A lecture by Lisa Kaborycha
"Ben venga maggio!" With these words Lorenzo de' Medici and his friends welcomed the month of May, the season for joy and lovemaking. In this lecture we will look at the ways Renaissance Italians spoke about love, courtship, and marriage. Beyond songs and love sonnets—which they invented—how did real people experience these emotions?
What words did the future Pope Pius II use to tell his father about his affair with a young woman who had born him a child? In his manual on household management, how did Leon Battista Alberti suggest a young bride be welcomed into her new home? We will hear Alessandra Strozzi and Lucrezia Tornabuoni as they evaluate prospective brides for their sons, and eavesdrop on a group of Venetian women who wryly critique contemporary marriage customs. Despite the deadly serious business of dowries and family connections in their marriage alliances, Renaissance people's words occasionally reveal true affection and even love between married couples.
Lisa Kaborycha returns to share lively excerpts from her collection of primary sources, Voices from the Italian Renaissance (Routledge, 2024).
If you are in Florence and would like to attend the lecture in person at the British Institute Library, please register here or send an email to bif@britishinstitute.it
The registration fee is 15 Euro per person.
To join this lecture online, simply click on this link to register and receive the Zoom meeting invitation: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/IuMVkn93S4-aOyUn0oCuhg. The virtual doors will open at 18:00 Italian time on Wednesday 14th May.
There is no charge to attend the event on Zoom, but we ask you to consider making a donation to support the Institute and its beautiful library if you wish to attend an event.
This lecture is sponsored by Richard & Angela Camber