{"id":57393,"date":"2023-03-10T11:04:48","date_gmt":"2023-03-10T11:04:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/queertuscanytours.com\/?post_type=product&p=57393"},"modified":"2023-03-10T11:18:06","modified_gmt":"2023-03-10T11:18:06","slug":"the-gay-history-of-florence","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/queertuscanytours.com\/en\/shop\/english-tours\/the-gay-history-of-florence\/","title":{"rendered":"The gay history of Florence"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Florence is not only the cradle of humanism<\/b>, but also the place where the “queer<\/b>” identity of modern Europe was formed. While scores of preachers accused the world’s most powerful democracy of being too permissive<\/b> and even \u201cdepraved\u201d, the so-called “Florentine vice<\/b>\u201d – another word for \u201csodomy\u201d- flourished to such an extent that it spawned works of art<\/b>, poetry and philosophical treatises. Florence’s reputation had become an embarrassment<\/b> even in European countries such as Switzerland where the noun “Florenzer<\/b>“, which literally translated as “Florentine citizen”, was used as a synonym for “sodomite<\/b>“.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row el_class=”viola”][vc_column][vc_column_text]In this thematic itinerary, we will explain the origins of this Florentine “anomaly”<\/b> and trace the causes and consequences that over the centuries led to the birth of the richest seasons of Western culture: the Renaissance<\/b>. Starting from Piazza Santa Croce, one of the most iconic places in Italy and the true heart of Florence’s gay nightlife<\/b>, where the fearsome Franciscan friar Bernardino of Siena<\/b> encouraged the people to rebel against the sodomitic shame, we will explain how the queer community of Florence managed to establish spaces<\/b> to antagonize the authorities<\/b> and deeply<\/b> penetrate<\/b> the socio-economic structures<\/b> of the city. In other words, the persecution of gays and lesbians in Florence was totally inefficient<\/b>![\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We will take you to the places frequented by anarchist lesbians<\/b> who opened brothels in defiance of the laws and we will tell you about the Office of the Night<\/b>, the first European magistracy whose only task was to contrast<\/b> same-sex acts. We will tell you about characters who made fun<\/b> of the police force and fearlessly led their free and independent lives. You will learn to recognize the heteronormative value<\/b> of the religious statuary in the city and to understand its moral value (which nobody respected!). You will learn about the double and often deliberately ambiguous symbolism of Greco-Roman mythology<\/b> which paved the way for bisexual behavior.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text el_class=”viola”]In short, if you want to know about the historical evolution of homosexuality<\/b> in Florence, come with us on this journey back in time and space, where you will hear the voices of Lorenzo the Magnificent<\/b>, Dante Alighieri<\/b>, Michelangelo<\/b> and Leonardo da Vinci,<\/b> but also the forgotten Sandrina who \u201cate women”<\/b>, Sister Benedetta Carlini<\/b>, the lesbian nun from Pescia, and the hundreds of gender-fluid boys<\/b> who populated the city![\/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