BORGHINI, Vincenzo (1515 - 1580), Prior of the Ospedale degli Innocenti, artistic adviser to Cosimo I de' Medici. 10 autograph letters signed, 1 letter signed with 2 lines of autograph, 1 letter signed with autograph subscription, and 3 lists of instructions to Giovanni Caccini, Provveditore in Pisa, Poppiano or Florence, 16 June 1564 -- 4 January 1567(n.s.), most concerning the ephemeral monuments for the ceremonial entry into Florence of Joanna of Austria, bride of Francesco de' Medici on 16 December 1565, including discussions of cost, the progress and ability of the artists employed - Bronzino, Vincenzo de Rossi, Vasari, Ammanati, da San Gallo, Allori, Federigo Padovano etc - detailing features of the coats of arms, designs and inscriptions, charting progress and his anxieties - 'Dello arco dei Carnesecchi, io mi ci dispero che credo che sara mala cosa et forse non finita a tempo, che sara rovina', mentioning the difficulties 'et sempre si ha degli storpi con le materie: con quali huomini: con tempi: con danari: con ministri', and finally reporting on the demolition of the arches and seeking settlement of accounts months after the event, altogether approximately 31 and 1pages, 240 x 188 - 335 x 225 mm,, 4 with integral address leaves, 8 with address panels, 2 with integral blank leaves, all endorsed on receipt, 1 papered seal, 7 with traces of seal (occasional ink erosion and darkening of paper, 1 letter with careful repair in inner margin). Mounted on guards in an album, modern tan roan gilt (joints split head and foot).Borghini's literary, philological and antiquarian studies were interrupted in 1552 when Cosimo de' Medici appointed him head of the Ospedale degli Innocenti, the Florentine foundlings' hospital. It remained his most onerous occupation and he was regarded by his contemporaries above all else as Priore degli Innocenti, but it was in another area of service to Cosimo that he had a more widespread and enduring influence. In 1563 Cosimo named him luogotenente of the Accademia del disegno and Borghini held this position until his death. His first important undertaking in this capacity, in 1564, was to organise the funeral of Michelangelo. Borghini was a great friend of Giorgio Vasari - he had advised him on the Lives of the Artists - and the two men served as artistic advisers to the Duke; their ideas and preferences governing the choices of Florence's most important patron - to the rancour of some of their contemporaries, notably Benvenuto Cellini. It was especially Borghini's role to utilise his literary and historical expertise in devising complex programmes of decoration - both for permanent schemes such as Palazzo Vecchio murals and for ephemeral 'apparati' for feste and public ceremonies. Vasari executed these invenzioni or, in the case of the large-scale projects, supervised their execution. The present letters and documents were part of Borghini's instructions for the scenic transformation of Florence for the entrata into the city of Joanna of Austria, bride of Cosimo's son and heir Francesco. Giovanni Caccini, the provveditore to whom these papers were addressed, was the man hired 'to solicit, oversee, and check work, putting it into order and taking delivery, as well as to keep order in the records and payments by type of work, and have them at hand every day, even every hour.' These papers complement the Libretto, Borghini's notebook (Florence, Bib. Naz. Cent. MS Magl.II.x,100), to provide an extraordinary record of the preparations for one of the greatest spectacles of Renaissance Florence.The marriage of Francesco to Joanna, the niece, daughter and sister of Holy Roman Emperors, was one of Duke Cosimo's greatest diplomatic triumphs, and a step towards his investiture with the Grand-Dukedom six years later. On 5 April 1565, within eight months of the conclusion of the marriage contract, Borghini presented the Duke with a programme for the series of decorative structures to be erected in Florence for the formal entrata of Joanna into the city in the following December. In fact the earliest letter offered here, written 16 June 1564, predated the conclusion of the marriage contract and reveals that plans and preparations for the celebrations were already well underway. Costs were being discussed for designs already submitted, for the relative rates of payment to artists - taking into account 'che e gran diferenza dall'Ammanato o Vincenzo Rossi, dal figluolo del porticino o di Baldassarri'. Alessandro (?Allori), Bronzino and San Gallo were also under discussion. Borghini's planning was not restricted to the artistic programme or production; he raised the question of the dire condition of the streets - a topic that caused him such anxiety that 'STRADE' is capitalised - 'da S. Maria Nuova non e 2 anni di quella strada si fece et gia et tutta smossa e rotta'. The celebrations of the marriage were not restricted to the entrata; the marriage itself took place in the Duomo on the 18 December and a 'comedia' was performed on the 25 December. This too is mentioned in the letter, and in connection with 'Cino'. In the event Giambattista Cini was appointed by Borghini to oversee the arrangements for the performance. Cini was the author of the brief description of Joanna's entry that was included in the 1568 edition of Vasari's Vite. From the beginning Borghini was in close collaboration with both Vasari, who oversaw the work and acted as intermediary with the duke, and Caccini, who managed the finances and ran the distribution of materials to the artists. Their assistance enabled Borghini to retire to Poppiano, where several of these letters were written, so that he could work in peace 'senza rompimento di capo'.The initial programme was constantly revised and changed but the scheme comprised 14 elaborate temporary monuments and triumphal arches - combining architecture, sculpture and paintings - that were erected at key points throughout the city; each of them accompanied by a learned impresa. They made up an involved iconographic programme that served complicated political ends. 'Borghini as the organiser of the event, had to consider and satisfy a great many requirements. The festivities had to honour the bride and present the city of Florence and its inhabitants to her in their best possible light. Joanna's high pedigree, and the worthiness of the Medici family to marry into the family of the emperor, had both to be demonstrated. High hopes had to be expressed for the future of the union. The dynastic claims of Duke Cosimo, the festival's financial sponsor, had to be both advertised and reinforced, by proclaiming the religious, cultural, military and financial superiority of Florence over neighbouring powers.' M.A.Katritsky, 'Account of Joanna of Austria's 1565 Entrata into Florence in a German Diary', Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, lix (1996), p.149.The letters and documents offered here demonstrate the detail and complexity of the administration and organisation that Borghini oversaw in order to bring his intellectual conceits into being. His anxieties notwithstanding, the event was so successful that this apparato established the pattern for future Medici wedding celebrations.P. Ginori Conti, L'Apparato per le Nozze di Francesco de' Medici e di Giovanna d'Austria (Florence, 1936).

