Toynbee "Portinari, Folco"

father of Beatrice Portinari. Folco, who was the son of Ricovero di Folco de' Portinari, was one of the fourteen Buonomini instituted in 1281/2 by the Cardinal Latino; and he subsequently several times (in 1282, 1285, and 1287) held the office of prior. He died Dec. 31, 1289, and was buried in the chapel of the Ospedale di Santa Maria Nuova (which he had founded in 1287), his funeral being honoured by the attendance of the Signoria of Florence in their official capacity. He married Cilia di Gherardo de' Caponsacchi of Florence, and had by her a number of children besides his daughter Beatrice, who is specially mentioned in his will (dated Jan. 15, 1287/8): 'Item Dominae Bici filiae meae et uxori domini Simonis de Bardis reliqui libr. 50, ad floren.' [See Passerini, Storia degli stabilimenti di benef sensa della città di Firense pp. 284 ff.; Fraticelli, Storia della vita di D.A. p. 98; I. Del Lungo, Beatrice (Milano, 1891); and D'Ancona, La Vita Nuova di D. A., pp. 161-163.] D., who speaks of him as colui ch'era stato genitore di tanta meraviglia, vanta si ved eva ch'era questa nobilissima Beatrice, and says that he was a man of great excellence and goodness, lo suo padre, siccome da molti si crede, e vero e, fosse ouono in alto grado, V.N. xxii. 1-2. [Beatrice.]

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©Oxford University Press 1968. From A Dictionary of Proper Names and Notable Matters in the Works of Dante by Paget Toynbee (1968) by permission of Oxford University Press