Antiquariat Büchel-Baur

Both Strozzis belonged to the neo-Latin school of humanists in Ferrara and – like Pietro Bembo – to admirers of Lucrezia Borgia; Tito (1425-1505)  acquired the nickname  „Vespasiano“ in allusion to the Roman emper­ors of that name some time about 1460 -. A protege of the rulers of Ferrara, the d’Este princely dynasty, and especially of Borsio, he achieved literary acclaim as the rediscoverer of the Latin bucolic poetry; besides love poetry and eclogues he wrote an uncompleted epic poem dedicated to the d’Estes („Borsias“), which was first published in the 20th century. He also made a career for himself socio-politically: he rose to become a mem­ber of the highest rank of judges in Ferrara (and later installed his son as deputy); he received a number of representative estates from Borso d’Este including one on a tributary of the Po and Sandalo (today on the out­skirts of the village Quartesana on the lagoon of Comacchio); from 1484-89 he was governor of Logo and, as such, he led a delegation to Rome in 1485. Ercole (b. 1471) wrote countless poems dedicated to Lucrezia Borgia and is also known for a lamentation to the dead for Cesare Borgia written in 1508. The birth of the heir to the throne in the same year was another occasion demanding an eclogue. Even the circumstances sur­rounding his death helped further the reputation of the younger Strozzi: „Thirteen days latere [following his wedding to Barbara Torelli], on the morning of the 6th June [1508], the body of the poet was found in a cor­ner of the Este palace, today known as Pareschi, lying prostrate and shrouded in his coat, hair dishevelled, and covered with twenty-two wounds. The whole of Ferrara was shocked: Strozzi was the celebrity of the city, one of the most brilliant of writers of his time, a darling of all aspirants, a friend of Bembo and Ariostos, protégé of the Duchess, and highly respected at court. Following the death of his father, Titus, he took over his post as president of the twelve judges of Ferrara. He was in the prime of his life; he was just twenty-seven years old“ (Gregorovius a.a.O. p. 269). Lucrezia's husband, the ruling prince Alfonso d’Este fell – and now from what we know today, correctly so – under suspicion of arranging the act out of jealousy (Strozzi was not simply one of Lucrezia's intimate confidants, he was also frequently the carrier bringing very  personal mes­sages to and from her [Schüller-Piroli p. 161 ff.]). But Lucrezia, too, was also tainted with the suspicion of murder in order to keep an earlier affair she had had with Bembo a secret, a secret of which Strozzi was aware (after all, they had met at the estate of Strozzi himself during the time when Bembo was working on his „Asolani“ [Schüller-Piroli p. 123 ff.]). His posthumous reputation was not least thanks to Ariosto who, in one of his verses, calls him the Herald of Lucrezia's fame (Gregorovius a.a.O. p. 270).