BORGHINI, Vincenzo (1515 - 1580), Prior of the Ospedale degli Innocenti, artistic adviser to Cosimo I de' Medici. 10 autograph letters signed, 1 letter signed with 2 lines of autograph, 1 letter signed with autograph subscription, and 3 lists of instructions to Giovanni Caccini, Provveditore in Pisa, Poppiano or Florence, 16 June 1564 -- 4 January 1567(n.s.), most concerning the ephemeral monuments for the ceremonial entry into Florence of Joanna of Austria, bride of Francesco de' Medici on 16 December 1565, including discussions of cost, the progress and ability of the artists employed - Bronzino, Vincenzo de Rossi, Vasari, Ammanati, da San Gallo, Allori, Federigo Padovano etc - detailing features of the coats of arms, designs and inscriptions, charting progress and his anxieties - 'Dello arco dei Carnesecchi, io mi ci dispero che credo che sara mala cosa et forse non finita a tempo, che sara rovina', mentioning the difficulties 'et sempre si ha degli storpi con le materie: con quali huomini: con tempi: con danari: con ministri', and finally reporting on the demolition of the arches and seeking settlement of accounts months after the event, altogether approximately 31 and 1pages, 240 x 188 - 335 x 225 mm,, 4 with integral address leaves, 8 with address panels, 2 with integral blank leaves, all endorsed on receipt, 1 papered seal, 7 with traces of seal (occasional ink erosion and darkening of paper, 1 letter with careful repair in inner margin). Mounted on guards in an album, modern tan roan gilt (joints split head and foot). Borghini's literary, philological and antiquarian studies were interrupted in 1552 when Cosimo de' Medici appointed him head of the Ospedale degli Innocenti, the Florentine foundlings' hospital. It remained his most onerous occupation and he was regarded by his contemporaries above all else as Priore degli Innocenti, but it was in another area of service to Cosimo that he had a more widespread and enduring influence. In 1563 Cosimo named him luogotenente of the Accademia del disegno and Borghini held this position until his death. His first important undertaking in this capacity, in 1564, was to organise the funeral of Michelangelo. Borghini was a great friend of Giorgio Vasari - he had advised him on the Lives of the Artists - and the two men served as artistic advisers to the Duke; their ideas and preferences governing the choices of Florence's most important patron - to the rancour of some of their contemporaries, notably Benvenuto Cellini. It was especially Borghini's role to utilise his literary and historical expertise in devising complex programmes of decoration - both for permanent schemes such as Palazzo Vecchio murals and for ephemeral 'apparati' for feste and public ceremonies. Vasari executed these invenzioni or, in the case of the large-scale projects, supervised their execution. The present letters and documents were part of Borghini's instructions for the scenic transformation of Florence for the entrata into the city of Joanna of Austria, bride of Cosimo's son and heir Francesco. Giovanni Caccini, the provveditore to whom these papers were addressed, was the man hired 'to solicit, oversee, and check work, putting it into order and taking delivery, as well as to keep order in the records and payments by type of work, and have them at hand every day, even every hour.' These papers complement the Libretto, Borghini's notebook (Florence, Bib. Naz. Cent. MS Magl.II.x,100), to provide an extraordinary record of the preparations for one of the greatest spectacles of Renaissance Florence. The marriage of Francesco to Joanna, the niece, daughter and sister of Holy Roman Emperors, was one of Duke Cosimo's greatest diplomatic triumphs, and a step towards his investiture with the Grand-Dukedom six years later. On 5 April 1565, within eight months of the conclusion of the marriage contract, Borghini presented the Duke with a programme for the series of decorative structures to be erected in Florence for the formal entrata of Joanna into the city in the following December. In fact the earliest letter offered here, written 16 June 1564, predated the conclusion of the marriage contract and reveals that plans and preparations for the celebrations were already well underway. Costs were being discussed for designs already submitted, for the relative rates of payment to artists - taking into account 'che e gran diferenza dall'Ammanato o Vincenzo Rossi, dal figluolo del porticino o di Baldassarri'. Alessandro (?Allori), Bronzino and San Gallo were also under discussion. Borghini's planning was not restricted to the artistic programme or production; he raised the question of the dire condition of the streets - a topic that caused him such anxiety that 'STRADE' is capitalised - 'da S. Maria Nuova non e 2 anni di quella strada si fece et gia et tutta smossa e rotta'. The celebrations of the marriage were not restricted to the entrata; the marriage itself took place in the Duomo on the 18 December and a 'comedia' was performed on the 25 December. This too is mentioned in the letter, and in connection with 'Cino'. In the event Giambattista Cini was appointed by Borghini to oversee the arrangements for the performance. Cini was the author of the brief description of Joanna's entry that was included in the 1568 edition of Vasari's Vite. From the beginning Borghini was in close collaboration with both Vasari, who oversaw the work and acted as intermediary with the duke, and Caccini, who managed the finances and ran the distribution of materials to the artists. Their assistance enabled Borghini to retire to Poppiano, where several of these letters were written, so that he could work in peace 'senza rompimento di capo'. The initial programme was constantly revised and changed but the scheme comprised 14 elaborate temporary monuments and triumphal arches - combining architecture, sculpture and paintings - that were erected at key points throughout the city; each of them accompanied by a learned impresa. They made up an involved iconographic programme that served complicated political ends. 'Borghini as the organiser of the event, had to consider and satisfy a great many requirements. The festivities had to honour the bride and present the city of Florence and its inhabitants to her in their best possible light. Joanna's high pedigree, and the worthiness of the Medici family to marry into the family of the emperor, had both to be demonstrated. High hopes had to be expressed for the future of the union. The dynastic claims of Duke Cosimo, the festival's financial sponsor, had to be both advertised and reinforced, by proclaiming the religious, cultural, military and financial superiority of Florence over neighbouring powers.' M.A.Katritsky, 'Account of Joanna of Austria's 1565 Entrata into Florence in a German Diary', Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, lix (1996), p.149. The letters and documents offered here demonstrate the detail and complexity of the administration and organisation that Borghini oversaw in order to bring his intellectual conceits into being. His anxieties notwithstanding, the event was so successful that this apparato established the pattern for future Medici wedding celebrations. P. Ginori Conti, L'Apparato per le Nozze di Francesco de' Medici e di Giovanna d'Austria (Florence, 1936).

