
It was a woman, Lucrezia, who salvaged the Medici finances,
providing Lorenzo il Magnifico with the funds to turn Florence into the ‘ideal
city’. Behind the genius of Cosimo I was another mother, Maria, who devoted her
life to the making of the ‘prince’ and then withdrew into the shadows. It was a
woman called Alfonsina who succeeded in bringing the Medici back to Florence
after they had been driven out in 1494. And it was another woman, Anna Maria
Luisa, who prevented the family treasures being dispersed among the European
courts, bestowing the paintings and statues, furnishings and jewels on the city
of Florence.
These twelve portraits weave into a tale spanning three centuries. Entering into
the lives of these women belonging to the most illustrious Italian lineage,
these stories cast light on their characters and the sometimes obscure reasons
behind their choices, sufferings and mistakes. They also illustrate how, at
many crucial points of history, it was indeed the women who steered the dynasty
clear of shipwreck, and sometimes even put it back on its feet.
Dalla poetessa Lucrezia Tornabuoni, madre di Lorenzo il Magnifico, a Clarice
Orsini, che lo sposò e diede i natali al futuro papa Leone X. Da Caterina
Sforza, che trasmise la passione per le armi al figlio Giovanni dalle Bande
Nere, a Eleonora da Toledo, che regnò a fianco del granduca Cosimo I. Fino ad
arrivare all’Elettrice Palatina, Anna Maria Luisa, a cui Firenze deve gran
parte del suo patrimonio artistico.
I dodici ritratti di altrettante donne della stirpe dei Medici formano un
racconto lungo tre secoli dove si intrecciano amore e affari, alleanze e
intrighi politici, virtù inaspettate e debolezze fatali.
Originally published as: Le Magnifiche dei Medici. Dodici ritratti, Mauro
Pagliai, Florence, October 2017
1st reprint: February 2018
2nd reprint: July 2019
1st English edition: April 2018 (translation: Aelmuire Helen Cleary)
1st reprint: July 2023
These twelve portraits weave into a tale spanning three centuries. Entering into the lives of these women belonging to the most illustrious Italian lineage, these stories cast light on their characters and the sometimes obscure reasons behind their choices, sufferings and mistakes. They also illustrate how, at many crucial points of history, it was indeed the women who steered the dynasty clear of shipwreck, and sometimes even put it back on its feet.
Originally published as: Le Magnifiche dei Medici. Dodici ritratti, Mauro Pagliai, Florence, October 2017
1st reprint: February 2018
2nd reprint: July 2019
1st English edition: April 2018 (translation: Aelmuire Helen Cleary)
1st reprint: July 2023
Mauro Pagliai, 2018
Pagine: 96
Caratteristiche: ill. col., br.
Formato: 12x17
ISBN: 978-88-564-0383-1
Collana:
Storie del mondo Tascabili, 1
Settori: