Medici Rise and Rivalries

After a well-spent evening inventing new eating customs at Za-Za’s, we set out to learn about the Medici family and their rise to power. We enjoy the surprisingly cool and dry air as we discuss Lorenzo il Magnifico who cemented the Medici reputation for patronage of art and science. It was Lorenzo who discovered the 13-year old Michelangelo and brought the boy into the Medici home as another son; here, he developed his talents as an artist and sculptor, like many other Medici artists. Other interesting topics of discussion arise--the various rival families in Florence at the time, the sometimes violent power struggles that erupted, and devious plots that were hatched.

To place the history in context, we troop to the Santa Croce Complex to view the artwork and tombs within the church and its grounds. Inside the church, lies tombs of many well-known Italians, including Galileo, Machiavelli, Dante, and Michelangelo. Of course, we are introduced to the art and architectural history aspect of the building--we decide that the design of the building is Gothic (based on the pointed arches and longitudinal extension we learned about yesterday), we look at frescoes painted by Giotto and his assistants, and some of Donatello's early works including painted terracotta ceilings.

We then retreat to the cloister (designed by Brunelleschi) and discuss the Pazzi conspiracy, which Pope Sixtus IV accidentally supported. In an attempt to remove the Medici from power, the Pazzi family plotted to kill Lorenzo and his brother Giuliano on Easter Sunday, in a church; they manage to kill only Giuliano which led to a manhunt by both Lorenzo and the public, leading to the exile/killing of Pazzi family and friends. We then head to the Piazza della Signoria to admire the statues while discussing Savonarola, a priest who rose to power in the same time frame. Savonarola preached against the extravagant Renaissance lifestyle of the Medici, and specifically against Lorenzo. The priest gathered support through the overwhelming fear and guilt of the public, but is eventually condemned to death by burning in the center of the square. Despite his end, his preachings had far-reaching effects and when Lorenzo died, his son Pietro, known for being particularly immoral and tyrannical was run out of the city.

Here the saga of the Medici family was put on hold, as we were sent on our Quest for the day. The most difficult question: which gelateria had the best gelato? It took many of us several days to figure this one out. In the midafternoon, we reconvene at the Uffizi Gallery, in a building that served as the administrative offices ("uffizi") of Cosimo I, a few generations after Lorenzo. We consider Botticelli's La Primavera and The Birth of Venus, and how its patronage dictated both the content and the hidden symbols of the Medici family. We meander through the rest of the Uffizi, seeing works we have only seen reproduced in books, but now, we see the emotion and words encased in the brushstrokes over the centuries.

Afterwards, everyone proceeds to separate activities, all intent on discovering the city whether through shopping, or just wandering. Most of the class goes with Lisa to meet her special leather contact in Florence, and I venture off to climb to the top of Brunelleschi's dome just before it closes. I wind up the 463 steps on the inside of the dome, and emerge, completely disoriented at the top. The view was amazing--a sense of ownership combined with estrangement from the city, and an invitation to follow the curvature of the dome outwards. On the way down, the church is empty as well, a stark contrast to the bustling crowds and camera flashes of the previous day.