Details

BORGHINI, Vincenzo (1515 - 1580), Prior of the Ospedale degli Innocenti, artistic adviser to Cosimo I de' Medici. 10 autograph letters signed, 1 letter signed with 2 lines of autograph, 1 letter signed with autograph subscription, and 3 lists of instructions to Giovanni Caccini, Provveditore in Pisa, Poppiano or Florence, 16 June 1564 -- 4 January 1567(n.s.), most concerning the ephemeral monuments for the ceremonial entry into Florence of Joanna of Austria, bride of Francesco de' Medici on 16 December 1565, including discussions of cost, the progress and ability of the artists employed - Bronzino, Vincenzo de Rossi, Vasari, Ammanati, da San Gallo, Allori, Federigo Padovano etc - detailing features of the coats of arms, designs and inscriptions, charting progress and his anxieties - 'Dello arco dei Carnesecchi, io mi ci dispero che credo che sara mala cosa et forse non finita a tempo, che sara rovina', mentioning the difficulties 'et sempre si ha degli storpi con le materie: con quali huomini: con tempi: con danari: con ministri', and finally reporting on the demolition of the arches and seeking settlement of accounts months after the event, altogether approximately 31 and 1pages, 240 x 188 - 335 x 225 mm,, 4 with integral address leaves, 8 with address panels, 2 with integral blank leaves, all endorsed on receipt, 1 papered seal, 7 with traces of seal (occasional ink erosion and darkening of paper, 1 letter with careful repair in inner margin). Mounted on guards in an album, modern tan roan gilt (joints split head and foot).

