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66-559: The opera is set in Rome and is based on the life of Cola di Rienzo (1313–1354), a late medieval Italian populist figure who succeeds in outwitting and then defeating the nobles and their followers and in raising the power of the people. Magnanimous at first, he is forced by events to crush the nobles' rebellion against the people's power, but popular opinion changes and even the Church, which had urged him to assert himself, turns against him. In

132-412: A "Fantasy on Themes from Rienzi " (S. 439) for piano in 1859. Wagner later perceived Rienzi as an embarrassment; in his 1852 autobiographical essay, " A Communication to My Friends ", he wrote "I saw it only in the shape of 'five acts', with five brilliant 'finales', with hymns, processions and the musical clash of arms". Cosima Wagner recorded Wagner's comment in her diary for 20 June 1871: Rienzi

198-588: A basis of Wagner's Festspielhaus in Bayreuth . The first performance of Rienzi was well received in Dresden despite running over six hours (including intermissions). One legend is that, fearful of the audience departing, Wagner stopped the clock above the stage. In his later memoirs, Mein Leben , Wagner recalled: No subsequent experience has given me feelings even remotely similar to those I had on this day of

264-584: A bull the Pope denounced him as a criminal, a pagan and a heretic, until, terrified by a slight disturbance on 15 December, he abdicated his government and fled from Rome. He sought refuge in Naples, but soon he left that city and spent over two years in an Italian mountain monastery. Emerging from his solitude, Cola journeyed to Prague in July 1350, throwing himself upon the protection of Emperor Charles IV. Denouncing

330-462: A drama in 1881 entitled The True Tragedy Of Rienzi Tribune Of Rome. Shakespearean in style, it is largely historically accurate. Plays about Cola di Rienzo were also written by Polish late 19th century authors Adam Asnyk and Stefan Żeromski , who drew similarities between Rienzo's uprising and the Polish struggle for independence. His letters, edited by A. Gabrielli, were published in vol. vi. of

396-415: A letter of 28 October 1840 to Wagner's friend Apel, who had likely first made the suggestion that Wagner compose Rienzi , mentions a plan to perform the overture to Rienzi "a fortnight hence", but contains a clear indication that her husband had just been committed to a debtors' prison. The full score of Rienzi was completed on 19 November 1840. In 1841 Wagner moved to Meudon , just outside Paris, where

462-739: A modern composition to open the Party Rallies in Nuremberg , but Hitler rejected this idea: "You know, Ley, it isn't by chance that I have the Party Rallies open with the overture to Rienzi . It's not just a musical question. At the age of twenty-four this man, an innkeeper's son, persuaded the Roman people to drive out the corrupt Senate by reminding them of the magnificent past of the Roman Empire. Listening to this blessed music as

528-492: A trumpet call (which in act 3 we learn is the war call of the Colonna family) and features the melody of Rienzi's prayer at the start of act 5, which became the opera's best-known aria. The overture ends with a military march. Outside Rienzi's house The patrician Orsini and his cronies attempt to kidnap Rienzi's sister Irene. Stefano Colonna, also a patrician but inclined to support Rienzi, prevents them. Raimondo appeals to

594-591: A young man in the theater at Linz, I had the vision that I too must someday succeed in uniting the German Empire and making it great once more." The original performance version of Rienzi was lost in the Dresden bombing of 1945, and the manuscript (on which it had been based) was lost in Berlin in 1945. No full copies had been made of either version, as far as is known. However, Rienzi was never established by

660-467: Is believed to have met with the same fate). Thomas Grey comments: In every step of Rienzi's career – from ... acclamation as leader of the Volk , through military struggle, violent suppression of mutinous factions, betrayal and ... final immolation – Hitler would doubtless have found sustenance for his fantasies. Albert Speer claims to have remembered an incident when Robert Ley advocated using

726-627: Is ignored. Rienzi rouses the people and leads them to victory over the nobles, in the course of which Adriano's father Stefano is killed. Adriano swears revenge, but Rienzi dismisses him. Before the Lateran Church Cecco and other citizens discuss the negotiations of the patricians with the Pope and with the Emperor of Germany . Adriano's intention to kill Rienzi wavers when Rienzi arrives together with Irene. Raimondo now announces that

