Ghino di Tacco
Encyclopedia
Sinalunga
Sinalunga is a town and comune in the province of Siena, in the Tuscany region of central Italy.-Main sights:*Collegiata di San Martino , built from 1568 over the ancient castle. The interior, on the Latin cross, has works by Benvenuto di Giovanni, Il Sodoma and Rutilio Manetti.*Palazzo Pretorio,...
in the Province of Siena
Province of Siena
The Province of Siena is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Siena.It has an area of 3,821 km² , and a total population of 252,288 . There are 36 comuni in the province...
. Born the son of a Ghibelline nobleman Tacco di Ugolino and brother of Turino, he was a scion
Kinship
Kinship is a relationship between any entities that share a genealogical origin, through either biological, cultural, or historical descent. And descent groups, lineages, etc. are treated in their own subsections....
of the Cacciaconti Monacheschi Pecorai family.
Along with his father and brother, he made a career of robbery and plunder while being hunted by the Siennese Republic
Siena
Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008...
. After they were caught, his father was executed in Siena’s Piazza del Campo
Piazza del Campo
Piazza del Campo is the principal public space of the historic center of Siena, Tuscany, Italy and is one of Europe's greatest medieval squares. It is renowned worldwide for its beauty and architectural integrity. The Palazzo Pubblico and its Torre del Mangia, as well as various palazzi signorili...
, while Ghino managed to escape and sought refuge in Radicofani
Radicofani
Radicofani is a comune in the Province of Siena in the Italian region Tuscany, located in the natural park of Valdorcia about 110 km southeast of Florence and about 60 km southeast of Siena...
, a fortified city on the Via Cassia
Via Cassia
The Via Cassia was an important Roman road striking out of the Via Flaminia near the Milvian Bridge in the immediate vicinity of Rome and, passing not far from Veii traversed Etruria...
on the border between the Siennese Republic and the Papal States
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
. There Ghino continued his career as a bandit, but in the manner of a gentleman, always leaving his victims with something to live on. Boccaccio
Giovanni Boccaccio
Giovanni Boccaccio was an Italian author and poet, a friend, student, and correspondent of Petrarch, an important Renaissance humanist and the author of a number of notable works including the Decameron, On Famous Women, and his poetry in the Italian vernacular...
depicts him as a good brigand (Brigante buono) in the Decameron
The Decameron
The Decameron, also called Prince Galehaut is a 14th-century medieval allegory by Giovanni Boccaccio, told as a frame story encompassing 100 tales by ten young people....
, when relating his kidnapping of the Abbot
Abbot of Cluny
The Abbot of Cluny was the head of the powerful monastery of Cluny Abbey in medieval France. The following is a list.-List of abbots:-References:...
of Cluny
Cluny Abbey
Cluny Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was built in the Romanesque style, with three churches built in succession from the 10th to the early 12th centuries....
, in the second story of the tenth day:
Ghino di Tacco piglia l'abate di Clignì e medicalo del male dello stomaco e poi il lascia quale, tornato in corte di Roma, lui riconcilia con Bonifazio papa e fallo friere dello Spedale.
Translation: Ghino di Tacco seizes the Abbot of Cluny, cures him of his stomach ailment and then releases him; the abbot, having returned to the Roman court, reconciles Ghino with Pope Boniface and makes him prior of the Hospital.
Dante
DANTE
Delivery of Advanced Network Technology to Europe is a not-for-profit organisation that plans, builds and operates the international networks that interconnect the various national research and education networks in Europe and surrounding regions...
, in Canto VI , lines 13–14, of his Purgatorio
Purgatorio
Purgatorio is the second part of Dante's Divine Comedy, following the Inferno, and preceding the Paradiso. The poem was written in the early 14th century. It is an allegory telling of the climb of Dante up the Mount of Purgatory, guided by the Roman poet Virgil...
points to Ghino’s ferocity when he refers to the death of the Aretine
Arezzo
Arezzo is a city and comune in Central Italy, capital of the province of the same name, located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about 80 km southeast of Florence, at an elevation of 296 m above sea level. In 2011 the population was about 100,000....
