Giuliano della Rovere in Anghiari
The recorded presence of Giuliano della Rovere (Albisola, 1443 – Rome, 1513) in the home of Mazzone di Gregorio in October 1476 reflects the close bonds that the worthies of Anghiari proved capable of forging with the leading figures of their day. The timing suggests that Giulio's stay in Anghiari occurred while he was on his way back from Avignon, where he stayed from 17 March to September 1476. (PASTORE 2001).
We should remember that Cardinal della Rovere had previously been appointed Legate of the March of Ancona by his uncle Pope Sixtus IV (Pecorile, 1414 – Rome, 1484) and that in that capacity, from June 1474, he led a military expedition to put down an uprising in Todi and Spoleto, which were joined by Città di Castello after its people had been whipped up by Niccolò di Vitellozzo Vitelli with the aid of the Florentines. It is worth highlighting a feat of arms that took place during the siege of this latter city (now in Umbria). While the Church forces under Giuliano della Rovere's command surrounded the city walls, the Florentines sent help to the besieged city in the shape of a soldier of fortune named Anghiarino with 60 foot soldiers in the evening of 3 July 1474. He, “passing through the Church camp fighting, entered the Castle without losing a single one of his men”. (FINZI, PARESCHI 1991)
We still do not know the reason why Giuliano della Rovere met Mazzone di Gregorio in Anghiari, but he was probably part of a string of contacts designed to bolster Pope Sixtus IV's position in his dispute with King Louis XI of France.
After Giuliano della Rovere was elected to the papacy with the name of Julius II in 1503, Mazzone di Gregorio was granted the privilege of exemption from tolls for all hisgoods: books silverware and other items (…) for carriages, chattels and bags, whether on foot or on horseback (…) along with the noble title of Bartolomeo Valentino Mazzoni d’Anghiari (…).
On display
