500CosimoCaterina: Florence and Tuscany celebrate the 500th anniversary of the birth of Cosimo I and Caterina de' Medici

On the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the birth of Cosimo I de ’ Medici and Catherine de’ Medici, the future queen of France, the City of Florence, together with a committee composed of 22 city institutions, is celebrating these two figures with a series of workshops, shows and dedicated tours. Appointments designed by MUS.E for all kinds of audiences: from Sunday lectures to “Cosimian paths,” to Illustrissimo Signor Duca, a living history show that will be repeated once a month in the Salone dei Cinquecento. The initiatives are part of the calendar of www.500cosimocaterina.it

Below are the various events:

Illustrissimo Signor Duca: Cosimo I de’ Medici

A living history show in the Salone dei Cinquecento, the place that more than any other encapsulates the history, deeds, plans, and dreams of a young duke who became lord of Florence at only seventeen years of age and yet was able, with charisma and acumen, to consolidate in absolute form his own rule and the power of the Medici dynasty: Cosimo I. The great hall of his ducal residence-renovated, enlarged and decorated according to his wishes-becomes the perfect setting in which the historical figure of Cosimo I de’ Medici returns, for the magic of one evening, to live the encounter with the public, restoring to paintings, sculptures and architecture the political and visual power they had five hundred years ago.
Curated by the Museum of Palazzo Vecchio and MUS.E, in collaboration with UNESCO Office of the City of Florence. Directed by: Alberto Galligani. On stage: Alberto Galligani, Francesco Gori, Giacomo Tasselli

When: March 26-April 27-May 11-June 12-October 25-November 22-December 13 at 7 p.m. (to be confirmed for April and May evenings)
Where: Museum of Palazzo Vecchio, Salone dei Cinquecento
Costs: €12.50 > 25 years old ; €10.00 18-25 years old; free < 18 years old, tour guides and interpreters, disabled and accompanying persons, ICOM, ICOMOS and ICCROM members - + €2.50 (Metropolitan City residents) - €5.00 (non-Metropolitan City residents) - 2×1 reduction Unicoop Firenze members

Sunday Lectures: looks at Cosimo I de’ Medici

A series of Sunday lectures to ideally retrace a “Cosimian year” and delve, meeting after meeting, into some features of Cosimo I de’ Medici’s personal and political life: from his family and descendants to his scientific, naturalistic, geographical and astronomical interests; from his great festive apparatuses to his important public recognitions; from his strategies of consolidation and expansion to his relations with the world’s great powers. The lectures, closely connected with the decorations of the Ducal Palace and the events that took place there, will thus be an opportunity to learn about episodes and themes of absolute importance not only in Cosimo’s biography but also in the history of the building, the city of Florence and the whole of Tuscany.

March 3: Stefano Corazzini, Cosimo I and the first descendants
April 7: Domizia Weber, Cosimo I and the Counter-Reformation
May 5: Elisabetta Stumpo, Cosimo I and the sciences: botany and cartography in the Palazzo Vecchio
Oct. 6: Valentina Zucchi, Cosimo I and the Medici Wardrobe
Nov. 3: Marion Gizard and Giaele Monaci, Apparatuses of festivities, scenographies and celebrations in ducal residences
Dec. 1: Francesco Gori, Changing One’s Sky. Cosimo I and Astrology

Curated by the Museum of Palazzo Vecchio and MUS.E, in collaboration with UNESCO Office of the City of Florence
When: March 3-April 7-May 5-October 6-November 3-December 1 at 12 p.m.-times may vary in May and June.
Where: Museum of Palazzo Vecchio
Free for Metropolitan City residents and < 18 years old, tour guides and interpreters, disabled and accompanying persons, ICOM, ICOMOS and ICCROM members - €12.50 > 25 years old (non-residents Metropolitan City Metropolitan City) ; €10.00 18-25 years old (non-residents Metropolitan City) + €5.00 (non-residents Metropolitan City) - 2×1 reduction Unicoop Firenze members

Cosimo’s paths in Florence and Tuscany

During his political career, Cosimo I de’ Medici drew in indelible form a new architectural and urban layout of the city of Florence and the whole of Tuscany: the evidence of his government and will is indeed evident and still allows us to read its meanings, premises, and purposes. A city itinerary thus makes it possible to retrace, step by step, an itinerary dedicated to Cosimo I that starts from his family home, Palazzo Medici on Via Larga, and expands to the Medici quarter, the residences of dignitaries and councillors, the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno, the square and the ducal palace, the adjacent architecture of the magistracies and the “uffizi,” and finally to the monumental Palazzo Pitti. On the other hand, Cosimo’s emblems include two áncores with the Latin inscription “duabus,” signifying the two foundations of his power: on the one hand the alliance with the Empire, on the other the fortification of the State of Tuscany: this is why a series of appointments on the Tuscan territory allows us to grasp the most significant evidence of this, from Pisa to Siena, from Pistoia to La Verna, from Arezzo to Livorno.

Curated by MUS.E, in collaboration with UNESCO Office of the City of Florence

Routes in Florence
When: March 31-April 28-May 26-September 29-October 27-November 24 at 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.
Where: historic center (departure from Palazzo Medici Riccardi, via Cavour 1)

Routes in Tuscany
When: May 19 - June 16 - September 15 - October 20 - November 17
Free

500CosimoCaterina: Florence and Tuscany celebrate the 500th anniversary of the birth of Cosimo I and Caterina de' Medici

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