Electronic Supplement to
Hidden behind the Ranges: How the 13 April 1558 "Sienese" Earthquake Was Put in Its Place

by Viviana Castelli, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione of Milano, Italy

This appendix is a translation of all records concerning the 13 April 1558 earthquake that I retrieved through September 2003 from the Firenze and Siena State Archives. The records come from three main archival holdings or fondi: the epistolary of Duke Cosimo I de' Medici (Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato); the papers of the Duke's inner council (Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Pratica segreta), and the minutes of the deliberations by the College of Balìa of Siena (Archivio di Stato di Siena, Balìa, Deliberazioni). They include letters (the largest group), a damage survey, a memorandum addressed by the Pratica segreta council to the Duke, and the minutes of the dispositions made by the Sienese College of Balìa on the subject of the earthquake over a period of several months (April 1558-January 1559). The documents are numbered and arranged chronologically; the Balìa deliberations taken on the same day (of which there can be many) are treated as a unit. For each document an exact archive reference, summary, and translation are given. Documents dealing solely with the earthquake have been translated in full, apart from some letters of the ducal representatives in Siena which dealt with several topics, in which cases (marked as "excerpt" in the attached summaries) only the earthquake-relevant portions have been translated.
 

Timekeeping

The timekeeping system used in 16th-century Italy counted hours from sundown. At mid-April in Tuscany the sun would have set approximately between 6:50 and 7:05 p.m.
 

Names

In 16th-century Italy family names tended to be a prerogative of the upper classes and a mark of rank; the humble went by patronymic and/or place names only. Thus peasants and artisans would be called Pietro di Paolo da Bucine (Pietro son of Paolo from Bucine).
 

Glossary

Balìa: a permanent government committee elected by the Sienese Seignory to manage day-to-day affairs. The literal meaning of the word is "jurisdiction" or "authority" (from medieval French baillie; see bailiff, bailiwick).

Braccio: unit of measurement; the braccio fiorentino is approximately 58.3 centimeters (23 inches).

Bossolo: ballot box.

Cassero: castle, fortress, stronghold (from Arabic qasr).

Castello: walled settlement, ranking under a terra and belonging to a larger district; sometimes it can have a smaller district of its own.

Città: urban settlement which is a bishop's seat, enjoys some (or even much) administrative autonomy, and has under its jurisdiction a territorial district (comprising terre, castelli, and ville); here translated as "city."

Credo: the Apostle's Creed, listing the Fourteen Articles of the Faith; here used as an approximate measure of the length of an earthquake shock (at least 40 seconds).

Doccio/i: shallow U-shaped tiles that can be arranged in lines by superimposing the narrower edge of each to the next; used either as roof covering (convex side up) or rain gutters (concave side up).

Dogana: customs; here the customs house buildings and annexes.

Giudici di Rota or Giudici Rotali (hereby translated as "Rotal Judges"): the judges appointed to decide civil (noncriminal) court cases. From the name of the supreme ecclesiastical and secular court of the Roman Catholic Church ("Rota" is a wheel, probably from the shape of the room where the judges sat).

Messer: title of address ranking under signore and above the titles reserved for artisans (maestro and such); appropriate to professionals such as notaries, lawyers, and other men of substance.

Monna: title of address for respectable women of the lower classes ("goodwife").

Paschi: the Monte dei Paschi, a Sienese institution created in 1472 to counteract usury by providing low-interest loans to the population; it drew on the income of communal pasturelands (paschi), hence the name; still operating as the oldest bank worldwide.

Podestà: the chief magistrate of a terra or castello; one of the magistrates of a città.

Podesteria (also spelled podestaria): the district ruled by a podestà.

Pratica segreta: Duke Cosimo's inner council.

Signore: title of address for noblemen and judges. Often contracted to signor. More formal than signore is Vostra Signoria, here translated as "your Lordship."

Terra: urban settlement ranking under a città, because it is not a bishop's seat; it generally belongs to a città district but can have a smaller district of its own. The noun can also generically mean an "urban settlement" of any kind.

Villa: unwalled rural settlement, with no administrative autonomy; also a country house, the rural seat of an affluent person.
 

The Records

1. Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato, file 470, March-May 1558, ff. 165 a-b.

13 April 1558, San Giovanni Valdarno. Lorenzo Nasi [1] to Cosimo de' Medici, Duke of Florence and Siena.

[f. 165a] My most Illustrious and Excellent Lord, today at fifteen hours one quarter [approx. 10:15 a.m.] a very great and fearful earthquake occurred, which went on for more than the length of a Credo, and it was such that the tower rising high over this palace [2] rocked so much that standing at its summit it felt like being at sea; [undeciphered word] came out for almost two quarters [?] of an arm-length, so that it seemed about to fall down; and the big bell that is up there kept swaying to and fro and tolling, for more than a Credo-length, and this same palace is fissured and cracked all over like a pomegranate, which makes it unsafe to dwell in just now because, if this thing goes on (which God preserve us from), it could easily fall to the ground.

Shortly after there were two other shocks, both small, and at twenty-two hours [approx. 5:00 p.m.] two more, so that everyone is shocked and scared. Nevertheless, here (thank God) there is not such noticeable damage, barring chimney pots that fell down, four merlons off the castle wall, half a house and a dovecote, besides many cracks and fissures in houses' walls. As to the district of San Giovanni, one hears that in Badolfona [3] four or five houses tumbled down and in Folichaia [4] two more from the foundations upward; likewise several single buildings in many settlements in the hills this side of the Arno.

