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History of the Battle of Anghiari and Leonardo Da Vinci, Arrezo, Tuscany

On the 29th June 1440 the alliance of the Florentine Republic, the Venetian Republic and the Papal States had an important victory over the Milanese army led by Piccinino on the plain below Anghiari. The success not only gave the Florentines the opportunity of taking their enemies standard but more importantly allowed them to emerge as the new power on the political and military scene of central Italy in the middle of the fifteenth century.

In fact it gave them a leading role in a lot of the politics of the period as it enabled them to come close to the Papacy which was in disarray and searching for a new unity after the revolts at the Council of Costanza (1414-1418) and Basle (1431-1449) where the authority of the Pope was no longer recognised. Thus the victory at Anghiari was important for the Church too and for the policies of the Pope. In fact it became a crucial event for all the States in Italy who were, at that time, seeking a new equilibrium in the balances of power.

After the victory the Church was able to re-establish Papal prestige and Pope Eugenio IV who was sheltered in Florence succeeded in becoming a leading player in the Italian political scene. Indeed the event was considered so important that in May 1503 Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned to paint a huge fresco on a wall of the Council Chamber of the Palazzo della Signoria (or Palazzo Vecchio, the Government Seat) in Florence representing and celebrating the Florentine victory over the Milanese.

Unfortunately the Leonardo fresco is now lost and we can only admire some preparatory drawings and sketches made by Leonardo and some partial copies made by other artists. On the basis of these the Anghiari Council and the Associazione Pro-Anghiari, with the support of the Soprintendenza ai Beni A.A.A.S.of Arezzo, decided to remember the historical event by organising a series of cultural events about the Battle of Anghiari starting in June 2000.

A fixed point of reference has been created in a Centre in Palazzo del Marzocco were people can find information about both the historical event and the artistic one. Palazzo del Marzocco and the Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Taglieschi were already part of the project ‘Anghiari and its Museums’ which has been set up to increase awareness of the various works of art that they hold (for example, the wooden sculptures by Jacopo della Quercia and Tino da Camaino and the terracotta Nativity by Andrea della Robbia) in their beautiful fifteenth century buildings in the heart of Anghiari’s Medieval town.

The project for The Battle of Anghiari had its beginning on the 29th of June 2000, on its 560th anniversary, with a three day conference about the battle, Convegno internazionale di Studi, which was divided into three sections, artistic, literary and historic.

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