Lucca, 1430-1494: The Reconstruction of an Italian City-Republic.

Lucca, 1430-1494: The Reconstruction of an Italian City-Republic is an impressive book. Using a wide array of archival and manuscript sources, M.E. Bratchel weaves together the history of Lucca in the overlooked period that extends from the overthrow of the Guinigi despots in 1430 to the French invasion in 1494. The book takes on a formidable range of issues, from the composition of the patriciate and the vicissitudes of political life, to the performance of the economy and the relations between city and countryside, and between church and state. Throughout, the author labors to compare his findings with what we know for contemporary Florence.

Bratchel portrays Lucca as a city ruled by a small oligarchic elite consisting of old established families. The regime was remarkable for its stability and longevity. Much of this stability is credited to a vibrant economy based on the revival of the silk industry, Lucca's traditional cash cow. The "conservative" ruling elite continued to be deeply committed to "grand commerce"; indeed, the vast majority were themselves merchants, bankers, and entrepreneurs. The commitment to a mercantile ethic distinguished Lucca from many contemporary communes, which had begun by the fifteenth century to abandon mercantile culture in favor of an aristocratic ethic based on a "return to land." Bratchel is careful, however, to point out that Lucca's mercantile ethic operated alongside an "intense interest" in landed investment. The author offers a particularly stimulating discussion of city-countryside relations (chapters six and seven), a subject long debated by historians. Here Bratchel points out, among other things, that when assessing the city's treatment of its rural folk, we must also take into account rivalries and tensions within the countryside which might simulate city-country rivalries and thus be mistaken for them.

Bratchel ultimately shows that Lucca's distinctiveness lay as much in its weakness as in its cultural and political traditions. He characterizes the city as fundamentally "fragile" in its constant awareness that survival amid the vagaries of political, military, and economic affairs of fifteenth-century Italy was tenuous at best. Given such uncertainty, the ruling oligarchy sought most often to find common ground, both within its own ranks and with other sectors of society. The church, which remained freer from direct patrician control than in Florence, was nevertheless induced to follow the lead of the state. Even in such potentially troublesome spheres as city-countryside relations, there was more often cooperation than conflict. This is offered in stark contrast to the situation in Florence where the local government frequently pushed down hard on its rural folk. In this Bratchel contributes to the growing literature that suggests that Florence was, with respect to its smaller neighbors, unique, and that to speak of Tuscany as a whole is becoming progressively inappropriate.

The weaknesses of the book are relatively few. Despite often admirable use of comparative materials, there are several instances in which the secondary literature cited as "recent" is in fact somewhat dated. The discussions of neighborhood associations and kinship (27-28) and patrician marriage patterns (107-09) draw heavily on comparisons with Florence, but make no reference to the considerable literature on the subjects of the past fifteen years. In addition, Bratchel's effort to include every nuance and detail of his research leads to numerous disclaimers and clarifications that needlessly clutter the narrative. Some of this, particularly methodological discussions relating to the use of particular archival registers, could have been consigned to the notes.

Nevertheless, the above comments must be interpreted as cavils in what is otherwise an excellent and exhaustive piece of scholarship. The author deserves much credit for crafting a stimulating and comprehensive portrait of fifteenth-century Luccan society that will no doubt serve as the point of departure for further research.

WILLIAM CAFERRO University of Tulsa