In Monte Gonzi many [undeciphered word] and roofs and walls of the castle and four houses were wrecked, and the bell tower is cracked open all over to such an extent that a strong wind would be enough to throw it down; in Sereto, in the same commune, part of the church was shattered; in Gaville six houses or so were wrecked; in Pieve a San Brancazio the roof of the church. In Montevarchi a moltitude of chimneys were wrecked, with many walls of houses, a brick-kiln, and several parts of houses in the same podesteria. In Bucine, one hears, many houses were wrecked and many more all over the Valdambra district. In Caposelvi, they say, some thirty houses were razed to the ground and in the main square a fissure was left in the ground which is some thirty braccia long [approx. 17.40 meters, or 19 yards] and four fingers wide. [f. 165b] In Galatrona half a tower -- out of two that are there -- and other houses fell over. In Figline one hears that in the church of the Franciscan friars, where there is a crucifix which is normally shut behind doors locked with two keys, such was the violence of the shock that the doors opened by themselves, displaying the crucifix to view; they will take it out for a devout procession, all citizens following. Also some chimneys and house walls were wrecked; the same occurred in that entire podesteria on both sides of the Arno. One hears also that in Meleto, in Chianti, the fortress and several houses tumbled down. In Castagniolo most of the houses collapsed. In Gaiole most of the houses collapsed as well. And from every place it is heard that there were not many casualties. May it please God that this thing be ended; should anything more come to my knowledge I'll not fail to inform you, believing it my duty to keep Your Excellency abreast of things. And as I do not have anything else to write, barring that it was arranged for the Mass of the Holy Ghost to be sung tomorrow morning and some processions to be made and that we commend ourselves to the Most Glorious God, that He pleases to deliver us from such scourges, I humbly kiss Your hand and God make You happy. From San Giovanni [Valdarno] this 13 April 1558. Your Most Illustrious Excellency's humblest servant, Lorenzo Nasi.

2. Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato, file 470, March-May 1558, ff. 171b-172a.

13 April 1558, Siena. Federigo Barbolani di Montauto [5], military commander of Siena, to Cosimo de' Medici, Duke of Florence and Siena [6] [excerpt].

[f. 171b] [...] This morning, about one quarter after fifteen hours [approx. 10:15 a.m.] there was here a most great and fearful earthquake that wrecked an infinity of chimneys and roof gutters, shaking the Cathedral [7] so much that some of the marble figures that stand high on the facade over the main doorway crashed down, and inside is a small fissure running along the length of the nave and up to the crosspiece, a stone tie snapped and fell down, one of the roof arches was broken, the aisle vaults [undeciphered word] taken away, [f. 172a] and likewise there are cracks in parts of the sacristy and belfry, whose marble cornice was also damaged in places. It is known [undeciphered word] neither damage [undeciphered word] in the hospital, though a vault of the pharmacy was displaced and the inmates were very scared. In the church of Sant'Agostino a small bell tower fell to pieces, breaking the roof and vault of the chancel and crashing down on the main altar, on which there were the Holy Host, a statue of the Virgin, and some carved escutcheons; the whole was swept to the ground, save two escutcheons, and I was told that the pyx [Eucharist wafer box] broke open but the small casket inside it, where the Host was preserved, remained untouched and it was afterward taken away with all due reverence and placed in the vestry by those [Augustinian] fathers. The lodgings of the Rotal Judges, above the Dogana, were damaged and cracked everywhere; the judges left immediately and now are asking me for other lodgings. The facade of the Cerretani palace overlooking the Piazza [del Campo] is cracked open, the palace much cracked with two upper stories wrecked. Around the city there is no other damage barring what I wrote before, the chimneys and rain gutters, fissures and cracks. As to the city walls, which I inspected personally, the damage was limited to a few casemates, a wooden staircase, the roofs of some guardrooms [undeciphered word]. In the fortress only one casemate was damaged, though those inside say the shaking was strong. I haven't heard of any casualties, and the few injured were people of little standing, a soldier, a journeyman, and a boy. The worse thing is [undeciphered words] though much smaller, were felt after the first and up to twenty-three hours [approx. 6:00 p.m.], some say twelve times, some more. Many of the leading citizens plan to pass the night in the squares, some also in their country villas, and perhaps this will be to an end that will please God. I took care to arrange for a procession to be made tomorrow morning and prayers to be said in all the monasteries, and I doubled the night watches and there will be no [undeciphered word] in our vigilance. From Siena the 13 of April '558. Your Most Illustrious Excellency's most faithful servant, Federigo of the Counts of Montauto.

I was told just now that some nearby villages suffered much damage from the said earthquake; if this is confirmed by more accounts, Your Excellency will be informed.

3. Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato, file 470, March-May 1558, ff. 187a-b.

