Via de' Bardi
Florence Italy
2016

https://www.histouring.com/en/historical-figure/bardi/


The Bardi Family .arrived in Florence in the eleventh century, originally from Ruballa near Bagno a Ripoli, and obtained citizenship during the twelfth century, devoting themselves to the commercial activity and later banking. An important figure was Bartolo de 'Bardi, one of the first priors of Florence, in 1282.

In 1332 Piero di Gualterotto Bardi bought the possessions north of Prato from the Counts Alberti for 10,000 gold florins, in particular the castle of Vernio, giving rise to the noble branch of the Bardi di Vernio.

Simone de 'Bardi, called Mone, married Beatrice Portinari, daughter of a banker, who was just a teenager. This was the Beatrice who inspired Dante Alighieri the Divine Comedy. It is very recent the discovery, by the scholar Domenico Savini, of new documents in the Bardi archive on Beatrice and her husband. Among these is a deed of 1280, where Mone de 'Bardi ceded some land to his brother Cecchino with the consent of his wife Bice (as Beatrice was called), which at the time was about fifteen years old. A second document of 1313, when Beatrice was supposed to be already dead, cites the marriage between a daughter of Simone, Francesca, and Francesco di Pierozzo Strozzi. This happened through the intercession of the uncle Cecchino, but it is not specified if the mother had been Beatrice or the second wife of Simone, Bilia (Sibilla) by Puccio Deciaioli. Other known sons of Simone are Bartolo and Gemma, who was married to Ardingo de 'Medici.

In Florence the Bardi family had their own houses on the street named after them, the Via de 'Bardi in Oltrarno, in particular in the Canigiani palace, originally Palazzo de' Bardi. In 1427, 60 family hearths belonging to the Bardi resided in Florence, 45 of whom lived in the Oltrarno district. This figure gives the idea of ​​family cohesion, which was also useful in business.