THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IN FLORENCE is really a story about a marriage of convenience that deteriorates, and the too-early death of the protagonist.
Simonetta Cattaneo (1453-1476) has luxurious red-gold hair that comes down to her knees. You can see her likeness in Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus. Born in Genoa to a family of minor nobility, Simonetta is brought up by rather strict parents. Her beauty must have been obvious to everyone, as she grew into womanhood, and yet Simonetta’s parents choose not to make too much of it, creating a person who is grounded in reality.
At sixteen, Simonetta receives a marriage proposal from Marco Vespucci (yes, he is related to the much better-known Amerigo Vespucci, who gave his name to the vast unknown continent that is now call America). To Simonetta’s surprise, Marco is not much older than she, only about twenty years old. And he is handsome, well-educated and ambitious. As he starts ot paint a picture of what there life would be like in his native Florence, where they will go once married, Simonetta is captivated. After all, she leads the dull life of a teenaged girl in a repressive culture where women are not educated, or even allowed to express an opinon about anything. The chance to read the newest translations of Plato, plus the opportuntiy to express her views freely beckon enticingly to Simonetta.
And so, when her father approves the match, Simonetta is delighted, even though she will leave Genoa forever and barely see her family of origin for the rest of her life. Such, however, is the lot of high-class women who make political and dynastic marriages.
When Simonetta arrives in Florence, everything that she has been longing for comes true with surprising ease. Marco belongs to the inner circle of the Medici family, the unoffical rulers of Florence. Lorenzo de’ Medici (1449-1492) ~ later known as The Magnificent ~ takes a shine to her. Does she want to read? No problem. Lorenzo possesses a magnificent library, which he invites her to share. Over the course of their friendship, they discuss Petrach’s Sonnets and Plato’s Republic. Younger brother Giuliano de’ Medici (1453-1478) is instantly smitten by Simonetta’s beauty, and expresses jealousy that she is to wed his best friend Marco Vespucci.
But Marco is proud of his young bride, proud of her charm, intelligence and beauty that has so effortlessly elevated his mere acquaintance with the Medicis into their inner circle.
And so we learn that the principle reason Marco married Simonetta is to further his career. After all, he works at the Medici bank, and Lorenzo and his co-ruler Giuliano are his bosses. Marco will literally stop at nothing to win brownie points from the two Medici brothers.
And Simonetta’s reason? Well, she leaves a dull and stifling life in Genoa for one of intellectual exploration in Florence amongst the finest minds of the day.
Even though they did not marry for love, Simonetta and Marco appear to have a happy marriage. Until, Marco arrives home too late at night, waking the entire household, dead drunk, with Giuliano in tow. And Giuliano lets slip that Marco has another woman in his life. When Simonetta confronts her husband, his only reply is to explain that it happened when she was ill, and after all, “men have their needs.”
Of course, in the 1470s, no-one is going to criticize a husband for acquiring another woman. Women were meant to put up and shut up. But Simonetta is devastated by this betrayal as, naïvely, she believed her husband to be faithful to her. After all, she is the most beautiful woman in Florence. What is the point of that, if even her husband cannot even be faithful to her?
That revelation really marks the beginning of the end of their marriage. In the pages that follow, we witness several deteriorating conversations, followed by the even more dangerous silence that erupts between the pair. But I will not say more, so as not spoil the ending for those of you who have not yet read this volume.
Suffice it to say that artist Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510) plays only a minor role in most of this volume. It is not until the end, not until Simonetta and Marco’s marriage deteriorates, that he becomes much more important. But you will have to read THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IN FLORENCE, to find out exactly what happens.
