Florentines: A Tuscan Feast

ISBN: 1857933591

Author: Garzoni, Giovanna

Condition: New

Italy has enriched civilization for centuries, and nowhere more so than Florence, birthplace of the Renaissance. Arts and science flourished under the patronage of the ruling Medici family, whose name alone conjures a world of intrigue, opulence, and splendor. It was this world that lured the artist Giovanna Garzoni to Florence, where she became court miniaturist to the Medici. Her "gentle art" of still-life, flower, and portrait painting, only recently reappraised by art historians, reflects a tranquil and timeless beauty. To complement the artist's delightful still lifes of fruits and vegetables, Lorenza de'Medici has contributed a delectable array of Tuscan recipes, drawing from the fresh ingredients and rustic simplicity for which the cuisine is renowned. Added to these are a selection of period writings evoking the past glories of Florence--the banquets, the festivities, and the wondrous excess. Finally, there are accounts by early travelers discovering the beauty and sensuality of Italy for the first time, a pleasure no less diminished today.