Benincasa da Latrina (jurist
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
in Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, then judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
of the Siennese Podestà
Podestà
Podestà is the name given to certain high officials in many Italian cities, since the later Middle Ages, mainly as Chief magistrate of a city state , but also as a local administrator, the representative of the Emperor.The term derives from the Latin word potestas, meaning power...
):
Quiv'era l'Aretin che da le braccia
fiere di Ghin di Tacco ebbe la morte.
Translation: Here was the Aretine who met his death at the fierce hands of Ghin di Tacco.
Youth
The exact date of Ghino’s birth is unknown, but it must have been in the latter half of the thirteenth century, as there are extant reports of the actions of the Banda dei Quattro (Band of Four) which comprised his father Tacco di Ugolino, his uncle Ghino di Ugolino, Ghino himself, and his younger brother Turino. From his childhood, Ghino accompanied his father on his raids near his place of birth, the small castle-farm of La Fratta in Valdichiana.It is believed that they had to resort to brigand activities because of the taxes imposed by the Siennese church on land properties in favor of the Papal States
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
. The tax was deemed excessive by Ghibelline nobles of La Fratta. At that time, all the castles in the region — Asinalonga (now Sinalunga
Sinalunga
Sinalunga is a town and comune in the province of Siena, in the Tuscany region of central Italy.-Main sights:*Collegiata di San Martino , built from 1568 over the ancient castle. The interior, on the Latin cross, has works by Benvenuto di Giovanni, Il Sodoma and Rutilio Manetti.*Palazzo Pretorio,...
), Scrofiano
Scrofiano
thumb|250px|A view of Scrofiano.Scrofiano is a village in Tuscany, central Italy, a frazione of the comune of Sinalunga in the province of Siena. It is located on a hill in Val di Chiana, a few kilometers from Sinalunga proper....
, Rigomagno, Farnetella, Bettolle
Bettolle
Bettolle is a frazione of Sinalunga, in the province of Siena, Tuscany, Italy.Of ancient origin, it was settled by the Etruscans, as attested by the numerous archaeological findings. In the Middle Ages it was a possession of the abbots of Farneta and of the lords of Sinalunga until, in 1226, it was...
, Torrita di Siena
Torrita di Siena
Torrita di Siena is a comune in the Province of Siena in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 80 km southeast of Florence and about 40 km southeast of Siena....
— were owned by the powerful Siennese family of Cacciaconti; this granted them a degree of impunity from the central government in Siena.
This impunity ceased in July 1279 when Tacco razed the castle in Torrita di Siena
Torrita di Siena
Torrita di Siena is a comune in the Province of Siena in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 80 km southeast of Florence and about 40 km southeast of Siena....
. In the battle which followed, one Jacopino da Guardavalle was seriously wounded by Tacco. For this reason, aided by the Counts of Santa Fiora
Santa Fiora
Santa Fiora is a comune in the Province of Grosseto, in the Italian region of Tuscany, located about 110 km southeast of Florence and about 40 km east of Grosseto...
, Tacco and the others from the Banda dei Quattro were found guilty and condemned by the court of the Commune
Medieval commune
Medieval communes in the European Middle Ages had sworn allegiances of mutual defense among the citizens of a town or city. They took many forms, and varied widely in organization and makeup. Communes are first recorded in the late 11th and early 12th centuries, thereafter becoming a widespread...
of Siena, which sought them for many years before capturing them in 1285. After being torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
d, his uncle Ghino di Ugolino and his father Tacco di Ugolino were executed in Piazza del Campo in 1286. The sentence was given by Benincasa da Laterina (born in Arezzo
Arezzo
Arezzo is a city and comune in Central Italy, capital of the province of the same name, located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about 80 km southeast of Florence, at an elevation of 296 m above sea level. In 2011 the population was about 100,000....
