Jacopo II da Carrara

Who was Jacopo II da Carrara?

Jacopo II da Carrara, of the Carraresi family, was the capitano del popolo of Padua from 1345 until his death. Though he assumed power through forged documents and political murder, he was a patron of art and literature. He succeeded in bringing Francesco Petrarca to Padua for a time, and his own son, Francesco I, was an artisan. Jacopo also introduced the carrarino as the currency of Padua.

In May 1345 Jacopo murdered the incumbent prince, Marsiglietto Papafava. He in turn was assassinated in 1350. At his death he was still illiterate, a fact he much regreted, as Petrus Paulus Vergerius wrote in a letter to his grandson Ubertino. His younger brother Jacopino succeeded him as capitano, to be succeeded in turn by Francesco. In 1351 Petrarca wrote a eulogy for the deceased Jacopo, Andriolo de Santi was commissioned to carve his sepulchre, and Guariento di Arpo began work on a fresco of the coronation of the Virgin Mary to adorn his tomb in the church of Sant' Agostino.