Angelica

Angelica is the name of the heroine of the film The Leopard by Luchino Visconti from the book of Tomasi di Lampedusa.

Great film, with Delon, Lancaster and Cardinale.

Malaria Was “the Killer” of Francesco I de’ Medici and his wife Bianca(1531-1587)

From The American Journal of Medicine:

The sudden deaths of Francesco I de’ Medici (1531-1587), Second Grand Duke of Tuscany (Figure 1a), and his wife, Bianca Cappello (1548-1587), have been shrouded in mys­tery, and the cause of death has been debated for the past 4 centuries.
Francesco was the first child of Cosimo I de’ Medici (1519-1574), First Grand Duke of Tuscany, and his wife, Eleonora of Toledo (1522-1562). He became Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1564, ruling until his death. Francesco was not interested in political affairs, which he delegated to his functionaries. Instead, he became a patron of the arts and sciences and a passionate alchemist. In 1565, he married Joan of Austria (1548-1578), and they had 7 sons. During this marriage, Francesco began a relationship with a Venetian noblewoman, Bianca Cappello, whom he married in 1579 after the death of his wife.
In October 1587, the Grand Duke and his wife died unexpectedly within 24 hours of each other. Contemporary medical documents attributed the deaths to tertian malarial fevers.1 Rumors soon spread that Francesco and Bianca had been poisoned with arsenic by Francesco’s brother, Cardinal Ferdinando I (1549-1609) (Figure 1b).2 The rumors were apparently instigated by courtiers who knew of the long-standing disagreements between the brothers.
Ferdinando I never tolerated the presence of the new Grand Duchess at the Medici court. The Cardinal also resented Bianca’s meddling in court affairs and accused his brother of behaving in a manner unbecoming his ducal role. Two weeks before their deaths, on September 25, 1587, Ferdinando, Francesco, and Bianca met at the Medici villa in Poggio a Caiano, where they were thought to have attempted a reconciliation.
Francesco I’s skeleton was unearthed from the topsoil of the Medici Chapels in San Lorenzo Church (Florence, Italy) in 2004.3 Bianca Cappello’s remains have not been recovered; her burial site remains unknown. Recently, the ancient rumors of murder have received apparent support from a toxicologic study that excluded malaria as the cause of Francesco’s death.4
Malaria was endemic in Central Italy, especially Tuscany, from the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC to the end of World War II. To determine whether the original death certificates might have been correct and the rumors false, we carried out an immunologic investigation to determine whether Plasmodium falciparum malaria might have caused the death of Francesco I.
Cancellous bone was harvested from a vertebra of Francesco I. Bone samples of Cosimo I de’ Medici, who died of pneumonia, and his daughter-in-law, Joan of Aus­tria, who died in childbirth, were used as negative controls.1 In addition, 2 medieval bone samples from 2 sites known to be free from malaria (Briançon, France, 17th century; Augsburg, Germany, 14th century) also were used as negative controls.
Extracts prepared from spongy bone samples were examined for the presence of P. falciparum histidine-rich protein 2 and P. falciparum lactate dehydrogenase using 2 commercial qualitative double-antibody immunoassays: Malaria Antigen RAPYDTEST and Malaria Detect RAPYDTEST (DiaSys, Waterbury, Conn).5
Positive results were obtained from both dipstick assays. We therefore provide the first biological evidence of the presence of both P. falciparum ancient proteins (P. falciparum histidine-rich protein 2 and P. falciparum lactate de-hydrogenase) in the skeletal remains of Francesco I de’ Medici. No mixed falciparum infections or non-falciparum infections were identified. Bone samples from Cosimo I, Joan of Austria, and control samples were all negative, as expected.
Our recent findings support the detailed medical documents recorded by court physicians who carefully described the different stages of the sudden illness that affected the Grand Duke Francesco I until his demise.1
Muscle has, thus far, been considered the best tissue for the detection of P. falciparum malaria because of its abundant red cell content.6 We now show that malaria antigens also can be detected in ancient bone samples.
With the use of modern methods, we provide robust evidence that Francesco I had falciparum malaria at the time of his death. Our immunologic results confirm the archival sources that described the onset, course, and fatal outcome of the disease. Our findings also absolve Ferdinando I from the shameful allegation of being the murderer of his brother and sister-in-law.