) who was later appointed as senator and auditor in the court of the Papal States. Ghino and his brother Turino escaped the execution because they were underage and remained outside the political scene for some years.
The flight to Radicofani
In 1290, Ghino di Tacco returned to the “remunerative activities” started by his father, having been ordered to pay damages of 1000 soldi in recompense for a robbery he had carried out near San Quirico d'OrciaSan Quirico d'Orcia
San Quirico d'Orcia is a comune of c. 2,500 inhabitants in the Province of Siena in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 80 km southeast of Florence and about 35 km southeast of Siena inside the Valdorcia landscape...
. In the meantime, Ghino showed his intention to occupy a fortified position near Sinalunga without the authorization of the Siennese commune. This course of action was not tolerated by the Siennese authorities who forced Ghino into exile beyond the borders of the Republic.
Ghino fled and occupied the impenetrable fortress of Radicofani, still in the territory of the Siennese Republic, but on the border with the Papal States. Here Ghino took part in a fight for the ownership of the fortress, managed to conquer it, and made that his base for his acts of banditry. From the hill of Radicofani, Ghino continued to rob the travellers on the Via Francigena
Via Francigena
The Via Francigena is an ancient road between Rome and Canterbury, passing through England, France, Switzerland and Italy. In mediaeval times it was an important road and pilgrimage route...
, an important route for pilgrims travelling to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, which here followed the ancient Via Cassia
Via Cassia
The Via Cassia was an important Roman road striking out of the Via Flaminia near the Milvian Bridge in the immediate vicinity of Rome and, passing not far from Veii traversed Etruria...
. Ghino ambushed travellers, established the real nature of the goods they were carrying, and then stripped them of almost everything, but left them enough to survive and offered them a banquet. On account of this behaviour and because he allowed students and poor people to pass without harm, Ghino was considered a "Thief and a Gentleman," a sort of Robin Hood
Robin Hood
Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....
ante litteram.
His notoriety
Jealous of his reputation, he decided to avenge his father and his brother, and went to Rome to seek out Benincasa da Laterina, who had become an influential and well-known judge at the court of the Papal States. Leading four hundred men and armed with a pikePike (weapon)
A pike is a pole weapon, a very long thrusting spear used extensively by infantry both for attacks on enemy foot soldiers and as a counter-measure against cavalry assaults. Unlike many similar weapons, the pike is not intended to be thrown. Pikes were used regularly in European warfare from the...
, he entered the Papal tribunal in Campidoglio and beheaded Judge Benincasa. He impaled the head on his pike and brought it back to Radicofani, where he exposed the scalp on the tower for a long time. It was from this real example of punishment, having something from black chronicle
Black Chronicle
The Black Chronicle is an African American weekly newspaper in the state of Oklahoma. Founded in April 1979 and based in Oklahoma City's Eastside, it is owned by Perry Publishing and Broadcasting and caters to Oklahoma City's black community....
fact, a golpe
Golpe
Golpe has multiple meanings, as described below:* In music, golpe can mean**Golpe is a Flamenco guitar technique where one uses the fingers to tap on the soundboard of the guitar, from the Spanish "golpe", meaning to strike....
and a knightly feat, that Dante cited in the quoted verses of his Commedia, describing the Second Terrace of Purgatory, where the Negligent were seeking atonement.
After this macabre and theatrical feat, Ghino returned to val d'Orcia and resumed his acts of plunder, acquiring a legendary aura as a fierce and undefeated fighter. At this time, another event occurred which was to place him again under the literary spotlight. Boccaccio, in the second tale of the tenth day of Decameron, tells of how Ghino di Tacco behaved with the Abbot of Cluny. He, while travelling back from Rome after giving Pope Boniface VIII
Pope Boniface VIII
Pope Boniface VIII , born Benedetto Gaetani, was Pope of the Catholic Church from 1294 to 1303. Today, Boniface VIII is probably best remembered for his feuds with Dante, who placed him in the Eighth circle of Hell in his Divina Commedia, among the Simonists.- Biography :Gaetani was born in 1235 in...
the money coming from the taxes exacted by the French Church, decided to take a cure for his liver and stomach (which were suffering from the Roman banquets) at the thermal spa of San Casciano dei Bagni
San Casciano dei Bagni
San Casciano dei Bagni is a comune in the Province of Siena in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 110 km southeast of Florence and about 70 km southeast of Siena.-Geogrpahy:...
