Barontini Cup, Giani presents his book Cosimo I dei Medici. The father of modern Tuscany

Thursday 13 June 2024 — 11.27am

In the context of the 55th Barontini Cup, scheduled for Saturday 15 June, at 7.30 pm on the Falsa Braga stage in front of the Fortezza Nuova, the presentation of the book “Cosimo I dei Medici. The father of modern Tuscany” by Eugenio Giani. 450 years after the death of the Grand Duke, the book presents itself as a story of genius and beauty, but also of intrigue and misfortune: ingredients that characterized the biographical story of the Medici family, lords of Florence, and the entire Renaissance. Central figure of this fundamental period in European history and culture, Cosimo I (Florence 1519-1574) was the first Grand Duke of Tuscany and architect of its transformation in State. The author, in this book, traces his life and government undertakings, his relationship with the arts and above all highlights his dimension as a legislator and statesman capable of bringing what until then had been a small regional power to the level of the courts and of the great nations of the sixteenth century. Giani states: “Just as Lorenzo the Magnificent was the patron, the man of culture, in the 303 years of dominion of the Medici dynasty first over Florence and then over Tuscany, Cosimo I is the greatest statesman. The Medici were inclined to always look to France: he understood that the relations between the two great powers in Europe, between France and Spain, were transforming, and he supported Spain to the point of asking Emperor Charles V, who was becoming the master of Europe, for advice on which wife to take. He was lucky, because Eleonora turned out to be a worthy wife.”