Scientists and artists were either banished or so poorly paid they went on their own initiative. The economy became so poor that there was bartering on the streets instead of paying with coins. And bigotry ruled.
Man, I can see where all the anti-Italy diatribes came from. I know when Algarotti's bitching about Florence (1733), Cosimo's dead and Duke Gian Gastone is drinking himself to death ruling, so conditions may have improved, but I can see where you'd still be making comparisons.
She bathed in the nude. (When Cosimo complained about this to Louis via envoy, Louis basically reacted with a shrug.)
Ha!
the new Abbess tried to lay down the law. Fat chance. Marguerite Louise threatened to kill her with a hatchet and a pistol. In the end, an agreement with Cosimo and Louis was reached that Marguerite Louise would move to a new convent (Sainte Mande).
Good god, this book was not boring, was it!
Alas, Ferdinando found her dull and didn't requite her feelings. (Stop me if this sounds familiar.)
Wow, it's almost like bad ideas are bad!
During his regular trips to Venice, he managed to get infected with syphilis, and not the type to stop at stage 2. He died of it, eventually.
This also sounds sadly familiar.
drinking himself to death and staring up to the stars (he did that, it was a thing)
This whole write-up was full of gems.
At meals he's not better - vomiting into his napkin, wiping his mouth with his periwig.
Yeah, I saw this on Wikipedia when I was tracking down this book for you. I figured it meant a book on the last of the Medici might at least not be dull as dirt.
But: he immediately gets rid of the anti-Jewish and anti-Protestant laws his father had made, threw out corrupt churchmen from the government, and revoked the banishment of "new" (i.e. Galilelean) ideas from the university of Pisa. He also separated Medici property from state property, being aware that despite his efforts, neither his sister nor Don Carlos would succeed him, and this way his sister could at least inherit the family posessions. Amazingly given thie condition he already was in by the time he took over, he managed a reign of 13 years before his alcoholilsm at last killed him. Because of his reforms, he was sincerely mourned.
Wow. Definitely a mixed bag.
I didn't know anything about the Medici in this period before this week except that they died out and FS and Don Carlos had claims, so this was definitely instructive and...entertaining, in a train-wrecky sort of way. Thanks for filling in another gap for us, O Royal Reader!
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Re: Harold Acton: Last of the Medici 2: This is the end, my friend...
Date: 2021-06-18 04:52 pm (UTC)Man, I can see where all the anti-Italy diatribes came from. I know when Algarotti's bitching about Florence (1733), Cosimo's dead and Duke Gian Gastone is
drinking himself to deathruling, so conditions may have improved, but I can see where you'd still be making comparisons.She bathed in the nude. (When Cosimo complained about this to Louis via envoy, Louis basically reacted with a shrug.)
Ha!
the new Abbess tried to lay down the law. Fat chance. Marguerite Louise threatened to kill her with a hatchet and a pistol. In the end, an agreement with Cosimo and Louis was reached that Marguerite Louise would move to a new convent (Sainte Mande).
Good god, this book was not boring, was it!
Alas, Ferdinando found her dull and didn't requite her feelings. (Stop me if this sounds familiar.)
Wow, it's almost like bad ideas are bad!
During his regular trips to Venice, he managed to get infected with syphilis, and not the type to stop at stage 2. He died of it, eventually.
This also sounds sadly familiar.
drinking himself to death and staring up to the stars (he did that, it was a thing)
This whole write-up was full of gems.
At meals he's not better - vomiting into his napkin, wiping his mouth with his periwig.
Yeah, I saw this on Wikipedia when I was tracking down this book for you. I figured it meant a book on the last of the Medici might at least not be dull as dirt.
But: he immediately gets rid of the anti-Jewish and anti-Protestant laws his father had made, threw out corrupt churchmen from the government, and revoked the banishment of "new" (i.e. Galilelean) ideas from the university of Pisa. He also separated Medici property from state property, being aware that despite his efforts, neither his sister nor Don Carlos would succeed him, and this way his sister could at least inherit the family posessions. Amazingly given thie condition he already was in by the time he took over, he managed a reign of 13 years before his alcoholilsm at last killed him. Because of his reforms, he was sincerely mourned.
Wow. Definitely a mixed bag.
I didn't know anything about the Medici in this period before this week except that they died out and FS and Don Carlos had claims, so this was definitely instructive and...entertaining, in a train-wrecky sort of way. Thanks for filling in another gap for us, O Royal Reader!