Tuscany, Invasion of the Exiles (Fuorusciti) 1537



The assassination of Alessandro de Medici, Duke of Florence, in 1537 caused a momentary power vacuum in Florence-Tuscany. There was no obvious successor, as the Duke had no legitimate children; when his distant relative, the 14 year old Cosimo de Medici, was proclaimed Capo (head) of the Republic of Florence, he was not uncontested. The Tuscan forces, commanded by Alessandro Vitelli, occupied military strongholds and took a neutral position, awaiting the Emperor's decision. Then there were the Florentine exiles, expelled in 1530.
In April 1537, Piero Strozzi lead a force of Florentine exiles and hired mercenaries, 400 infantry and 100 cavalry, onto Florentine territory, with the object of capturing Borgo San Sepolcro; however, the invaders were expected and pushed out of Florentine territory.
In the final days of July, another force of Florentine exiles, the Fuorusciti, 4000 infantry and 300 cavalry, invaded Florentine territory. They gathered at the castle of Montemurlo. Again, the Spanish and regular Florentine forces were better informed, better equipped, better prepared; in the Battle of Montemurlo the invaders were crushed (August 1st 1537). The hope of the invaders for a rebellion to break out in their support did not materialize.
On June 12th, the Imperial envoy had recognized Cosimo de Medici as legitimate Capo of Florence. His victory over the exiles had stabilized the position of the 14 year old head of state,




EXTERNAL
FILES 		La Caduta di Firenze 1530-1538 (The Fall of Venice 1530-1538), from Cronologia, in Italian
The Era of Cosimo I., from Art and History, by Agenzia per il Turismo di Firenze, in English
Montemurlo, from Castelli di Toscana, in Italian
Article Piero Strozzi, from Columbia Encyclopedia , from Condittieri di Ventura, in Italian; detailed
DOCUMENTS 1548, Duke Cosimo de'Medici declines to assist in the poisoning of Piero Strozzi, posted by Medici Archive Project
REFERENCE Eric Cochrane, Florence in the Forgotten Centuries, 1527-1800, Chicago : UP 1973, pp.32-35



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted on February 29th 2004, last revised on November 17th 2004

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