{"id":57389,"date":"2023-03-10T09:52:45","date_gmt":"2023-03-10T09:52:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/queertuscanytours.com\/?post_type=product&p=57389"},"modified":"2023-03-13T09:09:03","modified_gmt":"2023-03-13T09:09:03","slug":"queer-florence-in-one-day","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/queertuscanytours.com\/en\/shop\/english-tours\/queer-florence-in-one-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Queer Florence in one day"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Everyone knows by now that Florence<\/b> is the capital of humanism<\/b> and the cradle of the Renaissance<\/b>. However, many visitors still ignore the fact that this city is also the birthplace of the first queer communities<\/b> of modern Europe! Renowned and openly gay artists like Donatello<\/b>, Leonardo da Vinci<\/b>, Michelangelo<\/b>, and Benvenuto Cellini<\/b> lived and worked in Florence, turning their city into a haven of freedom<\/b> and artistic expression that attracted many gay writers and artists<\/b> from all over Italy.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row el_class=”viola”][vc_column][vc_column_text]In this passionate tour<\/b>, we want to reveal the queerest works<\/b> of humanist art and the story behind the creation of the great masterpieces<\/b> that gave rise to what we may describe as the very first gay and lesbian liberation<\/b> in world history![\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We will set off to discover one of the greatest masters<\/b> of Renaissance art and an exceptional Florentine, Michelangelo Buonarroti<\/b>, at the Accademia Gallery, where we will talk about the gay passions and torments of the greatest sculptor in Western civilization and see his Florentine masterpiece, the gigantic David<\/b>.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row el_class=”viola”][vc_column][vc_column_text]The city that Michelangelo loved and from which he learned the art of sculpting marble<\/b> was also the cradle of tolerance and open-mindedness<\/b>. Thanks to the patronage of Lorenzo de’ Medici <\/b>and his grandfather, the enlightened Cosimo the Elder<\/b>, Florence had already established itself as a “mecca for sodomites<\/b>\u201d (as the Medici enemies used to describe the town), in a country that was already well known for its homosexual tendencies<\/b>. Despite the numerous attempts to remedy it, the authorities were unable to curb the “Florentine vice<\/b>“, also because the Neoplatonic culture<\/b> promoted by the circle of humanist scholars gathered around Lorenzo the Magnificent<\/b> had revived the homoerotic aspects of ancient art and turned them into a \u201cphilosophy of love and purity\u201d, almost like a new religion! Michelangelo was born and raised within this cultural atmosphere<\/b> and enjoyed the special protection of the Medici who not only gave him special attention, but also let him live in their own hous<\/b>e![\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]After the Accademia, we will then visit one of the most evocative and least frequented museums in the city, the Bargello National Museum<\/b>, where Donatello\u2019s homoerotic works<\/b> of art are kept. As a matter of fact, Michelangelo had not been the first to enjoy a special privilege in the Medici house. Lorenzo’s grandfather, Cosimo, had paid the same honors to the first father of the Florentine Renaissance<\/b>, Donatello, who, also gay, was reputed to be the pioneer of the rebirth of the male nude in art<\/b> and also an extraordinary workshop master, who loved to keep the handsomest assistants<\/b> and apprentices in the city! Here we will admire his celebrated and evocative bronze David<\/b>, as well as other works of his that will shed new light on Donatello\u2019s idea on Greek statuary<\/b>, love and Renaissance homosexual culture.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row el_class=”viola”][vc_column][vc_column_text]The legacy of the two great masters of this \u201cQueer Renaissance<\/b>\u201d was collected and taken to the utmost extremes by another Florentine, a reckless and unrepentant \u201csodomite\u201d, the famous goldsmith and sculptor Benvenuto Cellini<\/b>, whose works are also located at the Bargello Museum. Amidst half-naked heroes<\/b> (think of the gorgeous bronze statue of Perseus<\/b> on Piazza della Signoria!), public brawls fought to defend the honor of his lovers and artistic creations that celebrated homosexuality, Cellini left us indisputable evidence of the supremacy of gay love<\/b> in the art and culture of pre-modern Italy! We will admire his works, such as the very ambiguous Ganymede and the Eagle<\/b>, and talk about his way of looking at homosexual art <\/b>as a supreme form of creation![\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Finally, we will take you to discover the areas where the gay and lesbian community<\/b> of the Renaissance lived, met and thrived in order to understand how Florence’s art, history and queer society<\/b> were not an isolated phenomenon or a “subculture”, but the roots of Europe\u2019s LGBTQ+ pride<\/b>![\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”WHAT WE WILL DO TOGETHER:” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:left|color:%23662483″ google_fonts=”font_family:Roboto%3A100%2C100italic%2C300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C500%2C500italic%2C700%2C700italic%2C900%2C900italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n