Borghini's literary, philological and antiquarian studies were interrupted in 1552 when Cosimo de' Medici appointed him head of the Ospedale degli Innocenti, the Florentine foundlings' hospital. It remained his most onerous occupation and he was regarded by his contemporaries above all else as Priore degli Innocenti, but it was in another area of service to Cosimo that he had a more widespread and enduring influence. In 1563 Cosimo named him luogotenente of the Accademia del disegno and Borghini held this position until his death. His first important undertaking in this capacity, in 1564, was to organise the funeral of Michelangelo. Borghini was a great friend of Giorgio Vasari - he had advised him on the Lives of the Artists - and the two men served as artistic advisers to the Duke; their ideas and preferences governing the choices of Florence's most important patron - to the rancour of some of their contemporaries, notably Benvenuto Cellini. It was especially Borghini's role to utilise his literary and historical expertise in devising complex programmes of decoration - both for permanent schemes such as Palazzo Vecchio murals and for ephemeral 'apparati' for feste and public ceremonies. Vasari executed these invenzioni or, in the case of the large-scale projects, supervised their execution. The present letters and documents were part of Borghini's instructions for the scenic transformation of Florence for the entrata into the city of Joanna of Austria, bride of Cosimo's son and heir Francesco. Giovanni Caccini, the provveditore to whom these papers were addressed, was the man hired 'to solicit, oversee, and check work, putting it into order and taking delivery, as well as to keep order in the records and payments by type of work, and have them at hand every day, even every hour.' These papers complement the Libretto, Borghini's notebook (Florence, Bib. Naz. Cent. MS Magl.II.x,100), to provide an extraordinary record of the preparations for one of the greatest spectacles of Renaissance Florence.

The marriage of Francesco to Joanna, the niece, daughter and sister of Holy Roman Emperors, was one of Duke Cosimo's greatest diplomatic triumphs, and a step towards his investiture with the Grand-Dukedom six years later. On 5 April 1565, within eight months of the conclusion of the marriage contract, Borghini presented the Duke with a programme for the series of decorative structures to be erected in Florence for the formal entrata of Joanna into the city in the following December. In fact the earliest letter offered here, written 16 June 1564, predated the conclusion of the marriage contract and reveals that plans and preparations for the celebrations were already well underway. Costs were being discussed for designs already submitted, for the relative rates of payment to artists - taking into account 'che e gran diferenza dall'Ammanato o Vincenzo Rossi, dal figluolo del porticino o di Baldassarri'. Alessandro (?Allori), Bronzino and San Gallo were also under discussion. Borghini's planning was not restricted to the artistic programme or production; he raised the question of the dire condition of the streets - a topic that caused him such anxiety that 'STRADE' is capitalised - 'da S. Maria Nuova non e 2 anni di quella strada si fece et gia et tutta smossa e rotta'. The celebrations of the marriage were not restricted to the entrata; the marriage itself took place in the Duomo on the 18 December and a 'comedia' was performed on the 25 December. This too is mentioned in the letter, and in connection with 'Cino'. In the event Giambattista Cini was appointed by Borghini to oversee the arrangements for the performance. Cini was the author of the brief description of Joanna's entry that was included in the 1568 edition of Vasari's Vite.

From the beginning Borghini was in close collaboration with both Vasari, who oversaw the work and acted as intermediary with the duke, and Caccini, who managed the finances and ran the distribution of materials to the artists. Their assistance enabled Borghini to retire to Poppiano, where several of these letters were written, so that he could work in peace 'senza rompimento di capo'.

The initial programme was constantly revised and changed but the scheme comprised 14 elaborate temporary monuments and triumphal arches - combining architecture, sculpture and paintings - that were erected at key points throughout the city; each of them accompanied by a learned impresa. They made up an involved iconographic programme that served complicated political ends. 'Borghini as the organiser of the event, had to consider and satisfy a great many requirements. The festivities had to honour the bride and present the city of Florence and its inhabitants to her in their best possible light. Joanna's high pedigree, and the worthiness of the Medici family to marry into the family of the emperor, had both to be demonstrated. High hopes had to be expressed for the future of the union. The dynastic claims of Duke Cosimo, the festival's financial sponsor, had to be both advertised and reinforced, by proclaiming the religious, cultural, military and financial superiority of Florence over neighbouring powers.' M.A.Katritsky, 'Account of Joanna of Austria's 1565 Entrata into Florence in a German Diary', Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, lix (1996), p.149.

The letters and documents offered here demonstrate the detail and complexity of the administration and organisation that Borghini oversaw in order to bring his intellectual conceits into being. His anxieties notwithstanding, the event was so successful that this apparato established the pattern for future Medici wedding celebrations.

P. Ginori Conti, L'Apparato per le Nozze di Francesco de' Medici e di Giovanna d'Austria (Florence, 1936).

More from Feltrinelli Books Part II

View All