TRANSLATION:
On the evening of the Feast of the Epiphany, there was a grandiose befana celebration in the Grand Duke's [Cosimo II de'Medici] own room, with ingenious decorations and music and a great variety of gifts that were given out by lot. All of the children [of the granducal family] took part, as did all of the women of the household and the domestic servants. Whenever a person received a particularly apt gift, everyone laughed. The Grand Duke, they say, never laughed so hard in his entire life, especially when Bardella landed up with an onion and that drunken priest Giulio a big carafe of water.

TEXT:
La sera dell'epifania [Gran Duca Cosimo II] si fece in camera sua una solennissima befana con invenzioni ingegnose di apparato, di musiche, e di una gran varietà di doni che si trassero per sorte, e v'erano tutti i figlioli, tutte le donne di casa, e tutti i servitori domestici, e quando usciva qualche dono appropriato alla persona, si dava nelle risa, e dicono che il Gran Duca non rise mai tanto in vita sua, massime quando a Bardella toccò una cipolla, ed a quel prete Giulio imbriacone una caraffa grande piena d'acqua.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
Caterina de'Medici (1593-1629), sister of Grand Duke Cosimo II and wife of Duke Ferdinando Gonzaga, ruled as Duchess of Mantua from 1617 to 1626. During her years away from Tuscany, State Secretary Curzio Picchena kept her informed of affairs, both serious and frivolous, at the Medici Court.

The Feast of the Epiphany was celebrated with a characteristic mixture of splendor and earthy humor. Though this holiday, twelve days after Christmas, commemorated the Adoration of the Three Kings, in Italy these royal personages were usually upstaged by the invented figure of the Befana--a fickle hag who alternately dispersed rewards and punishments.

Apart from the evident humor of the onion's strong smell, it was popularly considered a cure for deafness and Antonio Naldi (called "il Bardella") was a leading musician at the Medici Court.

There were several priests named Giulio in Medici circles in these years (Battaglini, Condotti, Ferri) but it is not known which, if any, of these was the renowned drinker. If all the children of the granducal family were indeed present, there was quite a crowd, with the young Ferdinando (future Grand Duke Ferdinando II), Gian Carlo (Cardinal), Francesco (Soldier), Mattias (General), Leopoldo (Cardinal), Maria Cristina (Invalid Nun), Margherita (Duchess of Parma) and Anna (Archduchess of Austria.)