Palazzo Vecchio - Eleonora di Toledo

Today we visited the Palazzo Vecchio in Piazza della signoria. I was literally blown away by the extravagance of Eleonora's apartments and all the frescoes, statues, and rooms. The entire apartment was so richly decorated and finely detailed, and of course every painting and statue had some sort of religious or moral story behind it.

I was most struck by the excellently preserved state of Eleonora's Chapel. The frescoes inside looked as though they had been painted last week. I cannot even begin to imagine the time and hard work that went into the artwork. Every face was so expressive, every color so deliberate, and every scene so carefully chosen for her Chapel. Despite not being particularly religious, I still found a certain sense of serenity in them and can only imagine the reverence someone more religious than myself might feel when seeing these biblical scenes.

Inside Eleonora's Chapel

My favorite room was the map room because of the secret door to Eleonora's personal chambers. I loved learning about the room's rich history in mapmaking, storing valuables, and secret passageways. The maps were displayed as the panels on the closets that once housed porcelain, maps, tapestries, paintings, and the Duchess' entire wardrobe. This room was so important and filled with so many riches that it even had it's own guard 24/7. There were (oddly) accurate maps of countries all over the world made by renaissance mapmakers on parchment with watercolor. This room also housed documents that meticulously recorded every day in the palace that date back to the 1400s. The best part of the room was that one of the cabinet doors (that I wrong assumed was just a cabinet) opened up to reveal a secret (if a little dingy looking) staircase that led to Eleonora's personal chambers.

Right before "meeting" the Duchess Eleonora we got to examine and touch replications of the Duchess' clothing and typical clothing of a royal court (aka her family). Most of the clothing was very heavy due to the large amount of fabric used and the extensive (and expensive) detailing with golden and silver thread, buttons, and fur. In the 16th century it was impossible to have a wardrobe of more than a few basic items unless you were very well off. The textiles for all of the replicas were donated, as the fabrics (silk, silk velvet, etc.) are still quite expensive. Despite the high price for high fashion garments, Eleonora kept a group of tailors and seamstresses on her regular staff to constantly improve her family's wardrobe. For Eleonora, fashion was not just a political investment that showed her wealth and power, but it was also a statement of individual beliefs and her personal religious beliefs. She could even be likened to Lady Gaga and her most recent antics with her "meat dress" and "meat corset" in the sense that she too had a message that she wanted to share with her audience - more specifically about proper dress as a Christian woman.

I especially enjoyed the Duchess' performance. It felt really special and intimate to learn about her life and life in the 16th century while actually in her chambers. I was lucky enough to actually help her get dressed in her everyday clothing. Her daily routine is so complex, with each piece of clothing going on in a certain order and way, and with her handmaiden continually reinforcing Eleonora's superiority and royal blood with her submissive tone, actions, and stature. I found it most interesting that she expressed a sincere interest in the well being of other less well off women. She created something that she referred to as a "dowry bank" for women in need. In her time, the first daughter of a family was usually the one who was married off and sent to her new husband with a sizable dowry. The more well off the family way, the larger the dowry was. The larger the dowry was, the better the match was (politically or otherwise). Eleonora would ask the other women in her court for donations for the women who could not afford their own dowries (and were most likely going to become nuns). Then she would host a party of sorts where every woman who attended received a gift that was for her dowry. I thought it was such a wonderful, philanthropic gesture for a woman of her power and prestige to make it a point to help other women find better marriages.

Room of Sabines

Room of Penelope

I also enjoyed learning about the dichotomy between room decorations and paintings for the Duke's wing and the Duchess' wing. The Duke's rooms glorify his strength and achievements and focus on his patronage and protection of artists and scholars. The Duchess' rooms clearly outline the expectations and duties as a mother, wife, and Duchess of Florence. The Room of Penelope has depictions from Homer's Odyssey telling the story of Odysseus and his ever faithful wife Penelope. The Room of Esther depicts the Queen of a Persian King disregarding the rules to save her people, the Jews, from destruction. The Room of Gualdrada is inspired by a Florentine girl named Gualdrada. Legend goes that she refused to let an emperor kiss her, saying that she would only kiss her future husband, providing an ideal example of purity in Florentine women. The Room of Sabines tells the story of King Romulus' abduction of all the female Sabines, a seemingly inevitable, bloody war, and the women of the Sabines acting as peaceful mediators and preventing the war. The rooms also are a tangible form of the Duke's respect and adoration for his wife. While he expected her to know the rules and her duties, he also used the frescoes and paintings to imply that if need be, she could defy the rules for her people, her children, or for the Duke himself. Despite being a woman in a time where women did not have many rights or much power over their own futures, Eleonora had a surprising amount of power. She was his regent, which meant that she could sign official documents in the place of her husband when he was away.

 
As a Greek history buff, I loved seeing the depictions of famous stories of the Greek gods in the apartment of the elements. What I found most interesting was that the rooms were strategically placed above certain family member's rooms on the floor below to associate the Medici family members (and popular, prominent members of the Florentine community) with the god like qualities emphasized in the frescoes. The Room of Hercules was placed above Duke Cosimo's father to link him to Hercules' heroism. The Room of Jupiter was placed about Duke Cosimo's room to link him to the gods. The Room of Opis was put above the Room of Lorenzo the Magnificent, who was known for his diplomacy.

Hercules as a child, fending off snakes with his super strength

On a sidenote, the ceilings were wood covered in REAL gold.