Details

Subjects:

Medici, House of -- Archives.
Ferdinando II, Grand-Duke of Tuscany, 1610-1670.
Medici, Giovan Carlo de', 1611-1663.
Urban VIII, Pope, 1568-1644.
Medici, House of.
Ambassadors -- Italy -- Tuscany -- 17th century.
Ambassadors.
Florence (Italy) -- Foreign relations -- Italy -- Papal States.
Italy -- Description and travel -- Early works to 1800.
Italy.
Papal States -- Social life and customs -- 17th century.
Italy -- Tuscany.

Form/Genre:

Codices.
Manuscripts, Italian.
Manuscripts, European.
Archives.

Language:

Italian.

Summary:

Detailed narration of the trip that Ferdinando II, grand-duke of Tuscany, took to Rome with his brother, the prince Giovan Carlo de' Medici, to visit Pope Urban VIII. The trip occurred between February 23 and March 31 1627 and the travelers headed south along the Apennines mountains. During the outward journey, Ferdinando and his brother stopped multiple times to pay their respects to local aristocrats (such as the marquis Niccolini and Ricciardi; the knight Laccini; and the duke of Parma, who was spending time in Caprarola, outside Rome) or clergymen (such as the bishops of Cortona and Viterbo). For every stop, a detailed description of the activities in which the Medici brothers took part is provided, including which churches, museums or works of art they saw, where they ate; who joined them in each banquet, and how they spent their free time (usually reading, walking in gardens, or resting). Once Ferdinando and Giovan Carlo arrived in Rome, events are narrated in a similar fashion, but more space is given to the devotional activities the brothers participated in, sometimes with Pope Urban VIII, and sometimes with cardinals or other high officers of the Papal States. The banquet offered to Ferdinando by Urban VIII is also recounted in detail, with a special focus on the gestures and motions both of the grand-duke and the Holy Father. While in Rome, the two Medici brothers also spent some time with the Barberini and the Peretti, aristocrats and family friends and, together, visited some of the most famous historical attractions of the city (including the basilica of San Pietro, the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican Gardens, the Barberini Palace, and the Holy Trinity on Pincio Hill). Once they left Rome, Ferdinando and his brother headed back to Florence. The return trip also included multiple stops (the most important being Terni, Cesena and Bologna), this time along the Adriatic side of Italy, and at almost every stop the delegation consorted with local noblemen, both to reinforce alliances and socialize. However, less elaborate information is given on the entertainments and banquets and the narration is generally shorter and less particularized. The narration terminates in Bologna.

Notes:

Ms. codex.
Title from title page (f. i recto).
Foliation: Paper, 20; [ii], 1, [i], 2, [i], 3, [i], 4, [5-15], contemporary foliation in ink, modern foliation in pencil, upper right recto. Catchwords, lower right corners.
Layout: Written in 17-18 long lines. Marginalia and other miscellaneous notations are also present.
Script: Written in a cursive script.
Watermark: Similar to Briquet, Agneau pascal 48 (Florence, 1498).
Origin: Written in Italy after 1627.

Cited in:

Described in Zacour, Norman P. and Hirsch, Rudolf. Catalogue of Manuscripts in the Libraries of the University of Pennsylvania to 1800 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1965), p. 188 (Ms. Lea 201).

Cited as:

UPenn Ms. Codex 1549.

OCLC:

417648123

Access Restriction:

Access to this item is subject to staff review.