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.
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