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792-468: Is just as epoch-making for its own time as were Les Huguenots , Der Freischütz , and Don Giovanni , each for its respective period of musical history. Other critical comments through the ages have included (apart from von Bülow's jibe about it being 'Meyerbeer's best opera'), 'Meyerbeer's worst opera' ( Charles Rosen ), 'an attack of musical measles' ( Ernest Newman ) and ' the greatest musical drama ever composed' ( Gustav Mahler ). Franz Liszt wrote

858-473: Is very repugnant to me, but they should at least recognize the fire in it; I was a music director and I wrote a grand opera; the fact that it was this same music director who gave them some hard nuts to crack – that's what should astonish them. Thus the work has remained outside today's Wagner canon, and was only performed at the Bayreuth Festival in 2013, staged by Matthias von Stegmann . Although

924-1218: The Cleveland Orchestra , Lorin Maazel conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra , Leopold Stokowski conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra , Zubin Mehta conducting the New York Philharmonic Orchestra , Mariss Jansons conducting the Oslo Philharmonic , Daniel Barenboim conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Karl Böhm conducting the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra . Cola di Rienzo Nicola Gabrini (1313 – 8 October 1354), commonly known as Cola di Rienzo ( Italian pronunciation: [ˈkɔːla di ˈrjɛntso] ) or Rienzi ,

990-536: The Fonti per la storia d’Italia (Rome, 1890). According to August Kubizek , a childhood friend of Adolf Hitler 's, it was at a performance of Wagner 's opera Rienzi that Hitler, as a teenager, had his first ecstatic vision of the reunification of the German people . For his demagogic rhetoric, popular appeal and anti-establishment (as nobility) sentiment, some sources consider him an earlier populist and

1056-533: The Spirito gentil . Having advocated both the abolition of the Pope's temporal power and the Unification of Italy , Cola re-emerged in the 19th century, transformed into a romantic figure among politically liberal nationalists and adopted as a precursor of the 19th century Risorgimento , which struggled for and eventually achieved both aims. In this process he was reimagined as "the romantic stereotype of

1122-514: The temporal power of the Pope, he implored the Emperor to deliver Italy, and especially Rome, from their oppressors; but, heedless of his invitations, Charles kept him in prison for more than a year in the fortress of Raudnitz , and then handed him over to Pope Clement . At Avignon, where he appeared in August 1352, Cola was tried by three cardinals and was sentenced to death, but this judgment

1188-469: The 1847 Berlin performance Wagner substituted a more upbeat rhetoric: "Ever while the seven hills of Rome remain, ever while the eternal city stands, you will see Rienzi's return!". Rienzi was an immediate success. This, his first real success of any kind, was crucial in Wagner's career, launching him as a composer to be reckoned with. It was followed, within months, by his appointment as Kapellmeister at

1254-613: The Dresden Opera (February 1843), which also gave him considerable prestige. It also received critical acclaim elsewhere in Europe. The young Eduard Hanslick , later to be one of Wagner's foremost critical adversaries, wrote in 1846 in Vienna : I am of the firm opinion that [ Rienzi ] is the finest thing achieved in grand opera in the last twelve years, that it is the most significant dramatic creation since Les Huguenots , and that it

1320-479: The Holy Roman Republic." Cola governed the city with a stern justice, which was in marked contrast to the previous reign of license and disorder. As a result of his leadership, the tribune was received at St. Peter's with the hymn Veni Creator Spiritus , while in a letter, the poet Petrarch urged him to continue his great and noble work, and congratulated him on his past achievements, calling him

1386-465: The Pope has laid a papal ban on Rienzi, and that his associates risk excommunication . Despite Adriano's urgings, Irene resolves to stay with Rienzi. Scene 1: A room in the Capitol Rienzi in his prayer "Allmächt'ger Vater" (Almighty Father!) asserts his faith in the people of Rome. He suggests to Irene that she seek safety with Adriano, but she demurs. An apologetic Adriano enters and tells

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1452-832: The Théâtre Lyrique under the baton of Jules Pasdeloup . The US premiere took place on 4 March 1878 at the Academy of Music in New York and was followed on 27 January 1879 by the first UK performance at Her Majesty's Theatre in London. The overture was the first work performed at the inaugural Henry Wood Promenade Concert at the Queen's Hall in London in August 1895. A staging at the English National Opera in London, produced by Nicholas Hytner in 1983, placed

