| The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07. |
| |
| Ugolino della Gherardesca |
| |
| |
( g l ´n d l´lä g rärd´skä) (KEY) , d. 1289, Italian nobleman. A leader of the Guelph, or pro-papal, faction in predominantly Ghibelline (pro-imperial) Pisa, he was made podesta [chief magistrate] of Pisa in 1284 to negotiate a peace with Pisa’s Guelph enemies. His attempts to consolidate his power in Pisa, which was anti-Guelph, failed, and he fell victim to a conspiracy. Ugolino was arrested for treason and shut in a tower to starve to death with his sons and grandsons. Dante relates the episode in the Inferno. |
| |
| | | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright © 2007 Columbia University Press. |
|
|
