Filippo da Pistoia, also called Filippo Fontana or anglicized Philip (died 18 September 1270), was an Italian prelate, military leader and diplomat. He was the bishop-elect of Ferrara from 1239 until 1252, bishop-elect of Florence from 1250 until 1251 and archbishop of Ravenna from 1250 until his death. He was the apostolic legate in Germany between July 1246 and March 1247, in Lombardy and the Trevigiana between December 1255 and August 1258 and throughout northern Italy between 1267 and February 1270. He served as podestà (mayor) of Ravenna in 1254.
Educated in Spain and France, Filippo was a worldly prelate, a corpulent oenophile who kept a court of musicians and a constant bodyguard. He had at least three sons and a daughter, only finally receiving episcopal consecration in 1260. In spiritual matters, he showed partiality to the Franciscans. His legatine missions were devoted to fostering military alliances and prosecuting wars. He engineered the election of Henry Raspe as king of Germany in opposition to Emperor Frederick II in 1246. He frequently led troops himself in the inveterate contest between pro-papal and pro-imperial forces in Italy, always on the side of the Papacy. He considered himself papabile in the papal election of 1264–1265, but was passed over. He suffered from declining health in his last two years.
Filippo's pastoral works as bishop are poorly known. His career can be told in detail because of the numerous documents issued by him and to him by various popes, and because of his friendship with the historian Salimbene de Adam. He was overall "a man dedicated to action more than the care of souls, and more to military action than diplomacy, [with] a character totally alien to conciliation."
Early life
Filippo was born in Pistoia in the 1190s and owned a house in Pistoia throughout his life. In the past he was often linked to the Fontana family of Ferrara, but this appears to be without foundation. He may have been related to the Vergiolesi of Pistoia. His friend and confidante, Salimbene de Adam, who is the main source for his youth, writes that he was related to his predecessor in the diocese of Ferrara, Garsendinus. He apprenticed as a necromancer in Toledo before studying philosophy and theology at the University of Paris. After completing his studies, he lived in Toulouse and then Ferrara until receiving a canonry in the cathedral of his native city.
In 1239, Filippo was elected bishop of Ferrara. He was present when the Guelphs swore an oath at Bologna on 20 December 1239 to oppose the forces of Emperor Frederick II. The chronicles refer to him as a bishop then, but he is not otherwise documented as bishop-elect until November 1240.
Bishop of Ferrara
Since the city of Ferrara was in the hands of pro-imperial forces, Filippo organized the anti-imperial offensive in the Po valley. In January 1240, he seized Bergantino, which belonged to the diocese of Ferrara, and then the castle of Bondeno, which belonged to the abbey of Nonantola. He was checked at Ostiglia. In February, he began the siege of Ferrara, which was held by Salinguerra Torelli. His army consisted of Venetians, Ferrarese exiles, the men of Azzo VII d'Este (who had been banned by the emperor in June 1239) and the Guelphs of Bologna, Mantua and Milan. In June, they took the city.
Now that Filippo was in command of his diocese, the diocesan properties that had belonged as fiefs to the Torelli and Ramberti families were confiscated and granted to the Este, who distributed them to their followers. On 21 May 1240, in obedience to an order of Pope Gregory IX, he ceded the revenues of San Pietro di Massa Nuova to the diocese of Cervia to compensate it for the damages it suffered during the war. On 26 November 1240, he placed the castle of Argenta in the care of Azzo VII. Sometime before 25 June 1243, he authorized the construction of a Franciscan church on land donated by the commune.
At the height of the Mongol threat to the Holy Roman Empire in 1241, Filippo circulated a letter in Italy claiming to show that Frederick II had sent envoys to the Mongols and was in league with them. The pope's agents spread similar rumours in Germany.
Throughout his time in Ferrara, he showed favour to Pistoians in the diocesan service, as he later also did at Ravenna. As bishop, he kept a court more typical of a secular lord: populated with musicians, bards and a guard of forty armed men. He also had a great fondness for wine.