Abstract
Abstract This article provides a first in-depth look at the La fonderia dell’Illmo et Ecc.mo Signor Don Antonio de’ Medici, a publication that was issued at the Casino di San Marco in Florence in 1604. This work has been deemed to be lost by many scholars on the Casino, but in fact a copy of it is found in the British Library. The article analyses the contents of La fonderia, paying particular attention to the alchemy and Paracelsianism to be identified therein. La fonderia is primarily a book of medical recipes, but also contains some intriguing theoretical parts. The paper also examines the marginalia that can be found in the British Library copy of La fonderia. The article concludes with a reflection on the importance of alchemy and Paracelsianism at Don Antonio’s Casino.
Highlights
This article provides a first in-depth look at the La fonderia dell’Illmo et Ecc.mo Signor Don Antonio de’ Medici, a publication that was issued at the Casino di San Marco in Florence in 1604
The article analyses the contents of La fonderia, paying particular attention to the alchemy and Paracelsianism to be identified therein
The paper examines the marginalia that can be found in the British Library copy of La fonderia
Summary
By 1604, Don Antonio had amassed more than 6,000 recipes at the Casino, many of which probably originated from the time of his father Francesco i As part of his reorganisation efforts, the collection was drawn up in four large folio manuscripts, which can be found in the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze (bncf), Fondo Magliabechiano xvi. Fanny Kieffer has drawn attention to a note she found in the four Apparato volumes, which refers to an experiment conducted on 23 November 1588 by “G.B.,” during Ferdinando i’s tenure of the Casino (bncf, Magl xvi, 63, i, 124). La fonderia’s cover seems more precise than that of the Apparato in locating the printing press at the “Palazzo del Casino di Sua Eccellenza Illustrissima,” in Florence It is more formally describing Don Antonio as Principe di Capistrano, something missing in the Apparato. Documenta inedita figure 3 Apparato della Fonderia cover courtesy of bncf and sven dupré figure 4 La Fonderia cover courtesy of the british library board, general reference collection, c.108.ff.[25], cover
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