Luca Martini (1547–61): A case study in the military administration and commercial exploitation of the northern Tyrrhenian in the Renaissance

Abstract

From 1547 to his death in 1561, Luca Martini (1507–1561), a Florentine polymath and bureaucrat, was appointed superintendent of the Ufficio dei fossi in Pisa. Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici tasked him with the reorganisation of coastal Tuscany, which entailed reclaiming the Pisan plain, restoring and embellishing major and minor urban centres and reviving trade in the area. In his capacity as superintendent, however, he was also in charge of supervising Pisa’s shipyard, building a new military and commercial fleet and renovating the coastal defence system. This article will show how Martini’s unique concentration of power was instrumental in reorienting the Medici perception of the Tyrrhenian as a ‘last frontier’ to be exploited and defended.