The cultural importance of Florentine patricians

Abstract

Between 1600 and 1660, the cultural life of the city of Florence has been associated almost exclusively with the ruling Medici family. This PhD thesis aims to change this view by showing that educated members of the Florentine patriciate contributed substantially to the cultural success of the Medici court and that their networks were responsible for many cultural innovations in Florence society. My main issue is to demonstrate the ways in which the patricians contributed to the cultural climate in Florence and to the cultural success and social representation of the Medici court, in the period 1600-60. I answer this by looking at their art patronage and collections, their brokerage activities, their cultural academies, their relations with Medici princes, their cultural exchange and the accompanying innovations and experiments, and finally their role in the cultural and sociopolitical representation of the Medici court.