N. 28. - Inscription and coat of arms to commemorate the ADIMARI placed near the arcade of N. 17 in Via dell’Oche. On this spot was the famous Loggia called la Neghittosa, belonging to the CONSORTERIA of the ADIMARI, which rose among the towers, palaces and houses belonging to those families:
Reading edition
L’oltracotata schiatta, che s’indraca Dietro a chi fugge, ed a chi mostra il dente O ver la borsa, com’agnel si placa. DANTE, Paradiso, XVI, 115–117. The insolent race, that like a dragon follows Whoever flees, and unto him, that shows His teeth or purse is gentle as a lamb. Longfellow’s translation.
The Adimari are one of those families of Florence to whose introduction Cacciaguida attributes its degeneracy. They were at the head of a numerous and powerful “Consorteria” and therefore obnoxious to the people, and though rich and mighty so little esteemed, that Ubertino dei Donati who had married a daughter of Bellincion Berti was offended with his father-in-law for giving another of his daughters in marriage to one of the Adimari. It was a member of this family, Boccaccio Adimari who got possession of Dante’s property in Florence, when he was banished, and always bitterly opposed his return, which may have sharpened the Poet’s angry judgement against them. The Consorteria of the Adimari was composed of ten distinct families, all varying in armorial bearings and patronymics.