Da Ambrogio Traversari a Luca Carducci: aspetti e momenti della riforma camaldolese nell'età di Eugenio IV

The reform of the Camaldulensian Order was one of the objectives of Pope Eugenius IV. For this reason he promoted Ambrogio Traversari to General in charge of the Order (1430-1439). But Traversari’s vision for reform and his own diverged: the Pope’s reform was based on religious men coming from venetian monasteries and on a model similar to the Congregation of Santa Giustina at Padua; instead Traversari had a different perspective either for the opposition inside his Order or for his own opinion and idea of reform. After Traversari’s death, Eugenius IV asked Abbot Gomez and other monks from the Badia fiorentina to come to the Camaldulensian Order. Among these there was Luca Carducci who first became major heremi at Camaldoli, then Prior of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Florence and later Abbot of the rich monastery of San Savino in Pisa. Carducci’s loyalty to Pope Eugenius IV’s project is evident, but his efforts to bring San Savino to Santa Giustina’s Congregation (1466) failed. Because of papal interest on this monastery, Luca ended his life as bishop of Osimo (1474-1484) and didn’t take part to the foundation of the Congregation of San Michele di Murano.