. Ghino, knowing of the abbot’s coming, prepared an ambush and kidnapped him, without harming him in any way. Ghino locked the abbot in his tower in the fortress of Radicofani, giving him only bread
Bread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...
and dried beans
Vicia faba
This article refers to the Broad Bean plant. For Broadbean the company, see Broadbean, Inc.Vicia faba, the Broad Bean, Fava Bean, Field Bean, Bell Bean or Tic Bean, is a species of bean native to north Africa and southwest Asia, and extensively cultivated elsewhere. A variety is provisionally...
to eat and Vernaccia di San Gimignano
Vernaccia di San Gimignano
Vernaccia is a white Italian wine, made from the Vernaccia grape, produced in and around the Italian hill town of San Gimignano in Tuscany. Since the Renaissance it has been considered one of Italy's finest white wines...
to drink. This dietary regimen “miraculously” cured the abbot’s stomach pains, and he convinced the Pope to grant a pardon to Ghino di Tacco for the assassination of Benincasa, and appointed him as a Knight of St. John and Prior of the Ospedale di Santo Spirito (Hospital of the Holy Spirit). Ghino became loved again, even by Siena
Siena
Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008...
.
His end
Some historians claim that Ghino died in Rome. Others, such as Benvenuto da Imola, have noted that after the Papal and Siennese pardons he had no need to hide, and have argued that as a fundamentally kind man he devoted himself to acts of altruism and was killed in the first half of the fourteenth century while trying to stop a fight among foot soldiers and peasants in Asinalonga, only two kilometers from the place he was born. As an authority, Benvenuto da Imola has the advantage of being a near contemporary. He used to say that “Cultural references
The prominent Italian politicianPolitics of Italy
The politics of Italy is conducted through a parliamentary, democratic republic with a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised collectively by the Council of Ministers, which is led by the President of the Council of Ministers, referred to as "Presidente del Consiglio" in Italian...
Bettino Craxi
Bettino Craxi
Benedetto Craxi was an Italian politician, head of the Italian Socialist Party from 1976 to 1993, the first socialist President of the Council of Ministers of Italy from 1983 to 1987.-Political career:...
used the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
“Ghino di Tacco” when signing his op-ed
Op-ed
An op-ed, abbreviated from opposite the editorial page , is a newspaper article that expresses the opinions of a named writer who is usually unaffiliated with the newspaper's editorial board...
s in the Italian Socialist Party
Italian Socialist Party
The Italian Socialist Party was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy founded in Genoa in 1892.Once the dominant leftist party in Italy, it was eclipsed in status by the Italian Communist Party following World War II...
's newspaper Avanti!
Avanti! (Italian newspaper)
Avanti! is an Italian daily newspaper, born as the official voice of the Italian Socialist Party, published since December 25, 1896. It took its name from its German counterpart Vorwärts.-History:...
; ironically, Craxi's political career ended amid a country-wide corruption scandal
Tangentopoli
Tangentopoli is a term which was coined to describe pervasive corruption in the Italian political system exposed in the 1992-6 Mani Pulite investigations, as well as the resulting scandal, which led to the collapse of the hitherto dominant Christian Democracy party and its allies.-Popular distrust...
, and he eventually had to flee the country to avoid jail, while his party imploded and disappeared from the political scene.
In Radicofani and Sinalunga two monuments in honour of Ghino di Tacco have been recently erected.