The Cultural World of Eleonora di Toledo: Duchess of Florence and Siena [Hardcover]

Konrad Eisenbichler (Editor, Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 30, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0754637743 | ISBN-13: 978-0754637745

Eleonora di Toledo was a powerful and influential woman who, over the course of nearly a quarter century (1539-62), contributed profoundly to the cultural flowering of ducal Florence. Her patronage of some of the leading artists of the time, her support of newly arrived Jesuit preachers, her involvement in charitable activities, her unfailing devotion to her husband and his policies, not to mention her successful farming and business ventures are only some of the areas where her influence was unambiguously exercised and felt. She also provided the House of Medici with a full stable of children to re-invigorate the failing family line, ensure male succession even in the face of unexpected calamities, and provide enough females to establish marriage connections with a variety of noble and ruling houses in Italy. In spite of all these contributions, Eleonora has attracted little attention from scholars. This apparent disinterest may be a factor of Eleonora's personal style, or of the bad press that, as a Spanish noblewoman, she quickly received from her Florentine subjects, or of modern antipathy for some of the basic characteristics of ducal Florence. An examination of her impact on Tuscany is long overdue. In fact, a fuller, more nuanced understanding of the duchess can shed a more profound light not only on her as a person, or on her impact on Tuscan culture in the 16th century, but also on the contribution of female consorts to the vitality of a successful early-modern state. The essays collected here bring together a variety of scholars working in various disciplines. While many of the articles take their cue from art history (a natural reflection of the innovative research recent art historians have carried out on the duchess), they also reach out towards other disciplines - political history, literature, spectacle and religion to mention just a few. In so doing, they expand our understanding of Eleonora's place in her society and reveal a very complex, determined and capable woman.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Konrad Eisenbichler, Professor of Italian Studies, Victoria University in the University of Toronto, Canada.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Ashgate Pub Ltd (May 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0754637743
• ISBN-13: 978-0754637745
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,241,919 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love it!, May 23, 2008

By 

P. Griffith "historybuff" (DC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Cultural World of Eleonora di Toledo: Duchess of Florence and Siena (Hardcover)

Worth every penny if you are at all interested in 16th century Florence and Florentine lifestyle. The only real book on Eleonora di Toledo currently on the market.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another view on Eleonora di Toledo, February 2, 2010

By 

J. Arnesen "operafantomet" (Norway) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Cultural World of Eleonora di Toledo: Duchess of Florence and Siena (Hardcover)

Unlike what another reviewer has written, this is not "the only real book on Eleonora di Toledo currently on the market". I'm too fond of the book "Moda a Firenze, Lo stile di Eleonora di Toledo e la sua influenza" to not protest on this. That book was also released in 2004, and concentrates on the Duchess biography and her role as first lady and fashion icon. Stuffed with well researched material, lots of colour photos and also a complete inventory list of the Duchess' wardrobe, I've read the book multiple times and discovers new things every time. And don't be alarmed - the book has both Italian and English text, side by side.

What the reviewer has observed, though, is that books about Eleonora di Toledo are scarce. In fact, there is only one biography written about her these last 500 years - Anna Baia's "Leonora do Toledo, Duchessa di Firenze e di Siena" from 1907. It's both hard to come by and outdated in much of it's info, and that's exactly where Konrad Eisenbichler's "The Cultural World of Eleonora di Toledo, Duchess of Florence and Siena" scores. The title is a nod to the 1907 biography, but the content is the newest of research done on the Duchess and the world she lived in.

Especially interesting is her patronage and independence concerning artists, which is fleshed out in articles about her private chapel, her apartments in the Palazzo Vecchio and her relationship with the Jesuit order. I also found it interesting to read about just how close and passionate a relationship she and her husband Cosimo I de' Medici seems to have had, as described in the chapter by Mary A. Watt.

Where this book also scores is by including the newest research on the dress the Duchess was buried in, as a sneak preview of the book to-be-released about the Medici burial clothes, and also of posthumous imagery of her. Those are subjects I've rarely seen treated in other books.

The variety of articles put together in one book makes it in some way an uneven book, as different voices get to speak, and as parts of the information is overlapping in each article. But this is nitpicking. Overall I found it highly interesting and well researched, and I also enjoyed reading the newest research done on Eleonora di Toledo and her role within the Medici family. The selection of contributors is also first-rate, and the illustrations, albeit black-and-white, helps underline what the text tells. So yes, definitely recommended, and one of the few books on Eleonora di Toledo that gives an up-to-date impression of her ducal role and her more private nature.