An Extremely Elaborate Practical Joke
Filippo Brunelleschi’s assertion that he was Manetto so confused his mark, the real Manetto, that he retreated to a nearby piazza. There he met an acquaintance, Donatello, who addressed him not by his given name, but as Matteo. Then a bailiff passed by, addressed Manetto as Matteo, and despite his protestations that he had the wrong man, promptly arrested the cabinet maker for debt. The now thoroughly bewildered Manetto was taken to prison, where his name was entered into the register as Matteo. Thrown into lockup, his fellow prisoners – all of whom were also in on the prank – addressed him as Matteo.
The bewildered cabinet maker spent a sleepless night in jail. He probably solaced himself with the notion that it was all a case of mistaken identity, that would soon get cleared up. The next day, things got worse. After a night in jail, Manetto’s mental health took another hit when two “relatives” – the real Matteo’s brothers – arrived at the prison, and claimed him as their kin. They paid his debt and freed him, and berated his gambling and wastrel ways. More confused now than ever, Manetto was escorted to Matteo’s home in the other side of Florence.
