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The
Medici Granducal Archive:
Documents for Jewish History, Religion and Culture
 SAMPLE
DOCUMENT No. 1 |
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A
"Jewish gentlewoman" calls on Duke Cosimo and Duchess
Eleonora to discuss religious matters (1544.)
Citation:
Archivio di State di Firenze, Mediceo del Principato 1171, f.226r.
Secretary
Lorenzo Pagni (at the Villa of Petraia) to Secretary Pier Francesco
Riccio (Florence)
Date:
4 November 1544
DOCUMENT
Molto
Reverendo Signor Mio Osservandissimo,
Con
la carta di Vostra Signoria ho ricevuto quella del Signor Campana
per la quale indirizzo alla Signoria Vostra lo aggiunto piego,
pregandola lo mandi subito per cavalcata; et li ho scritto che
le masserie sono inviate, et che all'arrivo della lettera mia
doverrano esser gionte in Pisa, et questo medesimo ho detto
a Sua Eccellenza la quale questa sera sta molto bene, et ha
passato tempo con una Gentildonna Hebrea, che è venuta
a veder la Signora Duchessa disputando alcune belle cose della
fede. Io mene verrò domattina in Fiorenza a dio piacendo,
et arriverò a buon'hora, o tardi, secondo che comparirà
qua Monsignor d'Altopasso, et se quello verrà guarire
la Signoria Vostra et me, di tanti catarrhi, et schinelle che
habbiamo adosso, bisognerà che sia medico molto eccellente.
Bacio le mani della Signoria Vostra, que bene valete.
Dalla Petraia, alli IV di novembre 1544
Di
Vostra Signoria Reverenda, Servitor Lorenzo Pagni
TRANSLATION
My
Most Reverend Lord, with All Respect,
I
received Signor Campana's letter, which was enclosed in yours,
and I ask you to send him this one of mine by horseback. I am
informing Campana that the household items have been sent off,
and should already be in Pisa by the time he receives my letter.
I told His Excellency [Duke Cosimo de'Medici] this also. His
Excellency is very well this evening, and he spent some time
with a Jewish gentlewoman who came to see the Duchess [Eleonora
de Toledo] and they discussed some fine religious matters. I
am going to Florence tomorrow, God willing, and will arrive
early or late, depending on when Monsignor d'Altopascio appears.
And if our friend cures both you and I when he comes, of the
congestion and the rashes that we are suffering from, he will
have to be a really good doctor. I kiss your Lordship's hands
and wish you well. From Petraia, on 4 November 1544,
Your
Reverend Lordship's Servant, Lorenzo Pagni
NOTES
- In
the Medici Granducal Archives, there are few separate files
of Jewish material. In the present letter, an important Jewish
reference appears in a discussion of everyday matters in the
Ducal household.
- The
"Jewish Gentlewoman" cited in this letter is very
likely Benvenida Abravanel (also called Benvegnita and Bienvenita
in Italian.) Before the expulsion of the Jews, her uncle Isacco
Abravanel had been financial advisor to the King of Portugal
and later served King Ferdinando and King Alfonso II of Naples
in a similar capacity. A highly educated woman, Benvenida
was married to her cousin Samuele, one of Isacco's sons. While
Samuele developed a career in finance at the court of Don
Pedro de Toledo, Spanish Viceroy of Naples, Benvenida developed
a close relationship with Eleonora de Toledo, Pedro's daughter,
apparently serving as her tutor. This relationship continued
after Eleonora's marriage to Duke Cosimo I de'Medici in 1539
and the relocation of the Abravanels to Ferrara in 1540, at
the time of the expulsion of the Neapolitan Jewish community.
In 1547, after her husband's death, Benvenida obtained charters
from Cosimo permitting her and two of her sons to open branches
of their bank throughout the Medici state. Newly discovered
documents suggest that Benvenida resided in Tuscany in the
1560s.
- The
crucial phrase, "disputando alcune belle cose della fede",
lends itself to various readings. The term "la fede",
without qualification, normally means "the Catholic faith."
However, the present reference is notably casual in tone,
implying that Cosimo de'Medici and the unnamed Jewish Gentlewoman
"had a pleasant discussion of matters relevant to religion."
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