J"I01nh 0011h.11 u,uall)' the family of lhc dce<3...cd p.t1d (oc ,-1,c:,. the )~ar l3S6 htH "')4c, 1ha1 on._ ,oorc-t -.1a1\!, th.11 11 " ·" ,\n1oni1l ,o~h lntlflUlnCnh. Lupo who ,,~ capluh."d. not Ra1111ondino. addin~ th,11 ,11II another '°4-11\'t' :,.uitc, that R:iimonJino "a-. ""llh l'gohno Oon,a$.i .u the tune 01 25 f S.m-.o\ mo. lt'11nw nit(/ 11111111,_umw "' ,i11ghlclft' ,lrfc-1111,, m XIII lht Jlleicd capcure Gon,ah. II. SO. fl'C" no di1e 1,,r lhc ,:a1,curt" l,lm. \~nic-c. 1581. fol. 65,.

12 Gon1a11. II. 80. S« al~ GO \(rc1. Swnu 1/rll,, mmu, lnn,,r1,1t1 f' 26 Sn- U \\' Janson. Thr Sct1lp111rr of /)(Jf¥1telln, Pnnct"Con. 1957. 158. H'l\lff(".u-. \~n,-re. 1786--1)1, Jo-.· MIX~XI.\, "hKh Gvn1a1t ,1tc, 27 Jxopo ,,klla Quc-r(i3 created :1 "ood, "tK"CO and lu'ltn ~ IJ For 1h,e "ill, "CC A. S.a«u-n. ··Noc;, ,u All1.:tucro. •· 11 Smm,. Ill. 1963. 1unerJf) ,taluc of the Sienc'<' «:ondouu:rt Gian Tedesco 1n aboul IJ9S J(ll)... 11. dtx·. IX . hcrc;if1,;r S.1rtun The -.1.11Ut:" remained ,n the Ca1hcdrnl of Siena unlil 1506 \\,hen 11 ""as ,k,1royt-d b) tJ1..- 'fyran1 of Su:na. Pandolfo P,em1cci. S« \V, ¼kn1iner. 1.a Crouo ddl'Er,). IJ6. "The f.que,tri:in S1a1u..- of P:,olo Savell, in lhe Frati ... Art Q1mr1,•rl_\. XVI. 1953. 281 92 for an :1rt;urncm 1ha1 dc lla Quercia 111\0 cm1tcd the I.S Gon,a1,. II, !iiO. S;I\C'lh 1omb. For the'°'' q;uuc or Gian Tode~. -.« C. Vi1'n.n, le \'ire clr'11m (nf"llrntt plmm, .u,ilu,ri t' ,mh1trttorl. II. ed. G. M1lat1csi. 16 Cro110 dnd the~ o( th1~ piiper arc 1hr Tu....,;.1n monument\ n'ltnl1onrd ~) J.an!>On. 157-58 17 Grt.1Uo Jcll'Ero. 1.&6. 2~ Thi, ani.l tl4hcr biograph1c-;1I dJIJ an: from Sanso, 1no. v,11, r 1hc rdc,;1n1 Jocu,m:ni.., '-1."C S.mnn. 291 ff ll7--JS

19 For the dc.scripc,on of the mmb. ,cc M. Sa.,,onamla. U~·llm d,• mcu:mjl(t,\ ommnenti< r(',ttc· nntutu f>

Fig. I. Sarcophagus from the tomb of Raimondino de "Lupi (d. 1379). Padua. Ormory of St. George (photo: Edizioni di Comunir3 for Ros,i of Venice). I? Fig. 2. Fragment of anthropomorphic rinial of 1he 10,.1 baldacchino of 1hc tomb of Raimondino dc'Lupi (photo: Edizioni di Comunita for Ros,i of Venice).

Fig. 3a. Drawing by Jan Grevcmbroch of lost tomb of Fig. 3b. l'l>rtrni1 of \l:ttorc Pisani (d. 1380) from his lo.t \l:uorc Pisani (d. 1380). Fom1crly in Venice. S. Antonio tomb. Fom1crly in \ \:nice. S. Antonio. "°" in S.S. (photo: Alfieri). Gio"anni c Paolo (pho10: Alfieri). I.I ,---'--. "'11 ' .' ' -. ' Fig. 4. Monument 10 Paolo Savelli (d. 1405). Venice. S.M. dei Fmri (pho10: Alinari). /J - __, ,.