Alessandra Macinghi

Alessandra Macinghi Strozzi ( – March ) was a Florentine Renaissance business and noblewoman known for her preserved correspondence which chronicled her financial and political struggles in Medici Florence. Strozzi was largely family oriented and worked hard to place her sons in successful banking positions and all her children beneficial marriages. Strozzi's letters rank among the most significant primary sources from fifteenth-century Florence. Filippo's marriage to Ginerva gave Strozzi an additional 3 siblings, Caterina, Antonio, and Ginevra.

Marriage Alessandra Macinghi married Matteo di Simone Strozzi on June 10, 1422, bringing a dowry of 1,600 florins. Due to her father's death, Strozzi's marriage was negotiated by her stepmother and uncles. Due to Matteo's involvement against the Medici in Florentine politics, in 1434 he was exiled to Pesaro for 5 years along with other male members of his extended family for considering violence against the Medici. Though she had the opportunity to remain in the family household in Florence and run it, Strozzi only stayed long enough to put family affairs in order and followed Matteo into exile bringing along their children. In 1435, the plague hit Pesaro and Matteo along with Andreuola Caterina, Simone, and Piero all perished. Additionally, she sought to remain a part of her children's lives which would have been impossible if she remarried. Due to patrilineal norms, children remained to be raised by their father's extended family upon the remarriage of their mother; the mother was not involved in the lives of her children partially due to an inherent distrust of the mother's new husband. Strozzi's life largely revolved around her children. For her daughters, she negotiated marriages she believed would be good. She did the same for her sons Filippo and Lorenzo after the exile order which had carried over from father to sons was lifted in 1466 by Piero di Cosimo de' Medici and their social standing increased. Matteo the Younger died prior to this at the age 23 in 1458.

Several times during her sons' exile, Strozzi considered joining them in Naples. In Florence, Strozzi maintained a small household consisting of her ward Isabella Strozzi, an illegitimate daughter of one of Matteo's relatives, whom she raised from age 8 until Isabella was married at age 16. Additionally, Strozzi's brother Zanobi came to stay with her as he had financial difficulties and both were on bad terms with a majority of their Macinghi relatives.

Financial involvements As head of household, Strozzi controlled the family finances and worked through many challenges to keep the household stable. To this end, she was in charge of her children's education and steered her sons towards banking as a method of improving the family finances. All that Strozzi's children were set to inherit came from the property not sold to pay of Matteo the Elder's debts as it constituted a value equivalent to the 1,600 florins of Strozzi's dowry. Property Strozzi was able to keep included the main family house in Florence as well as another, smaller house within the city and other properties and farms in the country. In the early years of Strozzi's widowhood, she had her family mainly reside in the smaller house in Florence as it cost less to maintain while she rented the family house out to one of Matteo the Elder's cousins for significantly more than she was spending maintaining the smaller home. Additionally, she rented out the farmlands to peasants who would in turn give her a share of the profits as if the land sat idle, she made nothing. When Strozzi's own finances stabilized with the success of her sons in Naples, she continued to look after much of her family's finances. Strozzi assisted her brother Zanobi when he ran into financial troubles by buying some of his properties contradicting the will of their father and driving a deeper rift between Strozzi and most of the Macinghi family.

Death and legacy

Strozzi's final preserved letter was written in 1470. She died of old age in March 1471 and her death was recorded by her son Filippo in her book of accounts as occurring at the age of 63. She was entombed within the Strozzi Chapel at what was then the Church of Santa Maria Novella. No portraits of her exist.

Letters Letters written by Strozzi dating from August 24, 1447, until April 14, 1470, detail aspects of Strozzi's life. Additionally, they provide an insight into the life of a widow in fifteenth century Florence and detail additional aspects of culture and family life that provide valuable information to historians. These letters were preserved by her eldest surviving son, Filippo Strozzi the Elder, most likely as they contained details about financial transactions and negotiations that pertained to the family. All of the letters were written in Strozzi's hand and all except one of the seventy-three are addressed to either Filippo, Lorenzo, or Matteo as Strozzi updates them on the events in Florence involving family members and general major occurrences.