A Regent and Her Court: Towards a Study of Maria Maddalena d'Austria's Patronage (FLORENCE 1621–28)

This essay outlines a longer research into cultural production during the Florentine regency of Maria Maddalena d'Austria and Cristina of Lorraine (1621–1628). It challenges widely held beliefs on patronage and on the climate prevailing at court in this period. Specifically it analyzes a stage fragment and two short poems by Ottavio Rinuccini in order to provide an indicative case study of the project at large