13 April 1558, Siena. Nofri Camaiani, Captain of Justice [8] of Siena, to Cosimo de' Medici, Duke of Florence and Siena.

[f. 187a] Most Illustrious and Most Excellent Lord, my Lord and Master. This morning I had just sat down to write two lines to Your Most Illustrious Excellency, if only to inform you that all here was at its quietest, as usual [...] after a little time, as I had put down my pen and was sitting in my study an earthquake came. It went on for as long as it takes to say the Credo twice, so powerful and furious and shaking the room so much that I fully expected the house and indeed this whole city to be flattened to the ground. In this danger and terror, which God's benevolence was pleased to stop after a little while, without any remarkable ruin or death of men, innumerable house chimneys and merlons fell down, while those who were in the squares and in open fields saw all the loftiest towers and dwellings of the city quivering and swaying to and fro in a fearful way. Afterward, we did not fail to visit the entire city, especially the city walls and churches. I went personally to many places and had the palace jails inspected: Both are damaged and it was ordered to set them to right. Moreover, there are rain gutters jutting out over the roads from the roofs of some houses which are ruined, the Cathedral with quite a few cracks and some marble carvings fallen to the ground, inside and out of it, a palace belonging to the Cerretani, facing on the piazza, the loftiest there is, was cracked open almost from top to foot, though this fissure is not excessively wide, and in Sant'Agostino the vault over the choir fell down. In conclusion, this earthquake was such that this city should have been destroyed by it, were it not for the cellars and galleries by which it is hollowed underground [9]. God be thanked for sparing so many people and acting well by Your Most Illustrious Excellency, to whom this city now belongs. [f. 187b] From Siena, on the 13th of April 1558. Your Most Illustrious Excellency's most humble servant, Nofri Camaiani.

4. Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato, file 470, March-May 1558, f. 192a.

13 April 1558, Siena. Vincenzo Ferrini [10], Steward of the Citadel of Siena, to Cosimo de' Medici, Duke of Florence and Siena [excerpt].

[f. 192a] Most Illustrious Most Excellent Signor Duke [...] This morning at fifteen hours [approx. 10:00 a.m.] there was here a great earthquake that went on for as much as it needs to say the Credo once, causing damage to the whole city, and inside the Cathedral it opened the nave from the main door to the middle of the church, grazing or tumbling down many marble figures and carvings from the facade, and breaking most of the marble pinnacles that border the roof. During the day, more shocks were felt and just now as I am writing, at twenty-three hours [approx. 6:00 p.m.], there is another, stronger than the previous ones, which were slighter. The roof of the guardroom near the Camollia gate was partly wrecked; the brick facings of the earthwork rampart near San Domenico were damaged, and the sentry boxes around the city walls cracked [...] Many chimneys fell down and the streets are littered with broken docci from the rain gutters. Thank God no one died, which is a great miracle, but there is much fear that other earthquakes will come, hoping always that God will not allow them to do worse, and I humbly kiss Your Most Illustrious Excellency's hand. In Siena on the 13 of April 1558. The humble servant of Your Most Illustrious Excellency, Vincenzo Ferrini.

5. Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato, file 470, March-May 1558, f. 203a.

14 April 1558, Siena. Federigo Barbolani di Montauto, military commander of Siena, to Cosimo de' Medici, Duke of Florence and Siena.

[f. 203a] Most Illustrious and Most Excellent Master of mine, there having been this night no more than two small earthquakes toward ten [approx. 5:00 a.m.], all people of this city feel this morning like being reprieved from death; while yesterday -- what with the multitude [of earthquakes], the contrition for their sins, and the terror that even worse was to come -- they were all scared stiff nor could be at all [undeciphered word] to raise their heads for the fright. And I have heard many people say that earthquakes such as this had never been felt here before, and they opine that it was only thanks to their many saints and the cavities underground that only a few houses were ruined. In fact the houses quivered so much that I, looking from my garden, expected them all to crumble down; as to my own household, having undergone the fall of three chimneys and several pieces of a roof, not to mention the panic, I feel lucky to have still my children and my wife safe and sound. However, thank God, the thing is drawing to a good end. All over the city there is no more damage to account for, apart from what was already described, than two damaged churches, Santo Spirito and the Carmine, a small house that collapsed near the Ovile Gate, and outside the city they say some houses fell down in Castelnuovo [11] and in other places, whose names it will be my care to ascertain in order to keep Your Excellency, to whom and to the Lord God I recommend myself, informed. From Siena, on the 14th day of April '558. Your Most Illustrious Excellency's, the most faithful Federigo of the Counts of Montauto.

6. Archivio di Stato di Siena, Balìa, Deliberazioni, file 169, 21 July 1557-26 January 1559, ff. 48b-49a.

16 April 1558, Siena. The Balìa officers start coping with the aftermath of the earthquake (penitential measures and judges' lodgings).

[f. 48b] 16 April 1558. Thinking of the universal well-being and the salvation of souls, which must be obtained from the Divine Majesty with prayers and orations, the Balìa ordered a general procession to be made tomorrow morning, that all the religious orders of friars, clergy, and lay fraternities be invited to come, that all the aforesaid be exhorted to pray for the safety of the city and souls, and the same message must be conveyed to all nunneries, that they should pray the everlasting God to free this city from such terrible portents of earthquakes. And the Magnificent Lords the Captain of the People and Priors [12] will follow the procession, clad in their scarlet cloaks of office, with their customary following, Balìa, Orders, and Magistrates, and when they reach the Cathedral they will sit in the choir stalls of the main altar to show more humility.

Two members of the Balìa, to be extracted from the bossolo, will be charged with going often to see the Governor, and in his absence the military commander Signor Federigo da Montautolo and the Captain of Justice, to remind them that measures must be taken to punish all gamesters, keepers of gambling houses, blasphemers, and sodomites. The ballot named Francesco de' Vecchi and Anton Maria Petrucci.

The two members hereunder named will hear from the Rotal Judges where they would best like to be lodged (the Dogana building being now uninhabitable after the earthquake opened it in many places), whether in San Francesco, in the Sapienza [university] or in the houses [f. 49a] of the late Messer Francesco Vannini, Taviano Taviani, or someone else, and they will accordingly report to the college. Aurelio Manni, Francesco de' Vecchi.

