Amidei
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Amidei was the name of a noble and ancient family from Florence, Italy. The Amidei, according to a tradition came from Rome, but lived in Florence since the foundation of the city.
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[edit] History
The Amidei lived in Florence and in the area around the city. They owned a castle in Mugnana and other properties in that zone. At that time they probably produced oil and wine, although their main financial income was from loans. They loaned money and some times the loan kept on from father to son. In fact there was one or more wills in which the father stated he was leaving some credits that had to be withdrawn. Bongianni of the Amidei was a council in Florence in 1182. The Amidei began the fight between Guelphs and Ghibellins. This happened after the murder of Buondelmonte, because he hadn't married a young lady from the Amidei family, despite the fact he had promised to. So after his death (1216) the city of Florence was split into two. This was witnessed by Giovanni Villani and Dino Compagni in the "Cronicles". The Amidei were mentioned by Dante Alighieri in the "Divine Comedy" in the last volume (The Paradise). On the 20th of April 1749, Maddalena Amidei got married to Carlo Barbiellini and they agreed to keep her name, since she was one of the last descendants of the Amidei. There is a rather tall brick tower, from the Middle Ages in the center of Florence called Torre degli Amidei, and it had been partially damaged during a war but then it was reconstructed.
[edit] Legend
The family descended from the family of Cotius or Cozzi, who, always according to a legend, descended from the Gens Julia, family of which Julius Caesar was part. There was in fact Marcus Juulius Cotius who had an important role in the Cozius Alpes. The Amidei were related to the Piccolomini for a certain Giulius Piccolominis Amideis, and as soon as they knew that their relatives descended from the Gens Julia, they decided to call one of them Enea Silvio Piccolomini, who became pope Pius II, and his nephew became pope Pius III.
[edit] Saint Amadeus
One of the Amidei was called Bartholomeus Amadeus of the Amidei and was one of the seven saint founders of a religious congregation, very spread world wide, especially in Germany. He moved from Florence to Mount Senarius (18 km away from the city), with his other six friends, in order to be left alone and to concentrate himself on his devotion to God. He died 12 February 1266, and according to the legend, the other Father Founders saw a flame rising to the sky as a symbol of his love for God. In 1888 he, along with the other six saints, was sanctified by Pope Leo XIII.
[edit] Coat of Arms
Their coat of arms consists in a gold shield with three red stripes on it. The stripes started with the red one and then alternated with the gold shield. After some years there was a slight modification; the shield started with the gold stripe and then always alternated with the red stripes.
