Mining the rich documentary sources housed in Tuscan archives and taking advantage of the breadth and depth of scholarship produced in recent years, the seventeen essays in this Companion to Cosimo I de' Medici provide a fresh and systematic overview of the life and career of the first Grand Duke of Tuscany, with special emphasis on Cosimo I's education and intellectual interests, cultural policies, political vision, institutional reforms, diplomatic relations, religious beliefs, military entrepreneurship, and dynastic concerns.
Contributors: Maurizio Arfaioli, Alessio Assonitis, Nicholas Scott Baker, Sheila Barker, Stefano Calonaci, Brendan Dooley, Daniele Edigati, Sheila ffolliott, Catherine Fletcher, Andrea Gáldy, Fernando Loffredo, Piergabriele Mancuso, Jessica Maratsos, Carmen Menchini, Oscar Schiavone, Marcello Simonetta, and Henk Th. van Veen.
Alessio Assonitis (Ph.D., Columbia University) is the director of The Medici Archive Project. He has published on topics related to Italian Renaissance art, book history, Medici history, archival studies and digital humanities.
Henk Th. van Veen (Ph.D., University of Groningen) is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Groningen. He has published extensively on Italian early modern art, including the monograph Cosimo I De' Medici and His Self-Representation in Florentine Art and Culture (Cambridge University Press, 2006).
“This is a fine collection of studies and should be read not only by those interested in Cosimo I (and his successors), but also by others interested in questions of leadership, patronage, family history, and science.”
Kathleen M. Comerford, Georgia Southern University. In: Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 77, No. 2 (Summer 2023), pp. 688–690.
List of Figures Abbreviations Notes on Contributors
Introduction: Cosimo I de’ Medici (1519–2019) Alessio Assonitis and Henk Th. van Veen
1 The Education of Cosimo di Giovanni de’ Medici (1519–1537) Alessio Assonitis
2 Alessandro de’ Medici: A Reassessment Catherine Fletcher
3 Cosimo I and His Spanish In-Laws: The Duke and the Toledo Family Fernando Loffredo
4 The Emperor and the Duke: Cosimo I, Charles V, and the Negotiation of Sovereignty Nicholas Scott Baker
5 Cosimo I de’ Medici and Catherine de Médicis: Making the Political Personal Sheila ffolliott
6 Cosimo I versus the Strozzi, the Enemies of the State Marcello Simonetta
7 His Father’s Son: Cosimo I de’ Medici as Military Leader Maurizio Arfaioli
8 Cosimo I “Fontana de Iustitia e Nemico de Tristi”: Pragmatism and Aequitas Daniele Edigati
9 Taking Over the Economy: Cosimo I de’ Medici and the Management of the Wealth of the State Stefano Calonaci
10 Cosimo I de’ Medici and the Tuscan Territory Oscar Schiavone
11 Cosimo I and Religious Heterodoxy in Tuscany Jessica Maratsos
12 Cosimo I de’ Medici and the Jews Piergabriele Mancuso
13 The Duke as Cultural Manager: Institutionalization and Entrepreneurship Andrea M. Gáldy
14 Problems with Cosimo I’s Artistic Patronage: Baccio Bandinelli and the Neptune Fountain in Piazza della Signoria Henk Th. van Veen
15 Cosimo I de’ Medici and the Renaissance Sciences: “To Measure and to See” Sheila Barker
16 Cosimo I de’ Medici: Antagonism and Praise Carmen Menchini
17 Cosimo I de’ Medici and Modern Historiography Brendan Dooley
Index of Names
Scholars and students interested in late Renaissance Florence and the history of early modern Europe. Keywords: Florence, Italy, Art History, Diplomatic History, Court History, Italian Renaissance, Rinascimento, Jewish Studies.