1518-421: The action of Rienzi (Orsini's attempt on Irene) and its background (patricians versus the people). In its original form the ballet lasts for over half an hour – in modern performances and recordings it is generally drastically cut. The Roman Forum The patricians have recruited an army to march on Rome. The people are alarmed. Adriano begs Rienzi to stop the war, offering his own life to avoid bloodshed, but

1584-494: The authority of Rome over the cities and provinces of Italy, of making the city again caput mundi . He wrote letters to the cities of Italy, asking them to send representatives to an assembly which would meet on 1 August, when the formation of a great federation under the headship of Rome would be considered. On the appointed day, a number of representatives appeared, and Cola issued an edict citing Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor and his rival Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor , and also

1650-566: The city to its former position of power. He gathered a band of supporters, plans were drawn up, and at length, all was ready for the insurrection. On 19 May 1347, heralds invited the people to a parliament on the Capitol and on 20 May, Whit-Sunday , the meeting took place. Dressed in full armour and attended by the papal vicar, Cola headed a procession to the Capitol, where he addressed the assembled crowd, speaking "with fascinating eloquence of

1716-461: The city, and was sent in 1343 on a public errand to Pope Clement VI at Avignon . He discharged his duties with ability and success. Although he boldly denounced the aristocratic rulers of Rome, he won the favour and esteem of the Pope, who gave him an official position at his court. After returning to Rome in April 1344, Cola worked for three years at the great object of his life, the restoration of

1782-463: The composer disclaimed it, it can be noted that Rienzi prefigures themes (brother/sister relationships, social order and revolution) to which Wagner was often to return in his later works. August Kubizek , a boyhood friend of Adolf Hitler , claimed that Hitler was so influenced by seeing Rienzi as a young man in 1906 or 1907 that it triggered his political career, and that when Kubizek reminded Hitler, in 1939 at Bayreuth, of his exultant response to

1848-478: The composer into a finalized version, so all performances of it since 1945 have been reconstructions. A vocal score of the early 1840s, based on Wagner's draft, remains as the only existing primary source. Two surviving full scores made in Dresden in the early 1840s (under Wagner's supervision) already reflect the heavy cuts made in performances. The first printed score that was made under Wagner's supervision in 1844 reflects even heavier cuts. A critical edition of

1914-487: The crown; he demurs, insisting that he wishes only to be a Tribune of the Roman people. A hall in the Capitol The patricians plot the death of Rienzi; Adriano is horrified when he learns of this. Rienzi greets a group of ambassadors for whom an entertainment is laid on (a lengthy ballet ). Orsini attempts to stab Rienzi, who however is protected by a vest of chain mail . Adriano pleads with Rienzi for mercy to

1980-564: The debt laws could be more easily evaded, whilst awaiting developments for Rienzi , having already written to King Frederick Augustus II of Saxony , requesting that he order a production of the work in Dresden . With the support of Meyerbeer, a staging of Rienzi was arranged in Dresden; Meyerbeer wrote to the Director of the Opera in Dresden, Baron von Lüttichau, that he found the opera "rich in fantasy and of great dramatic effect". This, with

2046-606: The elder composer responded with encouragement. Meyerbeer also introduced Wagner to Ignaz Moscheles , who was also staying at Boulogne; as Ernest Newman comments, this was "Wagner's first meeting with real international musical celebrities". When the opera was completed in 1840, Wagner hoped for it to be premiered at the Berlin Royal Opera or the Paris Opéra . Several circumstances, including his lack of influence, prevented this. Moreover, Wagner's wife Minna , in

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2112-568: The end the populace burns the Capitol , in which Rienzi and a few adherents have made a last stand. Rienzi is Wagner's third completed opera, and is mostly written in a grand opera style. In his 1860 essay " Music of the Future ," Wagner called it "a work full of youthful fire" which was inspired by "the heroic opera of Spontini " and the Parisian grand opera of Daniel Auber , Giacomo Meyerbeer , and Fromental Halévy . Rienzi' s depictions of

2178-607: The exiled barons gathered together some troops, and war began in the neighbourhood of Rome. Cola di Rienzo obtained aid from Louis of Hungary and others, and on 20 November his forces defeated the nobles in the Battle of Porta San Lorenzo, just outside the Porta Tiburtina , a battle in which the tribune himself took no part, but in which his most distinguished foe, Stefano Colonna , was killed. But this victory did not save him. He passed his time in feasts and pageants, while in

