Angelo Acciaioli I

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Angelo Acciaioli I (born 1298 in Florence - died October 4, 1357 in Naples) was an Italian Catholic bishop. He was a famous Florentine of Acciaioli, the son of Monte, the grandson of Thomas Acciaiuoli.

Angelo was a bishop of Aquila from 1328 to 1342. From there he transferred to Florence. He was then a Dominican friar, the bishop of Florence from 1342 to 1355, the successor to Francesco Silvestri. He then transferred as bishop of Montecassino in 1355 to be closer to his new residence in Naples, where he lived for fourteen years. In 1355 he was doing administrative duties of a diocese to its vicars, among them James Passavanti.

At the beginning of his episcopate he was at the head of a group of plotters against the tyrannical Duke of Athens and dominated the city for a few years after his expulsion. He was head of the Balia Fourteen from July 1343. He was also a diplomat who was sent three times by the Florentine Republic as papal legate to the court of Avignon in 1344, 1348 and 1351. In 1345 he celebrated a diocesan synod, the oldest in Florence that has been documented. His successors in Florence were his brothers Francis Acciaiuoli, Martinaccio Acciaiuoli, Dardano, Alamanno, John, Bishop of Cesena, and Lina. By 1383 the see of Florence had ascended to another family member Angelo Acciaioli II, sometimes called Angelo Acciaoli junior.

Despite residing in Florence he never interrupted keeping in contact with the officials at the Kingdom of Naples. In 1349 he was appointed Registrar and Chancellor of the kingdom by King Ludwig of Aragon and Queen Giovanna Parthenopean. Also in 1349 under his leadership he started Studio Fiorentino, the nucleus of the University of Florence.

He together with his cousin Niccolò Acciaioli were the founders of the Certosa di Firenze. It was a big ambitious project which had laid the foundation of the family fortune.

[edit] References

• The Florentine church, Archbishop Curia, Florence 1970.
• Pompeo Litta, Acciaioli di Firenze, in Famiglie Celebri Italiane, 1830-45.
• Setton, Kenneth M. (1975). Catalan Domination of Athens 1311–1380. London: Variorum. 
• Curzio Ugurgieri della Berardenga, Gli Acciaioli di Firenze nella Luce de' Loro Tempi, Leo Olschki, 1962.
• The Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the History of the Catholic Church, New York 1913, p. 96; By Charles George Herbermann, Edward Aloysius Pace