Also, as the aforesaid Judges left their Dogana lodgings for fear of the earthquake and therefore they could not study their cases, it is ordered that the audience of all cases pending before Their Lordships for the next fifteen days be delayed; nonetheless, should they feel like it, they must feel free to judge and sentence inside this period too and without any obstacle.

7. Archivio di Stato di Siena, Balìa, Deliberazioni, file 169, 21 July 1557-26 January 1559, ff. 52a-53b.

19 April 1558, Siena. The Balìa officers cope with the aftermath of the earthquake (inspection to public palaces; damage to Castelnuovo Berardenga; judges' lodgings).

[f. 52a] 19 April 1558. The Magnificent Lords Captain of the People and Priors will allow the masons and architect to inspect the tower and all roofs and crenellations of the town hall and also the palace of the Captain of Justice, and to restore everything that needs restoring, and the money will be forthcoming.

[f. 53b] Carlo Vannini, podestà of Castelnuovo [Berardenga], will take care to salvage and give to the care of someone trustworthy all the timber and ironmongery of the municipal house that was wrecked by the earthquake, so that nothing untoward happens to them.

Messer Aurelio Manni and Francesco de' Vecchi will ask Signor Federigo di Montautolo if he pleases to get the captain now billeted in the erstwhile house of Messer Ambrogio Nuti to vacate it, so that the Rotal Judges can be lodged there instead, and [the captain] will be given another small house nearby, with as little expense for the public as will be possible.

8. Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato, file 470, March-May 1558, f. 311b.

21 April 1558, Siena. Nofri Camaiani to Cosimo de' Medici, Duke of Florence and Siena [excerpt].

[f. 311b] [...] Two members of the Balìa came to me after the earthquakes, observing that one hears many atrocious blasphemies around the city and sees many dishonest acts publicly, acts of sodomy among these Sienese youths and journeymen, with the soldiery and at those places where the young meet, and that there are also many gambling dens. They desired me to stop this with bans and punishments. I answered that for the gambling, we had provided already: that the ban was published some days ago and I had already sentenced those who were denounced to me; also that I was surprised it was still possible to see people gambling in public, unless the guards were too lenient, and that I would order them to do their duty, as I did this morning [...] From Siena the 21st day of April 1558 [...] Nofri Camaiani.

9. Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato, file 470, March-May 1558, f. 301b.

22 April 1558, Siena. Federigo Barbolani di Montauto, military commander of Siena, to Cosimo de' Medici, Duke of Florence and Siena [excerpt].

[f. 301b] [...] The earthwork rampart that was built some years ago for defensive purposes outside the gate and church of San Domenico was partly destroyed after the first and second earthquakes [written between the lines "after the one I wrote of previously"], and I do not know whether Your Excellency would want it rebuilt or whether he would rather that the guard, which used to stay there, be placed instead in the atrium of the convent, inside the gate. Judging for myself, it seems to me that by doing so we would obtain the same end without more expense, and the guard would be safer. Nonetheless I wish to know which is the will of Your Most Illustrious Excellency, lest I err. [...] From Siena, 22 April 1558 [...] Federigo di Montauto.

10. Archivio di Stato di Siena, Balìa, Deliberazioni, file 169, 21 July 1557-26 January 1559, ff. 56a-57a.

23 April 1558, Siena. The Balìa officers cope with the aftermath of the earthquake (military commander's and judges' lodgings).

[f. 56a] 23 April 1558. The Magnificent Lords Officers of Balìa ordered Lattanzio Docci to inspect the roofs of Signor Federigo di Montautolo's lodgings and to restore the ruined chimneypots; Lattanzio Petrucci will pay for the docci, tiles, and master builder as the College decreed.

[f. 57a] Messer Aurelio Massi and Francesco de' Vecchi must report on the expense to be made in the Dogana rooms set apart for the Rotal Judges, to restore them and put an end to their danger.

11. Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato, file 470, March-May 1558, f. 214a.

25 April 1558, Bucine. Domenico Benivieni, podestà of Bucine, to Cosimo de' Medici, Duke of Florence and Siena.

[f. 214a] Most Illustrious and Most Excellent Lord Duke, the earthquake that occurred on Wednesday past, 13th of this month, at about fourteen hours [approx. 9:00 a.m.], was felt almost everywhere. Nonetheless coming to specifics, considering that it was particularly terrible and caused not a little damage in this podestaria, I deemed it my duty to give some details to Your Excellency. I say therefore that this castello of Bucine suffered greatly, to such an extent that some houses are either partly or wholly unfit to live in, on account of the cracks caused by the earthquake; God be thanked no one died. One hears that in the castello of Ambra some thirty houses were wrecked, and there were four casualties in a single family; in Badia Agnano the destruction of houses was great but with no human loss. I omit many other occurrences in other castelli of my jurisdiction, being of lesser importance, and I write all for the information of Your Most Illustrious Excellency, to whom with my whole heart I commend myself, and the Highest preserve You most felicitously. From Bucine on the 25th of April 1558. Your Most Illustrious Excellency's humble servant, Domenico Benivieni, podestà.

12. Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Pratica segreta, file 4, 1557-1559, bundle n. 58, folios not numbered.

April 1558, no day. The Community of Bucine to Cosimo I, Duke of Florence and Siena.

