1 An Un quenchable Passion Beauty I was given at the time of my birth lamp and mirror of both of my arts as trustworthy model of my vocation MICHELANGELO SONNET 164 Just a few hours before daybreak in a stone house on the hills east of Florence a man dipped his quill in ink and wrote by candlelight A male child was born to me It was March 6 1475 Lodovico Buonarroti must have put down his quill with a feeling of relief The child was healthy and it was a boy a good thing for a father who under finan cial pressure had been forced to accept a low-paying job as temporary govern ment administrator of a small and remote area Caprese and nearby Chiusi In 15th-century Italy boys had brighter prospects for earning an income than girls Michelangelo’s birthplace in the small town of Caprese Italy Maria Luisa Battistini 1
Lodovico’s relief might have been expressed in the child’s name Michelangelo It was not following tradition a name passed down through generations It had been chosen with care maybe as a prayer or a fulfillment of a vow to the Archangel Michael a great heavenly warrior according to Christian beliefs Breathing Marble WHEN LODOVICO’S temporary job was about to end he prepared to return to his na tive Florence one of Italy’s most culturally and economically important cities At 31 years of age he still hoped his financial situation would improve The prospects were dim His family once prominent and successful had been in decline for decades As part of his moving arrangements he trav eled to Settignano a small town three miles from Florence in an area rich with olive trees and vineyards There he owned a villa and a little farm producing grains meat eggs figs wine and olive oil a source of moderate but steady income One purpose of his visit was to hire a woman who could take care of Michelangelo Hiring a wet nurse for the time-consuming task of breastfeeding and caring for an infant was very common in Lodovico’s day especially for well-to-do families In Lodovico’s case it also gave his young wife Francesca de Neri a chance to rest after giving birth Their old est son Leonardo was only 16 months and Lodovico was hoping to have more children At a time of frequent wars and violent upris ings when many died before the age of five and 16th-Century Italy 2
took the life of his brother and coruler Giuliano Filled with fury Lorenzo ordered that the main culprits be beaten and then hanged from the windows of his palace for all to see Others were brutally killed as well and their families exiled At the end of his life Michelangelo still contagious diseases wiped out entire towns children were a source of security Sons could work hard defend the family and its properties and provide for their parents Daughters could marry into good families and create a network of support and protection Michelangelo was too young to understand what was happening when his parents left him with a wet nurse in Settignano As the months went by he probably grew close to his nurse who came from a family of stonemasons and had married a stonemason In fact almost every man in Settignano was busy working stone The town’s quarry produced a very popular gray stone called pietra serena serene stone which had been used for centuries for some of the most important buildings in Florence Later in life Michelangelo thought this early environment had inspired his great love for sculpture Following a popular belief he be lieved the milk of the foster-mother has such power in us that often it will change the dis position In any case in Settignano he might have learned to appreciate the feel and appear ance of the finest stone Growing Up in Florence IN THE spring of 1478 by the age of three Mi chelangelo was back with his parents in Florence It was at that time that the city ruler Lorenzo de Medici was almost killed in a rebellion that Italian Pronunciation Many people find Italian pronunciation easier than English because it works with fixed rules The vowels have fairly set sounds a is always pronounced as the a in father e can be pronounced either as the e in let or as the a in late i is always pronounced as the i in marine o can be pronounced either as the o in soft or as the o in sold u is always pronounced as the u in rule Most consonants are pronounced as they are in English These are some exceptions h is always silent when c is followed by an e or an i it is pronounced ch as in cheese when g is followed by an e or an i it is pronounced j as in job when sc is followed by an e or an i it is pronounced sh as in shame ch is pronounced as a k gh is pronounced g as in game gn sounds like the first n in onion gli sounds like the lli in million That’s why the ch in Michelangelo sounds like a k and the c in Medici sounds like an English ch 3
