Filippeschi

Profile

In Canto VI of Purgatorio Dante includes the Filippeschi in a summary list of the principal Italian houses divided by factional struggles, placing the name next to that of the Monaldi. According to the notes on the canto, the Monaldi and the Filippeschi represent respectively the Ghibelline and Guelph factions that opposed each other in Orvieto, cited almost as a sample of central Italy. The note also specifies that the latter, that is the Filippeschi, are described as «con sospetti», that is, already suspicious, with a presentiment of impending ruin. The verse that names them, «Monaldi e Filippeschi, uom sanza cura», thus presents them not as characters present on the scene, but as an emblematic example of the Italian political situation, inserted in a passage of prophetic tone in which the poet reproaches the neglect of duties toward the cities. No element of the consulted sources attributes to the Filippeschi an individual role in the scene or a direct intervention.