Most Illustrious and Most Excellent Lord Duke. The men of the castello of Bucine, whose houses were damaged and wrecked by the earthquake, being all Your Excellency's faithful subjects, address themselves to Your Excellency to let You know: that on the 13th of this month of April there was in their place a most great and fearful earthquake, the like of which was never felt before and went on for a goodly length of time, especially on the hill, so that more than twenty-five houses were either partially or totally wrecked, and the municipal clock tower besides, and on account of the wreckage and fear the owners abandoned these houses, and some went hither and some thither, with great inconvenience and loss, and will be forced to leave the place where they were born and bred for good, as they are mostly poor, which is truly a terrible thing, and moreover they are still afraid of the earthquake, more shocks having been felt after the first one; this can be attested by the podestà Signor Zanobi de' Nerli, who was there making a census that very day. Being therefore unable to escape the judgment of God (whom they pray to endlessly to appease Him), they beg to inform You of this sudden and terrible occurrence, pleading for the gracious grant of some subvention, whatever You will think fitting, to make good the damage they suffered, because they love their birthplace and care for it, but will be forced to desert it if You do not provide for them, and they recommend themselves to You, offering to pray to God always for You and Your blessed family.

13. Archivio di Stato di Siena, Balìa, Deliberazioni, n. 169, 21 July 1557-26 January 1559, ff. 63b-64a.

3 May 1558, Siena. The Balìa officers cope with the aftermath of the earthquake (restoration of town hall; judges' lodgings).

[f. 63b] 3 May 1558. [The Balìa] charged the Very Magnificent Captain of the People, in his presence, to have all the roofs of the municipal palace inspected and the tower's crenellations restored, providing the tiles and paying the whole work from the funds allotted for the Seignory's provisions.

[f. 64a] Messer Aurelio Manni and Francesco de' Vecchi, charged with finding lodgings for the Rotal Judges, will command the Spaniard to vacate the Serafini house belonging to the public, to make room for Messer Silvatico Grandi, one of the said judges, as the other two have agreed to go back to their Dogana rooms; they will also have the Dogana roofs inspected to see what is needed to make good the damage, and will afterward report to the Collegio. And should any of the said judges wish instead to have the house belonging to Messer Ambrogio Nuti and Taviano Taviani, the same deputies have leave to deal with that captain and settle the matter once for all.

14. Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Pratica segreta, file 4, 1557-1559, bundle n. 58, folios not numbered.

25 April 1558, Bucine. Domenico Benivieni, podestà of Bucine, to Cosimo de' Medici, Duke of Florence and Siena.

[Marginal note by another hand: "The Bucine men plead for some subvention for earthquake damage, more information follows. To the Pratica segreta, Lelio T., May 1558"]

Most Illustrious and Most Excellent Lord Duke, my most revered lord. So that Your Most Illustrious Excellency is better informed on the attached plea [see Document 12] by Your Bucine subjects concerning the damage they suffered from the earthquake, I add that having been asked by Bastiano di Bernardo Conti I went to see a large and quite valuable house of his, and I found it shaken and cracked in many places, with stones fallen down from window- and doorframes, and part of the roof as well, and moreover he had to demolish a tower that used to be on the roof, and the roof of a small house nearby was also damaged; the house of Simone di Piero Dini suffered a great deal too, floors, doors, windows, and roof, so that the upper stories are unfit to live in, or only with the greatest risk. The municipal clock tower shows two wide cracks and is becoming more dangerous as time goes by; a small hut nearby, also belonging to the commune, fell down. The church was damaged, and the parsonage much more. Messer Giovanni Conti's house was badly damaged, with openings in the walls that make it unsafe. Signor Camillo Tiburzi's house suffered greatly, roof, floors, doors, and walls. One house belonging to Signor Filippo [?] Bacci is cracked in many places; the floors and walls suffered and the roof had to be partly demolished. Luigi Tiburzi's house has several cracks. Both roof and floors crashed to the ground in a house belonging to the Corpus Domini brotherhood and in another adjoining it and owned by Giovanni di Guido's heirs; likewise the house of Jacopo di Pietro. The houses belonging to Jacopo and Teodoro Angeli, Vincenzo di Domenico's heirs, Domenico di Pietro, Betto di Lando, Maffio di Giovanni's heirs, ser Giovanni Mencucci, Renzo di Pietro the ironsmith, Giuliano di Tancredi, and some others, all suffered, some in the roof, some in the floors, internal and external walls, cellars and everywhere. To describe minutely all the details would be to bore Your Most Illustrious Excellency, to whom heartily I recommend myself, and whom God preserves most happily. From Bucine on the 9th day of May 1558. Your Most Illustrious Excellency's most loyal servant, Domenico Benivieni, podestà.

15. Archivio di Stato di Siena, Balìa, Deliberazioni, n. 169, 21 July 1557-26 January 1559, f. 68a.

17 May 1558, Siena. The Balìa officers cope with the aftermath of the earthquake (restoration of judges' lodgings).

[f. 68a] 17 May 1558. By order of the deputies Niccolò Spannocchi and Francesco de' Vecchi, treasurer Lattantio Petrucci will pay up to 50 lire for the restoration of the Dogana roofs for the service of the Rotal Judges.

16. Archivio di Stato di Siena, Balìa, Deliberazioni, n. 169, 21 July 1557-26 January 1559, f. 77a.

21 May 1558, Siena. The Balìa officers cope with the aftermath of the earthquake (restoration of judges' lodgings).

[f. 77a] 21 May 1558. The Balìa decreed that deputy Lattantio Docci will write an order to authorize treasurer Lattantio Petrucci to pay 60 lire for the restoration of the chimney pots in the house occupied by Signor Federigo di Montautolo, and to make a conduit for the two water tanks and other works; for all these expenses the house and its owner will be debtor to the Balance Officer.

