Piero di Tommaso Soderini (March 17, 1451 – June 13, 1522) also known as Pier Soderini, was an Italian
statesman of the
Republic of Florence.
Biography
Soderini was born in
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...
to Tommaso di Lorenzo Soderini, a member of an old family who had become famous in medicine, and his second wife Dianora Tornabuoni, also of a prestigious Florentine family and in-law of
Piero de'Medici. Soderini's brother was the statesman and supporter of
Savonarola,
Paolo Antonio Soderini. Their third brother was Cardinal
Francesco Soderini,
bishop of Volterra. In 1481 he was Prior of the city, and later became a favourite of
Piero di Lorenzo de' Medici, receiving from him, in 1493, the honour of being the Ambassador to the
Kingdom of France
The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period ...
. He was elected ''
gonfaloniere'' for life in 1502 by the Florentines, who wished to give greater stability to their republican institutions, which had been restored after the expulsion of Piero de' Medici and the execution of
Savonarola.
Soderini's rule proved moderate and wise, although he did not possess the qualities of a great statesman. He introduced a system of national
militia
A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
in the place of foreign
mercenaries. During his government the long war with
Pisa was brought to a close with the capture of that city by the Florentines in 1509. Niccolò
Machiavelli, author of ''
The Prince'' and ''
Discourses on Livy'', served under him as second chancellor and as ambassador to
Cesare Borgia, Rome and France. Although Machiavelli initially had much respect for Soderini, his attitude was changed by the events that led to Soderini's fall.
Grateful to France, which had assisted him, Soderini always took the French side in Italian politics. But in 1512 the Medici returned to Florence with the help of a Spanish army, deposed Soderini, and drove him into exile. He took refuge at
Orašac (near Dubrovnik) in
Dalmatia, where he remained until the election of
Pope Leo X, who summoned him to
Rome
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, 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 ...
and conferred many favours on him. Soderini lived in Rome for the rest of his life and worked for the good of Florence, to which he was never allowed to return.
He died in Rome in 1522 and was buried in the church of
S. Maria del Popolo.
Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani
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References
Bibliography
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Acknowledgment
* This work in turn cites:
** Silvano Razzi, ''Vita di Pier Soderini'' (Padua, 1737)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soderini, Piero
Rulers of Florence
1451 births
1522 deaths
Ambassadors of the Republic of Florence
Italian politicians
15th-century people of the Republic of Florence
16th-century people of the Republic of Florence
16th-century rulers in Europe
Italian republicans