THE RISE AND FALL OF CHARLES OF ANJOUThe pontificate of Gregory X was marked by the extension
of papal authority into the hills and plains of Romagna, the
northernmost part of the emerging papal state. At the time
of his death (1276) Gregory was beginning to see that he
might need Angevin aid if he were to hold Romagna in the
face of competitors for control of so prosperous a region.
His eventual successor, Nicholas III (1277-80), found himself
obliged to pursue this course even though he compromised
many of his policies by close attention to the interests of his
own Orsini family. The vigorous defence of the north of Italy
might appear to signify that it was there that Charles of Anjou
faced the greatest risk to his power. But even Sicily, after
stern repression, had not been entirely quietened. A new
pope, Martin IV (1281-85), a Frenchman, moved closer to
Charles and abandoned some of Nicholas III's reservations in
accepting an Angevin alliance. Where Nicholas had insisted
Charles resign as Roman Senator, Martin encouraged his
re-election. Where Nicholas tried to bring peace and com-
promise to Florence and other troubled Tuscan towns (1279),
Martin gave support to the Guelfs.^26 In Romagna there were
rebellions against the Church, too. The most obvious sign
that Martin had abandoned his predecessor's reserve lay in
his approval of Charles's oriental projects. Martin brought
together Charles and the Venetians in a definite plan to
invade the Greek empire, agreed upon in july 1281. The fleet
was due to sail in April 1282. It never did so. At the hour of
Vespers on^30 March^1282 some Angevin soldiers insulted
a young Sicilian wife at the Church of Santo Spirito on the
edge of Palermo. A struggle broke out, blood was drawn, and
the cry went up: 'Moranu li Francisi', 'Death to the French!'
The French garrison in Palermo was slaughtered and the
revolt spread in a few weeks throughout the island of Sicily,
until even the arsenal city of Messina was in rebel hands (28
April1282).^27 The Angevins had lost Sicily, the very land from
which they drew their most important title and resources.
Who were the rebels and what did they want?
- An attempt to settle the rabid internal strife of Florence was made
in 1279, when Cardinal Latino, a relative of Pope Nicholas, visited the
city and made imaginative proposals for constitutional reforms which,
had they succeeded, would have reduced Charles of Anjou's capacity
to intervene in the city's affairs: G. Salvemini, Magnati e Popolani a
Firenze dal 1280 al 1295, ed. E. Sestan (Milan, 1974), p. 5. - Runciman, Sicilian Vespers, pp. 237-9.