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| Palazzo Pitti (A Medici Palace) |
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| View from the Boboli Gardens |
The House of Medici attained astronomical wealth and power
starting in the 13th century as a result of their success in
commerce and banking. As an extended family of nearly unrivaled world
influence, the House of Medici (as it is known) produced four popes: Leo X,
Clement VII, Pius IV, and Leon XI; and by combining with the Hapsburgs of
Austria their genetic contributions can be traced to much of the European royalty
and ruling class.
By 1434 Cosimo de’ Medici’s patronage of the arts made
Florence the cultural center of the Renaissance. Sometimes described as
“strong-willed, astute, and ambitious,“ Cosimo rose to power in 1537 at age 17
when the Grand Duke was assassinated. Soon afterward his leadership was tested by
invading armies, which were defeated by forces mustered by Cosimo. As a warning
to all others, he ordered the beheading of the prisoners taken. Considered an
authoritarian ruler who dominated his Tuscan neighbors through military
intimidation, it was Cosimo who first employed a guard of Swiss mercenaries,
the descendants of which can be seen today in traditional garb standing watch
in Vatican City.
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| View of Florence from the Boboli Gardens at Palazzo Pitta |
To consolidate his administrative ministers, Cosimo moved
all the local offices to a building in Florence known as the Uffizi, in which
he established a small museum to house his growing collection of art. Opened to
the public in 1765 and now recognized as one of the world’s most important
museums, the Uffizi Gallery houses some of the most treasured works of art
known to man including those by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Titian,
Raphael, and Botticelli. The building itself is a testament to the incredible stature
of the Medici family. (On two occasions the building and some of the art were
damaged by floods, and in 1993 five people were killed when a bomb
blast—purportedly detonated by the Sicilian Mafia—irreparably damaged portions
of the Uffizi and some of the collection.)
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| A fountain at Boboli |
Throughout Florence and the surrounding countryside,
evidence of the Medici legacy exists. Still seen today are the remnants of the
structures Cosimo had built to defend his growing circle of influence including
those in Pisa, Siena, Arezzo, Sansepolero, Portoferrio as well as on the
islands of Elba and Terra del Sol.
The connection between the mighty Hapsburgs and the House of
Medici was more than incidental. In 1737 when Medici Grand Duke Gian Gastone
died without leaving a male heir, and the dynasty ended, by the agreement of
four European powers (Austria, France, England, and the Netherlands) control of
the Medici holdings in the Tuscan region of what is now Italy passed to Francis
of Lorraine, whose marriage to Maria Theresa of the Austrian Hapsburgs signaled
the start of the extended reign of the Hapsburg-Lorraine family.
Now, if you were my tour guide at the Ufizzi, I would have enjoyed it much, much more! The stories and history are what fascinate me. I didn't quite catch any of that while walking through 233 rooms of what looked like very similar paintings. Sounds like your having good time in the mother land.
ReplyDeleteGrazie amico mio. Amiamo l'Italia.
ReplyDelete