The plaque honoring Dino Compagni with a quote from his Cronica can be found at the side wall of the Castagna in Florence.
quote:
".. E chiamoronsi Priori delle' Arti: e stettono rinciusi nella torre della Castagna appresso alla Badia, acció non temessono le minaccie de' potenti...
Dino Compagni - Cronica - I - IV "
".. And chiamoronsi Priors of the 'Arts: stettono and rinciusi in the tower of the Badia below Castagna, lest not fear the threats of' powerful ...
Dino Compagni - Cronica - I - IV"
Dino Compagni"Dino Compagni (c. 1255 – February 26, 1324) was an Italian historical writer and political figure.
Dino is an abridgement of Aldobrandino or Ildebrandino. He was born into a popolano or prosperous family of Florence, supporters of the white party of the Guelphs. Dino was active in Florentine politics serving as consul for the guild of traders, and later as member of the Signory twice, Prior, and Gonfalonier of Justice. He was democratic in feeling, and was a supporter of the new ordinances of Giano della Bella.
From November 1301 onward, when the White faction lost the power of the Signory to the Black party, Dino was to never serve in a Government council. Because he had been a prior, his property was not forfeit; he was not sent into exile as other members of the White faction. When Charles of Valois, the nominee of Boniface VIII, was expected in Florence, Compagni, foreseeing the evils of civil discord, assembled a number of citizens in the church of San Giovanni, and tried to quiet their excited spirits.
His Cronica (chronicle) relates the events that came under his own notice from 1280 to 1312. It bears the stamp of a strong subjectivity. The narrative is constantly personal. Compagni is more of a historian than a chronicler, because he looks for the reasons of events, and makes profound reflections on them. He is one of the important authorities for that period of Florentine history, notwithstanding the mistakes of fact which are to be found in his writings."
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Torre della Castagna"The Torre della Castagna , also called Bocca di Ferro is one of the ancient towers of the historic center of Florence, among the best preserved , situated in Piazza San Martino corner of Via Dante Alighieri.
The tower is very old and has a very varied. Already built in 1038 was given on that date by the Emperor Conrad II to the monks of the adjacent Badia Fiorentina , in defense of the monastery itself . From 1282 it was the first meeting place of the Priors of Florence from 1282 until the completion of the Bargello Palace (the historical function is also demonstrated by a plaque on modern by Alighieri ) . The name derives from the fact that they used to put chestnuts in particular bags during the voting . It is a curious coincidence that Florence would use chestnuts for voting ( in Florentine calls ballotte ) and the term ballot, that the etymological dictionaries trace back to a French word . The tower, with its origin "above the parties " was spared from scapitozzatura in the second half of the thirteenth century.
The tower has a square base and is quite tall and slender . A restoration of 1921 brought her back to the most ancient forms . Today, the ground floor and the first floor (with a mezzanine ) are owned by the National Association of Veterans and Veterans G. Garibaldi , who has also housed a small museum of relics of the Risorgimento , visited on Thursday afternoon. The upper floors belong to the adjacent Florence Court and can not be visited .
The portal on the ground floor has the double arch , also called Siena. To the right is a plaque mentions the fourth paragraph of the first book of the Chronicles of Dino Companions who mentions the tower , while in Via Alighieri a second , large plaque commemorates the role of the venue of the Government of the priors in the tower.
The tower is located on the north side in front of the Museo Casa di Dante. In fact, the museum is not in the houses of the Alighieri , but incorporates other medieval buildings such as the Tower of Giuochi . The real houses of the Alighieri were to the right of Torre della Castagna , but they no longer have traces of their medieval appearance ."
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