Matteo Villani

Matteo Villani was born in Florence around 1290, or a little later, and died there in 1363. He was the younger brother of the chronicler Giovanni Villani and became best known for continuing the family Cronica, one of the major narrative histories of medieval Florence.

After Giovanni died during the Black Death in 1348, Matteo took up the chronicle and extended it through the events of his own lifetime. Scholars and reference works describe his sections as an important source for 14th-century Florence, especially for the years marked by plague, food shortages, warfare, and civic instability.

His work was later continued by Filippo Villani, making the Cronica a rare multigenerational history. While little personal detail is easily confirmed, Matteo Villani remains notable for preserving a close, eyewitness-minded record of a city under intense pressure.