Ser Petracco (born Pietro di Parenzo di Garzo; 1267—1326) was the father to the Italian poet Francesco Petrarca. His father was Ser Parenzo, son of Ser Garzo who reputedly lived to be 100. They all were

notaries A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is disti ...

, the same office that Ser Petracco held in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. The family did have a small property in

. His wife’s name was Eletta Canigiani (1270—1319), the mother to Petrarch, whom he married around 1302. Petrarch’s granddaughter was named after her. Ser Petracco was a merchant and also worked for the State. Before he was 35 years old he had already held many high public positions. He was "Chancellor of the Commission for the Reforms" as well as a delegate of an important embassy to

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

in 1301. At the end of 1302 of his political career he was falsely charged of legal matters in his absence. The sentence was a fine of 1000

Lira Lira is the name of several currency units. It is the current currency of Turkey and also the local name of the currencies of Lebanon and of Syria. It is also the name of several former currencies, including those of Italy, Malta and Israe ...

or the loss of his right hand. He refused to pay the fine and his property was taken from him. He belonged to the political party of the White Guelphs along with the famous poet

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

, being its most illustrious member. They both were then exiled from Florence by the opposing party, the Black Guelphs. Francesco Petrarch was an " Aretine" by these mere circumstances - as he always thought of himself really as a Florentine. The family, along with Dante and others that were exiled to

Arezzo Arezzo ( , , ) , also ; ett, 𐌀𐌓𐌉𐌕𐌉𐌌, Aritim. is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of above sea level. ...

, found no welcome there. Ser Petracco had to seek employment elsewhere, however his wife and baby Francesco were permitted to go to their little family house they owned in Incisa with relatives. A family story goes that Francesco was about seven months old when he and his mother moved back to Incisa. Baby Francesco was being transported in a sling arrangement carried over a servant's shoulder. The servant was mounted on a horse. When they crossed through the flooded

Arno The Arno is a river in the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the most important river of central Italy after the Tiber. Source and route The river originates on Monte Falterona in the Casentino area of the Apennines, and initially takes a s ...

river the horse slipped and fell. Francesco and the servant went headlong into the water. With much determination and inner strength the servant saved Francesco. Ser Petracco periodically visited the family in Incisa from his out of town employment. In 1307 Francesco’s brother Gherardo was born. A daughter named Selvaggia was born to the couple. About 1310 they were all reunited for a year in Pisa. Around 1311 Ser Petracco got employment in

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

whither the

papal household The papal household or pontifical household (usually not capitalized in the media and other nonofficial use, ), called until 1968 the Papal Court (''Aula Pontificia''), consists of dignitaries who assist the pope in carrying out particular ceremoni ...

had moved from

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. Then in 1312 the boys and his wife moved to

Carpentras Carpentras (, formerly ; Provençal Occitan: ''Carpentràs'' in classical norm or ''Carpentras'' in Mistralian norm; la, Carpentoracte) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. ...

, where they lived happily for the next four years. Ser Petracco lived in Avignon most of this time because of his employment there in the profession of law. In 1316 he then sent Petrarch and his brother to study law at the

University of Montpellier The University of Montpellier (french: Université de Montpellier) is a public university, public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the oldest univ ...

. After his first wife's death he married Niccolosa Sigoli whose father Vanni was member of the White Guelphs and was elected ''priore'' of Florence in 1301. His daughter Selvaggia married Giovanni di Tano da Semifonte in 1324. He died two years later in Avignon.

Gallery

Image:Arezzo-Casa di Francesco Petrarca-cortile.JPG, Courtyard of the house of Ser Petracco

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petracco, Ser Italian businesspeople 1267 births 1326 deaths Petrarch 14th-century Italian jurists