2244-405: The first performance of Rienzi . The only too well-founded anxiety as to their success has so dominated my feelings at all subsequent first performances of my works that I could never really enjoy them or take much notice of the way the audience was behaving.[...] The initial success of Rienzi was no doubt assured beforehand. But the uproarious way in which the public declared its partiality for me

2310-613: The first time at Bayreuth , at the Oberfrankenhalle . This performance trimmed some parts, including the second-act ballet. The Boston premiere was produced in concert by Odyssey Opera in September 2013 as their inaugural performance. The Australian premiere was a concert performance by Melbourne Opera in December 2013, as part of the bicentennial celebrations. The opera opens with a substantial overture which begins with

2376-406: The glories and the power of ancient Rome , he turned his thoughts to restoring his native city. Knowing Rome was suffering from degradation and wretchedness, Cola sought to restore the city to not only good order but to pristine greatness. His zeal for this work was quickened by the desire to avenge his brother, who had been killed by a noble. He became a notary and a person of some importance in

2442-785: The hero in the context of 20th-century totalitarianism . A production by David Pountney at the Vienna State Opera in 1999 set the work in the "near future". Of this production Pountney wrote: Other contemporary productions have been rare. Performances were given at the Theater Bremen in April/May 2009 and at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and Oper Leipzig in April/May 2010. In July 2013, the bicentennial year of Wagner's birth, performances of all three of Wagner's early operas, including Rienzi , took place for

2508-513: The imperial electors and all others concerned in the dispute, to appear before him in order that he might pronounce judgment. The following day, the festival of the unity of Italy was celebrated, but neither this nor the previous meeting had any practical result. Cola's power, however, was recognized in the Kingdom of Naples , and both Joan I of Naples and Louis I of Hungary appealed to him for protection and aid, and on 15 August with great pomp he

2574-534: The inspired dreamer who foresees the national future" as Adrian Lyttleton expressed it, illustrating his point with Federico Faruffini 's Cola di Rienzo Contemplating the Ruins of Rome (1855) of which he remarks, "The language of martyrdom could be freed from its religious context and used against the Church." Ironically one of Rienzo's descendants, Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci, went on to become Pope Leo XIII . Cola di Rienzo's life and fate have formed

2640-430: The mob, the liberal ethos associated with the hero and the political intervention of a reactionary clergy recall Spontini's La vestale (1807), Halévy's La Juive (1835), and Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots (1836). Each act ends with an extended finale ensemble and is replete with solos, duets, trios and crowd scenes. There is also an extended ballet in act 2 according to the accepted Grand Opera format. Hans von Bülow

2706-633: The name was bestowed precisely on the street connecting the Tiber with the Vatican – at the time, headquarters of a Catholic Church still far from reconciled to the loss of its temporal power. To further drive home the point, the Piazza del Risorgimento was located at the Via Cola di Rienzo's western end, directly touching upon the Church's headquarters. In 1877 a statue of the tribune by Girolamo Masini ,

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2772-555: The natural child of Henry VII , the Holy Roman Emperor , but he was, in fact, born to a washer-woman and a tavern-keeper named Lorenzo Gabrini. Nicola's father's forename was shortened to Rienzo, and his name was shortened to Cola; hence, Cola di Rienzo, or Rienzi, by which he is generally known. He spent his early years at Anagni , where he devoted much of his time to the study of Latin writers, historians, orators and poets. After having nourished his mind with stories of

2838-411: The new Camillus , Brutus and Romulus . All the nobles submitted, though with great reluctance; the roads were cleared of robbers; some severe examples of justice intimidated offenders, and the tribune was regarded by many as the destined restorer of Rome and Italy. In July, in a decree, he proclaimed the sovereignty of the Roman people over the empire. But before this he had set to work on restoring

2904-420: The nobles, which Rienzi grants. The act 2 ballet is noteworthy as Wagner made a clear attempt to make it relevant to the action of the opera (whereas in most Grand Operas the ballet was simply an entertaining diversion). The Rienzi ballet was intended to tell the tale of the 'Rape of Lucretia '. This storyline (in which Tarquinius , the last king of Rome, attempts to rape the virtuous Lucretia), parallels both

