{"id":57397,"date":"2023-03-10T11:33:56","date_gmt":"2023-03-10T11:33:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/queertuscanytours.com\/?post_type=product&p=57397"},"modified":"2023-03-10T11:38:40","modified_gmt":"2023-03-10T11:38:40","slug":"the-queer-medici","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/queertuscanytours.com\/en\/shop\/english-tours\/the-queer-medici\/","title":{"rendered":"The Queer Medici"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]When we talk about the Medici family<\/b>, the patrons of the Renaissance<\/b> and the first bankers<\/b> of modern Europe, we can’t help but think of their legacy<\/b> and the immense art collection<\/b> they left to us Italians<\/b>. However, what is still largely ignored by historians<\/b> is the relationship between the Medici and the Florentine queer community<\/b> between the 15th and 18th centuries. The question we want to ask ourselves on this tour is: “To what extent did the Medici contribute to spreading and promoting the idea of a queer Renaissance<\/b>?”.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row el_class=”viola”][vc_column][vc_column_text]Right from the beginning of their fortune<\/b>, the Medicis distinguished themselves in the city for their unconventional taste<\/b>, which was disliked by the more conservative and reactionary part of Florentine society. Cosimo the Elder<\/b> was criticized for commissioning scandalous works<\/b> of art such as Donatello’s David<\/b>, the first work since Roman times to depict a half-naked adolescent<\/b>. Rather than give in to criticism, the banker proudly displayed his work in the courtyard of the Medici Palace<\/b>. His nephew, Lorenzo the Magnificent<\/b>, was even accused of moral perversion, bisexuality<\/b> and of having turned Florence into “an orgy of pleasures<\/b>\u201d. His permissive attitude, especially with regard to sodomy<\/b> (which was not adequately punished, according to detractors) was the origin of the fiery sermons addressed to him by his bitter enemy, the Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola<\/b>.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Our tour will start right from Palazzo Medici, where we will explain the origins of the Medici <\/b>fortune and the strategies adopted by the protagonists of the fifteenth-century political season to gain power in the city. From the San Lorenzo district<\/b>, the family’s area of influence, to Piazza della Signoria<\/b> and Palazzo Vecchio<\/b>, we will tell you about episodes that will shed light on the Medici’s true relationship with religion, politics and classical culture! From the Republic to the Grand Duchy<\/b>, we will tell you the story of the rise and fall of the Medici family, taking into consideration their relationship with the queer people of Florence<\/b>, their progressive attitude and how this was exploited in order to oppose their enemies<\/b>![\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text el_class=”viola”]Across Ponte Vecchio, we will arrive at the majestic Pitti Palace<\/b>, the official residence of the Grand Ducal court<\/b>, where we will continue our discussion by analyzing the relationship of the Medici with art and culture. We will take you through the magnificent rooms frescoed by Pietro da Cortona<\/b> and other important seventeenth-century artists, discussing paintings, statues, goldsmith objects and precious artifacts commissioned<\/b> and collected by the various Grand Dukes and Grand Duchesses to celebrate their unique and refined taste which included artists like Caravaggio<\/b>, Artemisia<\/b> Gentileschi<\/b>, Titian<\/b>, Raphael<\/b>, Antonio Canova<\/b> and many others. We will tell you anecdotes about the private life of the lords of Tuscany to show you a profoundly human portrait of these legendary characters<\/b> who, with their eccentric passions, attracted criticism from the courts of half of Europe![\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Our journey will end in the Boboli Gardens<\/b>, among statues of enigmatic water gods and mysterious secret gardens where, in the shade of caves and fountains<\/b>, the Medici enjoyed their love affairs undisturbed. We will tell you the true story of Gian Gastone de’ Medici<\/b> and Giuliano Dami<\/b>, the obscure bisexual businessman<\/b> and butler of the Grand Duke; Ferdinand II<\/b> and the ramshackle gang of gay pages<\/b> and scientists and the reactions of Vittoria della Rovere<\/b>, who was so scandalized by her husband’s behavior that she did not speak to him for 18 years![\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text el_class=”viola”]Guaranteed that our Queer Medici tour<\/b> will help you to look at the glorious history of the Medici house from\u2026 another point of view<\/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