1 - Florence and Cosimo

Summary

This introductory chapter beginswith background. First it describes the shape of Florentine intellectual culture in the early sixteenth century. It then summarizes the political changes in the city beginning with the 1490s through the naming of Cosimo as leader, and summarizes Cosimo’s early years. The years of instability that preceding Cosimo's reign had harmed the city’s intellectual and cultural life. Cosimo worked both to maximize the city’s independence from foreign control and to reestablish the city’s importance as a cultural center. The Florentine Bernardo Segni later summarized these early successes, beginning with the reopening of the university at Pisa and the founding of the Accademia Fiorentina. As a resut, a new generation of scholars built their intellectual careers in the city. They took a particular interest in the study of the Florentine language, its letters, and Florentine culture. Segni also singled out some of the era’s principal scholars: Piero Vettori, Benedetto Varchi, and Giovan Battista Gelli. They, along with Pierfrancesco Giambullari, Vincenzio Borghini, and several others, are the principal focus of this study.