Towers were destroyed, and exiles were imposed. I invite you on a guided tour to uncover ancient Gothic tales
The Origins of the Factional Conflict: Buondelmonti and Amidei families
In the 1200s, Florence was a city undergoing rapid growth. The burgeoning wool industry was becoming the dominant manufacturing sector, employing much of the population and enriching the merchant bourgeoisie. Entire families migrated from the countryside to the city, seeking work and a better life, fueling exponential population growth. Economic interests intertwined with political ambitions, intensifying power struggles. Florentine chronicles recount the tales of families at the heart of the war between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines. The conflict is said to have begun with the murder of Buondelmonte Buondelmonti, who reneged on an arranged marriage to an Amidei woman. Her family’s vengeance triggered a series of violent clashes. This guided tour takes you through places once inhabited by these ancient families. In Borgo Santi Apostoli, the towers of the Buondelmonti still stand tall, while in Via Por Santa Maria, reconstructed after the Second World War, rises the Amidei tower. The visit is enriched by the inscriptions of The Divine Comedy, where Dante immortalized the rival families of Florence’s Guelphs and Ghibellines.
Powerful Feudal Nobles: Farinata of the Uberti
Continuing toward Piazza della Signoria, the tour explores the former residences of the Uberti family. Farinata degli Uberti, celebrated in Dante’s Inferno, was among the most notable members of this powerful noble faction. After the Guelphs seized power, the Uberti’s homes and towers were demolished, and their land was cursed to remain forever vacant.
The Bargello and the Badia Fiorentina
From Piazza della Signoria, the tour leads to the Bargello, one of Florence’s oldest buildings. Constructed between 1255 and 1261 during the height of the Guelph-Ghibelline conflict, it served as the residence of the Captain of the People and later as the seat of the Podestà and Judges of the Wheel. This austere medieval castle bears witness to centuries of Florentine history. Next to it stands the Badia Fiorentina, founded in 978 by Willa, the mother of Margrave Ugo of Tuscany. Few know its history or the tomb sculpted centuries after Ugo’s death by Mino da Fiesole. Ugo, a member of the feudal nobility, was a leader of the imperial-aligned faction that would later evolve into the Ghibellines.
White Guelphs and Black Guelphs: Cerchi and Donati
The tour continues in Dante’s old neighborhood, between Via dei Cerchi and Via del Corso. Here, visitors trace the legacy of families immortalized in The Divine Comedy. Dante had both personal and political ties to these families, ranging from friendship and affection to bitter rivalry. The Donati tower stands on Via del Corso, home to Dante’s wife Gemma and Corso Donati, the leader of the Black Guelphs. By 1300, the Ghibellines had been permanently expelled from Florence. The Battle of Campaldino in 1289 had been their last major attempt to regain the city, but their defeat ended their hopes. However, Florence soon faced a new division among the Guelphs themselves—between Whites, who opposed Pope Boniface VIII’s expansionist ambitions, and Blacks, who supported the pope to secure political privileges. At Borgo degli Albizi, the Donati towers mark the end of this segment of the tour. Dante vividly recalls Corso Donati’s tragic death in Purgatorio, Canto XXIV, recounting how he was wounded and dragged by his horse toward the abyss of hell.
Destroyed and Forgotten Towers: The Guardamorto Tower
The guided tour concludes at Piazza Duomo, near the former residences of the Adimari family. This historic Guelph family, described by Villani as “pure Florentines of the first circle,” was not spared Dante’s criticism, possibly due to conflicts with their Cavicciuoli branch. The Adimari had a towering structure overlooking the Baptistery, which the Ghibellines demolished during their victory, attempting to collapse it onto the Baptistery as an act of spite against this Guelph symbol. Villani recounts that the tower, when it fell, “seemed visibly to avoid the sacred church and turned to collapse straight into the square.” Known as the Guardamorto Tower, it stood near a cemetery and reportedly had a room serving as a mortuary.