Ser Petracco

Ser Petracco (Pietro di Parenzo di Garzo; 1267—1326) was the father to the Italian poet Francesco Petrarch. His father was Ser Parenzo, son of Ser Garzo who lived to be 100. They all were notaries public, the same office that Ser Petracco held in Florence. The family did have a small property in Florence. His wife’s name was Eletta Canigiani (1270—1319), the mother to Petrarch, whom he married around 1302. Petrarch’s daughter was named after her.

Ser Petracco was a merchant and also worked for the State. Before he was 35 years old he had already held many high public positions. He was "Chancellor of the Commission for the Reforms" as well as a delegate of an important embassy to Pisa in 1301. At the end of 1302 of his political career he was falsely charged of legal matters in his absence. The sentence was a fine of 1000 Lira or the loss of his right hand. He refused to pay the fine and his property was taken from him. He belonged to the bourgeois party of the White Guelphs along with the famous poet Dante, being its most illustrious member. They both were then exiled from Florence by the apposing party, the Black Guelphs.