The same will pay 7 lire to Niccolò Spannocchi and Francesco de' Vecchi to end the restoration of the chimney pots and roofs of the Dogana, where the Rotal Judges lodge.

17. Original document currently unavailable (likeliest location Archivio dell'Opera della Metropolitana di Siena); quoted in Archivio di Stato di Siena, Balìa, Deliberazioni, n. 169, 21 July 1557-26 January 1559, f. 79b [see document 18].

1558, before 26 May, Siena. The representatives of the Opera della Metropolitana [institution charged with the upkeep of the buildings pertaining to the Cathedral of Siena] plead for financial support for the restoration of the cathedral damaged by the earthquake of 13 April.

18. Archivio di Stato di Siena, Balìa, Deliberazioni, n. 169, 21 July 1557-26 January 1559, f. 79b.

26 May 1558, Siena. The Balìa officers cope with the aftermath of the earthquake (restoration of cathedral) [excerpt].

[f. 79b] 26 May 1558. The Balìa charges Signor Sinolfo Otterio [translator's note: about to depart for Florence bearing the city's congratulations to Duke Cosimo on the marriage arranged between his daughter and the Duke of Ferrara's son] to mention to the Duke that the Cathedral of Siena is greatly in need of restoration owing to the earthquake. Moreover, the four deputies acting as liaison officers between the Balìa and Signor Federigo di Montauto are instructed to pray the same to write the Duke on behalf of the cathedral.

19. Archivio di Stato di Siena, Balìa, Deliberazioni, n. 169, 21 July 1557-26 January 1559, f. 84b.

7 June 1558, Siena. The Balìa officers cope with the aftermath of the earthquake (restoration of cathedral).

[f. 84b] 7 June 1558. The four deputies acting as liaison officers with Signor Federigo di Montauto will ask whether and when he pleases that Signor Sinolfo Otterio go to Florence to the Duke. Should he not be allowed to go, the deputies will ask Signor Federigo to write the Duke and also the Governor of Siena [now absent] that the cathedral needs to be restored after the earthquake.

20 Archivio di Stato di Siena, Balìa, Deliberazioni, n. 169, 21 July 1557-26 January 1559, f. 99b.

28 June 1558, Siena. The Balìa officers cope with the aftermath of the earthquake (restoration of cathedral).

[f. 99b] 28 June 1558. The members of the Balìa hereunder named will summon some experienced people to go with them and architect Ammannati [13], sent here by His Most Illustrious Excellency [the Duke] to inspect the cathedral, to assess its needs and the expense necessary to put it right and also to report back to His Most Illustrious Excellency our Lord the Duke and to the Governor. Scipione Verdelli, Messer Mario Celsi.

21. Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato, filza 470A, 14 May-31 August 1558, f. 884b.

1 July 1558, Siena. Agnolo Niccolini, Governor of Siena, to Cosimo de' Medici, Duke of Florence and Siena [excerpt].

Ammannati, escorted by two Balìa members and some experienced persons, went several times to consider the damage suffered by the cathedral and what is required to set it right; yesterday evening he told me he is already drafting the drawing and plan, that You be informed of the restoration and expense required. [...] From Siena the 1st of July 1558. Your most Illustrious Excellency's most humble servant Agnolo Niccolini.

22. Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Pratica segreta, file 4, 1557-1559, bundle n. 58, folios not numbered.

4 July 1558, place unnamed [Florence]. Detailed survey of earthquake damage in Caposelvi by Piero di Francesco di Donnino, alias Piero del Zucca, master builder of the Parte Guelfa officers.

On this day, 4th of July 1558. Before you Magnificent and Most Excellent Lords of the Pratica Segreta stand I, Piero di Francesco di Donnino, master builder in the service of the Parte Guelfa officers, whom Your Lordships sent to inspect the castello of San Lorenzo a Caposelvi, which was in great part ruined by the earthquakes. Having been there, having seen the great ruin, and wanting now to make it known to Your Lordships, I have thought it best to write down all its details, and firstly in the place where the cassero of the said castello used to stand, with a very tall walled wing, the said wall tumbled down with many merlons, but it's not a very serious matter. As to the church and belfry: The church's roof and some tombs are damaged and ruined, dangerous to use and difficult to restore. The parsonage floors, walls, and roof are ruined in many places and the parson went to live elsewhere.

