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PALOS, Joan-Lluís
Imagining Luxury: Istanbul Viewed from Florence in 16 th Century
In 1539 Duke Cosimo I of Medici married the Spanish noblewoman Eleonora of Toledo. In doing so, they drew the
foundations that made possible two centuries of Medicean domination in Florence and the Tuscan duchy. The clue of this
success was their capability to create a princely court. To achieve this, it was necessary to project an image in which luxury
had a very precise political meaning.
The court of Suleiman the Magnificient played a central role in their inspiration. Historians have typically depicted
Venice as the cultural bridge between the Ottoman Empire and Western Mediterranean. In doing so, they have forgotten
how other Italian capitals, like Florence, were fascinated by the court of the Turkish sultan. This fascination with oriental
wealth, magnificence and sophistication was not a novelty. A corner stone moment was the visit that Byzantine dignitaries
paid to the city in 1438 later immortalized by Benozzo Gozzoli in the frescoes of the Medici palace chapel.
Ever attentive to the dominating fashions in the sultan court, the Duchess of Florence, Eleanora of Toledo, requested
constant updates from the Florentine envoys to Istanbul. She frequently asked them to acquire and bring back
new and fashionable jewels, fabric, face creams and beauty care products. Turkey definitively contributed to the Florentine
mindset about what luxury was.
In studying this correspondence, my paper will attempt to show the way in which luxury played an important role
as a nexus among countries deeply divided by political and religious differences.
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