The apotheosis of Cosimo I de’ Medici (1519-74) by Giorgio Vasari from the Salone dei Cinquecento 1565 – photo by Meister Drucke
It opens on Sunday April 21ston the exact day on which marks the 450th anniversary of the death of Cosimo I de’ Medici there great exposure dedicated to the Grand Duke. It will be inaugurated at 12.30 in the presence of the president of the Tuscany Region, in Palazzo Strozzi SacratiPiazza del Duomo 10, in Florence.
The exhibition, curated by Samuele Lastruccidirector of Medici Museumwill remain open until May 16th and represents a highlight among the numerous initiatives promoted throughout the regional territory during 2024 to celebrate the first Grand Duke of Tuscany.
From the tailored suits to the photos of Massimo Sestini
It is an initiative resulting from the collaboration between institutions and important cultural realities who contributed to giving life to a real journey into Tuscany of the Grand Duke. The visitor is welcomed with a series of clothes that mark Cosimo’s genealogical ancestry, sartorial works by the Manifatture Digitali di Prato.
You are then immersed in the atmosphere of the Cosimian fortresses thanks to a collection of photographs specially created by Massimo Sestinifinally there is the exhibition of precious original pieces. In addition to the loans of Medici Museumimportant institutions have collaborated including the State Archives of Florence, that of Siena and the Museum ofHard Stone Factory.
Cosimo I de’ Medici
The noble father of Modern Tuscany
According to the Presidency of the Region this exhibition represents an opportunity to remember the extraordinary figure of Cosimo I dei Medici 450 years after his death. A non-formal but substantial tribute, like the one who, with his overall vision and his long-term strategy, built the foundations of the Modern Tuscany.
From great rulerof European caliber, Cosimo managed to consolidate autonomy, territorial integrity and security of a state that did not exist before. The Grand Duchy born from his work reunited the two ancient rival Republics, Florence and Siena, in a new entity whose borders largely correspond to today’s Tuscany.
The greatest statesman of the Medici family
“The greatest statesman of the House of Medici, presented here in his most institutional guise as an author of modern Tuscany on the occasion of the 450th anniversary of his death – explains the curator of the exhibition Samuele Lastruccidirector of the Medici History Museum housed in the Rotonda Brunelleschi. The sections of this exhibition intend to highlight the more specifically political dimension of the character, from the construction of the myth, carried out by intellectuals of the caliber of Giorgio Vasari and Egnazio Danti, to the crucial moment of the coronation as grand duke”.