Domenico Cofallassi's house: floors and roofs ruined; the family inhabits the ground floor.
House of Marco d'Antonio di Salvironi: roofless.
House of Bartolomeo di Francesco's heirs: walls, floors, and roof wrecked.
Marco di Luca Mancini's house: They live on the ground floor, in great danger.
Gabriello di Salvadore's house: undone and fallen to the ground.
Lattanzio di Pierdantonio's house: floors and roofs tumbled down.
Bartolomeo di Martino di Salvatore's house: the beams came out of the walls.
Piero di Tommè's house: The floors caved in, it is unfit to live in, and the family went to live elsewhere.
Giovanni d'Agnolo: reroofed his house and occupies only the lower story.
The house of Bertolino di Lorenzo's heirs: undone, roofs and floors alike.
The house of Matteo di Piero's heirs: utterly razed to the ground.
Luca di Baccio Mancini's house: undone, roofs and floors alike.
Piero Frulli's house: utterly undone and a female child died in it.
Simone di Francescho di Giuliano's house: utterly undone.
Andrea di Francescho di Redde di Nanni's house: floors and roofs crashed down.
Another house also belonging to Simone di Francescho di Giuliano, who now lives in the lowermost story: devastated.
Agnolo di Pietro di Giuliano: lives on the ground floor but it is so very dangerous there that I did not dare to go in.
The house of Francesco di Giovanni's heirs: utterly undone.
Agnolo di Giovanni di Battista: lives in his house at great risk and only because he has no other.
Antonio d'Agnolo: lives on the ground floor, the house being cracked all over.
The house of Bartolomeo di Luca Mancina: has retained its roof but is uninhabitable.
The house of Marco Antonio di Bano: The family went back inside only because they did not want to stay in the open anymore.
The house of Bernardino the cobbler: utterly collapsed to the ground, walls, floors, and roofs.
The hospital and fraternity house: were restored and are fit to live in.
Domenico di Francesco's: Floors and roofs were damaged; if he wants to live there he will have to restore it.
Antonio di Martino: owns four houses, but is forced to live in the lower story of one of them, and it needs to be restored too.
The steward of the Olmo: Most of the house collapsed to the ground, they don't live in it anymore, and there is no remedy.
Andrea di Giovanni d'Andrea's house: utterly destroyed and a woman was killed there.
Antonio di Martino: owns another house that was completely wrecked.
Martino di Francesco di Martino: His house is no more than a mound of stones.
Andrea di Francesco, brother of the above: His house was utterly razed to the ground.
Monna Mattea di Francesco Mando's house: was utterly destroyed.
Bernardino d'Antonio di Lando: Half the house is sound, the other half is a wreck.
Piero di Pascuino's heirs' house: tumbled to the ground.
Francesco di Maiano di Marcotto's house: The upper story is a wreck.
Parri di Matteo di Marcotto's house: The upper story is ruined.
Piero di Pascuino's heirs: another house also completely ruined.
Yacopo di Carlo: has retained the upper story and part of the roof; lives on the lower story.
Francesco di Giovanni d'Antonio: still occupies half his house; in the other half the roof fell down on the upper story.
Giovanni di Mafio's house: completely collapsed to the ground.
Lorenzo di Domenico's heirs: The house is roofless and floorless, or rather there is still a bit of the upper story standing, but they cannot live there.
Monna Piera, a widow: lives on the ground floor only.
Antonio di Pascuino's house: was left empty and is mostly ruined.
Simone di Cristofano's house: utterly wrecked.
Heirs of Santino del Poggio: Half their granary is unfit for use.
Meo d'Antonio: Another house crashed down on his.
Lorenzo Bandi's heirs: They live in their house but at great risk to themselves.
Giuliano di Piero's house: The whole of it slid [?] down.
Camillo di Piero: demolished the ruined upper story of his house and had it reroofed.
Giovan di Marzo's, Agnolo di Francesco's, Marco di Mucio's houses: razed to the ground.
Monna Smeralda's house: the upper floor and roof [?] and partly wrecked.
Francesco di Bartolo: still lives in part of his house that is however [cracked open] like a pomegranate.
Giovanni di Francesco's heirs: Half their house is lived in.
Giovanni di Matteo Frulli: lives in his house at risk, but it is still standing, apart from the roofs. The same Giovanni has another such one where he lives and another utterly unfit to live in.
Salvadore d'Agniolo: lives in his house, which is falling down around him.
Pagholo di Rome's heirs: utterly abandoned.
Giulio di Mariotto Caltri: owns a house that is wrecked all over.
Lorenzo [di] Giovanni's heirs: a ground floor, uninhabited.
Simone d'Agnolo: still uses his house, but at such risk that it seems impossible he can do it.
Meo d'Agnolo: still lives in [his house], at great risk, and if he goes on it will be ruined for good.
Matteo di Girolamo's and Francesco d'Agnolo's houses: are shored up with beams.
Matteo di Lorenzo: does not lives in his house because it is ruined
Simon d'Agnolo: does not live in his house, which had to be shored up.
Francesco di Bartolo's house: The lowermost story is unsafe to go in.
Gabriello di Fello: inhabits his house at his own risk; Igni di Martino's heirs and Taddeo di Pietro the same.
The house of Guasparre Dorhalio's heirs: is unlived in, floorless and very dangerous.
Francesco di Bartolo: still inhabits his house, but it is falling down around him.
Rinaldo di Giovanni: restored his house and lives there; the adjoining tower is cracked all over.

Outside the castello are some more wrecked houses, namely: Pagolo di Francesco's and Francesco di Tolucio's, utterly collapsed, and Giovanni di Matteo's, uninhabited, and behind is a slightly damaged watermill.

The castello streets are impassable, owing to the great wreckage of houses. Out of a total of eighty-five houses, forty fell to the ground, nine cannot be lived in, and in the other thirty-six people still dwell (at least in the less damaged part of each), but it would be advisable to abandon them once and for all rather than try to restore them, because those that can be made good are less than ten out of the lot. This is what I have to report to Your Lordships. I Piero di Francesco di Donnino have written this and to confirm it I sign by my own hand.

23. Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato, file 470A, 14 May-31 August 1558, f. 901a-b.

9 July 1558, Siena. Agnolo Niccolini [14], Governor of Siena to Cosimo de' Medici, Duke of Florence and Siena [excerpt].

As soon as I was back in Siena, I started gathering the money taken from the Paschi and to calculate the expenses to be made [...] among other things there is the expense of restoring the cathedral, for which there is no money put by [...] Siena, 9 July 1558.

24. Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Pratica segreta, file 4, 1557-1559, bundle n. 58, folios not numbered.

4 August 1558 [Florence]. The Pratica segreta council to Cosimo de' Medici, Duke of Florence and Siena: suggestions for an intervention on behalf of Caposelvi.

