The Intellectual World of Sixteenth-Century Florence : Humanists and Culture in the Age of Cosimo I

By the sixteenth century, Florence was famous across Europe for its achievements in the arts, letters, and humanist learning. Its intellectual life flourished anew at midcentury with Duke Cosimo and the Accademia Fiorentina. In this study, Ann Moyer provides an overview of Florentine intellectual life and community in the late Renaissance. She shows how studies of language helped Florentines develop their own story as a people distinct from ancient Greece or Rome, trace the rise of the city's medieval government, and explore how the city evolved into a hospitable environment for letters and the arts. Studies of Florentine art gave rise to art history, while those devoted to Florentine traditions and customs inspired broader questions about how to think about cultural change. Demonstrating how the intellectual activity around language, history, and art related and supported each other, Moyer's book documents the origins of the modern narrative of the Renaissance itself.--Abstract Cover Half-title page Title page Copyright page Contents List of Illustrations Preface 1 Florence and Cosimo The City The Citizens 2 Who Were the Florentines? Etruscan Roots Received Traditions Gelli and Giambullari on Florentine Origins Supporters and Detractors 3 Florentine Histories Past Witnesses Diaries and Private Records Histories of Recent Times Medieval Histories History, Politics, Customs 4 Language and Its Study From Dante to Bembo and Beyond: The Century’s First Decades The Florentine Language and Its Study: The Aramei Modern Language Practice 5 Philological Approaches Girolamo Mei on Verse and Prose Benedetto Varchi on Language Vincenzio Borghini 6 Writing about the Arts Vasari and the Lives, 1550 The Accademia del Disegno Vasari’s Lives, Second or Giuntina Edition, 1568 7 Florentine Customs and Practices The Wedding of Francesco and Giovanna The Dispute: The Early History of Florence The Discorsi: City and Diocese Urban Culture: Money and Elites 8 Conclusions Transitions Florentine Studies Works Consulted Index "The city of Florence enjoyed a lively intellectual and artistic community in the middle and later decades of the sixteenth century. The city's literary academy, the Accademia Fiorentina, sponsored weekly public lectures on Petrarch and Dante as well as a series of lectures for members"-- Provided by publisher This Study Provides An Overview Of Florentine Intellectual Life And Community In The Late Renaissance. It Shows How Studies Of Language Helped Florentines To Develop Their Own Story As A People Distinct From Ancient Greece Or Rome.