2970-482: The opera Hitler had replied, "At that hour it all began!" Although Kubizek's veracity has been seriously questioned, it is known that Hitler possessed the original manuscript of the opera, which he had requested and been given as a fiftieth birthday present in 1939. The manuscript was with Hitler in his bunker ; it was either stolen, lost or destroyed by fire in the destruction of the bunker's contents after Hitler's death (the manuscript of Wagner's earlier work Die Feen

3036-621: The opera over two evenings (at the suggestion of von Lüttichau), and making cuts to enable a more reasonable performance in a single evening. Despite Wagner's reservations, Rienzi remained one of his most successful operas until the early 20th century. In Dresden alone, it reached its 100th performance in 1873 and 200th in 1908 and it was regularly performed throughout the 19th century in major opera houses throughout Europe and beyond, including those in America and England in 1878/9. The Paris premiere of Rienzi finally took place on 6 April 1869 at

3102-519: The opera was prepared by Schott's in Mainz in 1976 as volume III of their scholarly complete edition of Wagner's works. This edition was edited by Wagner scholars Reinhard Strohm and Egon Voss ; it uses the extant sources but also contains the 1844 piano version prepared by Gustav Klink, (which includes some of the passages excised from early performances). Overall it is not possible to accurately reconstruct Wagner's "original" Rienzi , but Rienzi on

3168-430: The other hand was clearly never finished by the composer. It was constantly being altered during the 1840s (and, it seems, possibly throughout Wagner's lifetime), so it is not feasible to fully determine Wagner's exact or final intentions based on existing evidence. Complete recordings (and performances) of Rienzi are rare, although the overture is regularly found on radio broadcasts and compilation CDs. Significant cuts to

3234-477: The pair that the Capitol is to be burnt and they are at risk. Scene 2: The Capitol is ablaze Rienzi's attempts to speak are met with stones and insults from the fickle crowd. Adriano, in trying to rescue Rienzi and Irene, is killed with them as the building collapses. In the original performances, Rienzi's final words are bitter and pessimistic: "May the town be accursed and destroyed! Disintegrate and wither, Rome! Your degenerate people wish it so." However, for

3300-411: The parties in the name of the Church to stop their fighting; Rienzi's eventual appearance (marked by a dramatic key shift, from D to E flat) quells the riot. The Roman people support Rienzi's condemnation of the nobles. Irene and Adriano realise their mutual attraction (duet "Ja, eine Welt voll Leiden" – Yes, a world of sorrows). A gathering crowd of plebeians , inspired by Rienzi's speeches, offers Rienzi

3366-494: The proposed staging of Der fliegende Holländer in Berlin, also supported by Meyerbeer, persuaded Wagner to return to Germany in April 1842. During rehearsals the performers were highly enthusiastic; the tenor Tichatschek , in the title role, was so impressed with a passage from act 3 (later deleted because of the opera's length), that "at each rehearsal, each of the soloists contributed a silver groschen to [a] fund that Tichatschek had started ... No one suspected that what

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3432-483: The same time, unaware of the Dresden production, Giuseppe Verdi , an ardent and anti-clerical patriot of the Risorgimento, contemplated a Cola di Rienzo . In 1873 – only three years after the new Kingdom of Italy wrested the city of Rome from papal forces – the rione Prati was laid out, with the new quarter's main street being "Via Cola di Rienzo" and a conspicuous square, Piazza Cola di Rienzo. Pointedly,

3498-561: The score are common in recordings. Audio recordings include: Video recordings include: Recordings of the overture include: Hans Knappertsbusch conducting the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra , Otto Klemperer conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra , James Levine conducting the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra , Arturo Toscanini conducting the NBC Symphony Orchestra , George Szell conducting

3564-529: The servitude and redemption of Rome." A new series of laws was published and accepted with acclaim, and unlimited authority and power was given to the author of the revolution. Without striking a blow the nobles left the city or went into hiding, and a few days later Rienzo took the title of tribune. He called himself " Nicholaus, severus et clemens, libertatis, pacis justiciaeque tribunus, et sacræ Romanæ Reipublicæ liberator ," or "Nicholas, severe and clement, tribune of liberty, peace and justice, and liberator of

