Medici Treasures: Florence Trip 2008

The Medici Granducal Archive is a priceless trove of fact, lore, and inference about the people and communities of Renaissance and early modern Italy. As patrons of the arts, The Medici Grand Dukes presided over the most brilliant court in Renaissance and Baroque Europe during what was perhaps Mankind’s greatest period of creativity and enlightenment. Their correspondence reveals the inner thoughts of artists, composers, literary figures, and scientists and discloses the personal dynamics involved in global politics and economics of the day, as the Medici built their empire, offering a uniquely intimate view of the period to scholars, students, and the general public.

The Medici Archive Project is a non-profit international foundation based in Florence and the United States whose mission is to make the vast and significant contents of the Medici Granducal Archive housed in the Archivio di Stato in Florence, Italy accessible to all by means of its database, Documentary Sources for the Arts and Humanities in Medici Granducal Archive, 1537-1743.

Fashioning Power in the age of the Medici Grand Dukes

Cosimo I, the first Grand Duke of Tuscany and the founder of the Medici Granducal Archive, understood how to fashion every aspect of his social image to promote the power of his family’s dynasty: the Medici.

The Medici consistently branded their image as a self made royal regime. How they dressed and were portrayed in portraiture, where they lived and the sumptuous villas in which they entertained, the objects that they commissioned and collected set the scene to legitimize and elevate their social standing on the dramatic European stage of power and politics.

On this exclusive behind the scenes trip, we will host a small group of patrons on a five day exploration of Medici treasures. This trip will include dinners in private villas; a fashion show and concert; curated tours of museums and the Medici Archive; guided by the Medici Archive Project Fellows.

Itinerary

Tuesday, October 14th

• Arrival in Florence
• Rest, unwind and regroup for a wonderful time in Tuscany!
• 8:00 p.m. (Dinner at 8:30 pm)- Welcome to Florence cocktails, dinner and orientation hosted by Count Manfredi della Gherardesca at the Palazzo del Circolo dell'Unione designed by Giorgio Vasari, architect to Granduke Cosimo

Wednesday, October 15th

• 9:30a.m. - Visit the Medici Granducal Archive with conversations on recent scholarship and discoveries by the Medici Archive Project fellows
• 1:00 p.m. - Lunch
• Private visit to the Museo Bardini and view the jewels that will be exhibited next year for the reopening of the museum.
• Private visit to the artisan/jeweler Marco Baroni
• Private visit to the artisan/jeweler Alessandro Dari and his museum
• 7:30 p.m. – Cocktails and dinner at the Museo Davanzati with MAP fellows.

Thursday, October 16th
“Walking in the Footsteps of the Medici”

• 9:30am - Uffizi Gallery – the Uffizi, once the offices of the Medici Family and their royal collection, now houses the world's finest collection of Italian Renaissance paintings.
• Noon - Vasari Corridor – special private access to the Vasari Corridor which connects the Uffizi with the Pitti Palace. The Vasari Corridor was built as a private passageway for the Medici Grand Dukes. This is truly a rare privilege. Special guest guide: Dr. Francesca Funis, MAP Scholar.
• 1:30 p.m. - Lunch at a typical Florentine trattoria – across from the Pitti Palace.
• 3:30 p.m. - Pitti Palace - Museo degli Argenti the Granducal treasure museum. Special guest guide: Dr. Francesca Funis.
• 7:00 p.m. – Cocktails and dinner at the Giardino Bardini and viewing of the Capucci exhibition.

Friday, October 17th

• 8:00 a.m. - Day trip to Castegneta Carducci to visit the ancestral palace of the della Gherardesca family, Italy’s oldest noble family. This villa has been home to the della Gherardesca family since the 12th century
• Noon - Lunch at Castegneta Carducci
• Visit to Count Manfredi’s custom tailor in the village of Castegneta Carducci.
• Dinner in Bolgheri before traveling back to Florence.

Saturday, October 18th
Customized Free Day – tell us what you’d like to do in advance and we’ll make it happen. Options:

• Private guided shopping with Michelle Carchedi Hill, in Florence, including a visit to Anticio Setificio Fiorentino which is home to centuries old looms and antique silks. Step back in time to the era of Renaissance finery. A magical aura pervades the showroom where visitors can only imagine the Renaissance Kings and Queens and noble families of the era who wore finery such as that displayed. Fabric from the Setificio can't be found in stores or catalogs.
• Visit to the Officina Profumo Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, one of the oldest pharmacies in the world that produced “Water of the Queen” for Catherine de Medici, Queen of France.
• Shopping excursion to the Prada and Armani outlet stores about an hour from Florence.
• Private walking tour of Florence with a Medici Archive Project Fellow.
• AFTERNOON: Visit to the Ferragamo Museum, cocktail reception with private fashion show.
• 9:00 p.m. - Dinner in the della Gherardesca Ballroom at the Four Seasons Hotel, formerly the della Gherardesca Villa and Gardens.

Sunday October 19th

• Departures