Report on the ruin and damage undergone by the houses of the castello of Caposelvi following the earthquake of the [blank space] day of June. The community of Caposelvi pleaded for a subsidy from Your Excellency on account of damage wrought by the earthquakes. You ordered that a man be sent to see and report on the damage, unknown to them. The Pratica sent Piero del Zuccha, master builder of the Parte, who after carefully inspecting all houses and buildings made a detailed report. The gist of it is that, out of 85 houses in the said terra, 40 collapsed entirely, 9 are unfit to live in, and the remaining 36 are at least partially inhabited, but most owners deem it would be ill-advised to try to restore them and better by far to desert the site once for all.

The Pratica is of the opinion that it would be an evil thing to let the place become deserted, giving up the site and the community, and that an exemption from all taxes of every kind for three years could be granted to all those willing to dwell there with their families, so that having to live there they would have to restore [the houses] and so part [of the damage] would be made good; other men would follow and live there, and perhaps step by step they would put things to right. Conversely, they could be left free to set up a new colony somewhere else in that vicinity. The final decision is up to the most prudent assessment of Your Most Worshipful Excellency, whose hand I kiss with the utmost reverence, wishing You every happiness. From home on the 4th day of August 1558. Your Excellency's humblest servant Francesco Sinthe [?].

1558, no month, no day [Florence]. The Duke's decision in the Duke's handwriting.

Let's exempt them for three years.

25. Archivio di Stato di Siena, Balìa, Deliberazioni, n. 169, 21 July 1557-26 January 1559, f. 141b.

23 September 1558, Siena. The Balìa officers cope with the aftermath of the earthquake (restoration of cathedral).

[f. 141b] 23 September 1558. All the iron ties [15] belonging to the public and currently fastened to walls in the city streets will be reused for the restoration of the cathedral.

26. Archivio di Stato di Siena, Balìa, Deliberazioni, n. 169, 21 July 1557-26 January 1559, f. 238b.

18 January 1559, Siena. The Balìa officers are still coping with the aftermath of last year's earthquake.

[f. 242b] 18 January 1559. The two members named hereunder will assess how much money should be allotted for the restoration of the podestà palaces of Asciano and Castelnuovo [Berardenga] and will afterward report to the College. Giovannangelo Tondi, Annibale Tolomei.

Footnotes

[1] Apparently the podestà of San Giovanni Valdarno (then Castel San Giovanni); a member of a Florentine merchant family, serving his stint as a government officer in the provinces, he probably was the son or grandson of the Lorenzo Nasi for whose wedding Raffaello painted the Madonna of the Goldfinch (http://www.kfki.hu/~arthp/html/r/raphael/2firenze/2/33cardel.html) in 1506.

[2] http://www.comune.san-giovanni-valdarno.ar.it/arnolfo.html.

[3] According to an 1834 map (in F. Gherardi Dragomanni, Memorie della terra di San Giovanni nel Val d'Arno Superiore, Firenze, 1834), this could be Baldofana, between San Giovanni Valdarno and Cavriglia.

[4] According to the same map this could be Poggio Fulicaja, also between San Giovanni Valdarno and Cavriglia.

[5] Count Federico Barbolani di Montauto, the scion of an ancient feudal family of Eastern Tuscany and a friend of Duke Cosimo, commanded part of the Florentine army during the War of Siena. In April 1558 he was both the military commander of Siena and a stand-in for governor Agnolo Niccolini, temporarily absent from town. He later became the second governor of Siena.

[6] FB's handwriting (not very good at best of times) is particularly bad in this letter, where moreover the ink has leached through the paper in several places. Many words are almost undecipherable.

[7] http://gallery.euroweb.hu/database/churches/siena.html.

[8] Chief Judge and Head of the Police. Lawyer Nofri (Onofrio) Camaiani from Arezzo collaborated with Duke Cosimo for many years. From 1544 to 1551 and again in 1574 he was the Duke's agent in Rome (http://www.medici.org).

[9] Aristotle's opinion that earthquakes occur when the winds in subterranean caverns find a way to come out in the open originated the common belief that the more cavities (cellars, galleries, etc.) there are in the underground of a town, the safer the town itself is, on the principle that the subterranean winds would spend most of their energy roaming about in these cavities before finally escaping out. The same belief, a remnant of that ancient seismological theory, survives to this day in Sienese and Italian folklore.

[10] Another long-standing civil servant, he was Provveditore of Arezzo in 1542 and from 1546 was an Undermajordomo of the ducal household, a title ("master of the house") implying a role of general management.

[11] Now Castelnuovo Berardenga, 20 kilometers east of Siena.

[12] The Sienese Seignory.

[13] Bartolomeo Ammannati (b. 1511, Settignano; d. 1592, Florence), sculptor and architect. After studying and working in Venice and Rome, in 1555 he settled in Florence, where he built the enlargements of Palazzo Pitti (1558-1570) and the Ponte Santa Trinita (1567-1570; bombed 1944; rebuilt 1957) spanning the Arno River.

[14] Agnolo Niccolini (b. 1500, Florence; d. 1566, Siena), one of the most valued collaborators of Duke Cosimo, who employed him as an ambassador to the Emperor and the Pope. The first Florentine governor of Siena, he later became a priest and was made the archbishop of Pisa (1563) and a cardinal (1564). In April 1558 he was not in Siena, to which he came back only two months after the earthquake.

[15] The use of iron or steel ties connecting the external walls at floor and roof level is a centuries-old practice common in all of southern Europe, as a repair or upgrading measure.