Lamberti

........ e le palle de l’oro
fiorian Fiorenza in tutt’i suoi gran fatti.

(Paradiso XVI.110-11)

........ and the golden spheres
illuminate Florence in all her great deeds.

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This plaque, here on via Lamberti near the location of the ancient family’s homes and towers, commemorates the words of Cacciaguida to Dante regarding the illustrious Florentine citizens of years gone by.

Among these were the members of the Lamberti family (whose coat of arms featured golden spheres on a blue field), Ghibellines who were exiled from Florence in 1258.

“The Lamberti were extremely noble and influential citizens, and it is their coat of arms that our Author mentions. It is as if to say: just as the sphere gives shape to the universe and gold is of greater value than any other metal, so too did they outdo their fellow townsmen in goodness and valor.” (The Ottimo commentary on the Comedy)

According to Villani, the Lamberti family traced its lineage back to a baron called Lamberto who came from Saxony to Italy with Emperor Otto I. What can be affirmed with documentary evidence, however, is essentially no more than what is contained in Cacciaguida’s brief statements. In short, they owned lands and castles outside Florence and supported the Uberti against the Guelphs.

In Dante’s universe, the most infamous of the Lamberti clan was most certainly Mosca de’ Lamberti, condemned to the circle of the sowers of scandal (Inferno 28.103-11). According to legend, and to Dante, Mosca was the man who, when consulted about what to do regarding Buondelmonte de’ Buondelmonti’s broken engagement, made it clear that his murder was the only solution.

Dante asks Ciacco about Mosca’s fate and is told that he is “among the darkest souls” (Inferno 6.35). When Dante arrives among the schismatics, he sees Mosca, whose hands were hacked off by the demons, holding up his bloody stumps. Late sixteenth-century artist Stradanus (or Jan van der Straet) painted his interpretation of Mosca in Inferno 28 (below).

Coat of arms of the Lamberti family