Villa La Tana a Candeli

Villa La Tana è sicuramente uno dei "gioielli" di Bagno a Ripoli.
Essendo privata non è visitabile.
Nel Quattrocento esisteva già una casa turrita in questo sito,che  nel 1570 venne donata a  Pietro Bonaventuri e sua moglie Bianca Cappello. Il Bonaventuri, uomo di scarse possibilità finanziare, poté comprare la villa quasi sicuramente grazie all'interessamento di Francesco I Medici che era probabilmente già amante  di Bianca.

 

La villa, molto più spartana rispetto a come la vediamo oggi, era a due piani , con un salone al centro. Quando il marito di Bianca venne ucciso in circostanze misteriose, la donna vendette la proprietà .Nel 1631 il barone Leon Francesco Pasquale Ricasoli, ne divenne proprietario e promosse vari lavori, culminati con la completa ristrutturazione della villa ad opera di Giulio Foggini, fratello del più noto Giovan Battista. La "casa da signore" divenne una vera e propria villa, ma mantenne il nomignolo di "tana", essendo "rintanata nei boschi" alle pendici di Villamagna.

love and death in the fate of Simonetta, the Venus of Florence

At the end of the fifteenth century, Simonetta Vespucci, married to Marco Vespucci,brother of Amerigo Vespucci, was considered the most beautiful woman in Florence.

The young Simonetta was the model not only of Botticelli, but also of many other Renaissance painters.

Florentines were fascinated so much by the beauty of the girl to give her the nickname of "La bella Simonetta".

The Birth of Venus was commissioned by Giuliano de 'Medici,brother of Lorenzo Il Magnifico,to Botticelli and is still by far the best work that is enhanced the beauty of the young lady who posed as a model.

Some historians argue that the same Botticelli was in love with Simonetta, a love never declared, expressed only through the portraits: in addition to the 2 famous painting of the Uffizi Gallery, many of the women in the paintings of Botticelli resemble Simonetta.

The young Simonetta tragically died of tuberculosis at the age of 23 years.

Botticelli asked to be buried in the church of Ognissanti in Florence, where Simonetta had her tomb.

The beauty and charm of Simonetta are mentioned in the book of Rushdie: The Enchantress of Florence.

The historical re-anactement of the passion of Christ

The Historical re-enactment of the Passion of Christ takes place in Grassina the Holy Friday.

The manifestation dates back to 1600: it was little more than a "fiaccolata",procession by torchlight .

Century after century, the event was enriched by the presence of people, animals and music.

Despite the interruptions caused by 2 wars and the flood of Florence, which destroyed the warehouses where the material was collected, in 1983 The Historical re-enactment of the Passion of Christ was reactivated successfully.

 

 

Currently involves about 500 people and 100 actors, recalling the moments of the Passion of Christ through dialogues taken from the Gospels of Matthew, Luke and John.

Rievocazione storica della Passione di Cristo

La Rievocazione storica della Passione di Cristo si svolge a Grassina la sera del Venerdì Santo.

Le prime notizie storiche della manifestazione risalgono al 1600:era poco più che una semplice processione alle luci delle fiaccole.

Secolo dopo secolo, la manifestazione si arricchì con la presenza di personaggi , animali e musica.

Nonostante le interruzioni dovute alle guerre e all'alluvione di Firenze che distrusse i magazzini dove era raccolto il materiale,nel 1983 venne riattivata con successo.

 

 

Attualmente coinvolge circa 500 figuranti e 100 attori che, rievocano i vari momenti della Passione di Cristo attraverso dialoghi tratti dai Vangeli di Matteo, Luca e Giovanni.

Eataly in Florence

There is great expectation for the opening of Eataly in Florence.

The food chain of luxury founded by Oscar Farinetti, will have its headquarters in Via Martelli in the area who had hosted the historic Library Marzocco.

When the inauguration? by 2013.