3630-413: The subject of a novel by Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1835), tragic plays by Gustave Drouineau (1826), Mary Russell Mitford (1828), Julius Mosen (1837), and Friedrich Engels (1841), and also of some verses of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (1818) by Lord Byron . Richard Wagner 's first successful opera, Rienzi (Dresden, 1842), based on Bulwer-Lytton's novel, took Cola for a central figure, and at

3696-441: The title of senator. Having collected a few mercenary troops on the way, Cola entered Rome in August 1354, where he was received with great rejoicing and quickly regained his former position of power. But this latter term of office was destined to be even shorter than his former one. Having vainly besieged the fortress of Palestrina , he returned to Rome, where he treacherously seized the soldier of fortune Giovanni Moriale , who

3762-422: Was already beginning to wane. Cola di Rienzo's character has been described as a combination of knowledge, eloquence, and enthusiasm for ideal excellence, with vanity, inexperience of mankind, unsteadiness, and physical timidity. As these latter qualities became conspicuous, they eclipsed his virtues and caused his benefits to be forgotten. His extravagant pretensions only served to excite ridicule. His government

3828-458: Was an Italian politician and leader, who styled himself as the "tribune of the Roman people" . During his lifetime, he advocated for the unification of Italy . This led to Cola's re-emergence in the 19th century as an iconic figure among leaders of liberal nationalism , who adopted him as a precursor of the 19th-century Risorgimento . Nicola was born in Rome of humble origins. He claimed to be

3894-401: Was an amiable joke for them was the means of buying [Wagner] an extra morsel of sorely-needed food." The premiere of Rienzi took place on 20 October 1842 in the new Dresden Opera House , designed by the architect Gottfried Semper and opened the previous year. Semper and Wagner were later to become friends in Dresden, a connection which eventually led to Semper providing designs which became

3960-427: Was costly, and to meet its many expenses he was obliged to lay heavy taxes upon the people. He offended the Pope by his arrogance and pride, and both the Pope and Emperor by his proposal to set up a new Roman Empire , the sovereignty of which would rest directly upon the will of the people. In October, Clement gave power to a legate to depose him and bring him to trial, and the end was obviously in sight. Taking heart,

4026-467: Was crowned Tribune. Ferdinand Gregorovius says this ceremony "was the fantastic caricature in which ended the imperium of Charles the Great . A world where political action was represented in such guise was ripe for overthrow, or could only be saved by a great mental reformation." He then seized, but soon released Stefano Colonna and some other barons who had spoken disparagingly of him, but his power

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4092-510: Was erected at the foot of Rome's Capitoline Hill . In Rome, in rione Ripa , near the Bocca della Verità there still exists a brick-decorated house of the Middle Ages, distinguished by the appellation of "The House of Pilate", but also traditionally known as Cola di Rienzo's house (in fact it belonged to the patrician Crescenzi family). Irish poet and playwright John Todhunter wrote

4158-427: Was extraordinary ... The public had been forcibly predisposed to accept it, because everyone connected with the theatre had been spreading such favourable reports ... that the entire population was looking forward to what was heralded as a miracle ... In trying to recall my condition that evening, I can remember it only as possessing all the features of a dream. Subsequently, Wagner experimented with giving

4224-481: Was later to joke that " Rienzi is Meyerbeer's best opera". Wagner began to draft the opera in Riga in 1837, after reading Lytton's novel (although John Deathridge has argued that Wagner's work also bears the influence of Mary Russell Mitford 's 1828 "highly successful English play" Rienzi ). During a 1839 visit to the bathing resort town of Boulogne , Wagner approached Meyerbeer with a partial draft of Rienzi , and

4290-416: Was not carried out, and he remained in prison in spite of appeals from Petrarch for his release. In December 1352, Clement died, and his successor, Pope Innocent VI , anxious to strike a blow at the baronial rulers of Rome, and seeing in the former tribune an excellent tool for this purpose, pardoned and released Rienzi. The Pope then sent Cola to Italy with the legate, Cardinal Albornoz , and gave him

4356-426: Was put to death, and where, by other cruel and arbitrary deeds, he soon lost the favour of the people. Their passions were quickly aroused and a tumult broke out on 8 October. Cola attempted to address them, but the building in which he stood was set on fire, and while trying to escape in disguise he was murdered by the mob. During the 14th century, Cola di Rienzo was the hero of one of the finest of Petrarch 's odes,

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