Medici Research Articles

A Paper Trail: Missa Jouyssance vous donneray, Uncertain Identity, and the National Institutes of Health's "Bathtub Collection"

In a storeroom of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Library of Medicine's History of Medicine Division are seven gray boxes full of envelopes of yellowed paper scraps. These fragments constitute the little-known "Bathtub Collection." Dr. Dorothy Schullian, a curator at the National Library of Medicine (NLM), discovered the collection during the late 1940s and early 1950s while working on a restoration project for the NLM that was intended to make the library's wealth of medical books available to the public in modern, sturdy bindings. Found stuffed in the bindings of early medical treatises, these fragments were soaked free of centuries-old glue in a bathtub, thus earning their unique name. The hundreds of tiny pieces of paper span almost eight centuries, eight languages, and countless sources, both print and manuscript. Their contents include pages from the Vulgate Bible, personal letters, pamphlets, playing cards, announcements, and music. At present, the fragments are catalogued in file folders according to the bookbinding from which they came. (1) Little research has been done on the "Bathtub Collection." After examining the bindings, Schullian wrote a paper chronicling their contents that was read at the 1953 meeting of the Bibliographical Society of America and subsequently published. In 1997, Dr. Walton Schalick III submitted a similar article to the American Historical Association suggesting that more work be done on this remarkable collection, both in preservation and research. In response to Schalick's article, the NIH hired a preservation intern, Sandra Provenzano, for four months to re-package the fragments in more archive-friendly envelopes and boxes (Waring 2002). Carol Clausen, current curator at the NLM, then wrote a detailed report focusing on four manuscript pages of music taken from the binding of Giovanni Andrea della Croce's Chirurgiae Ioannis Andreae a Cruce, Veneti medici libri septem (henceforth Chirurgiae), published in Venice in 1573 (Clausen 2004). (2) The four leaves of manuscript staff paper contain Latin-texted music from Franco-Flemish Masses and motets. These liturgical compositions were usually written for four to six voices overall, but they often included duo or trio sections. The manuscript contains only these bicinia, or sections of music for two voices. Each sheet of manuscript paper is divided in half horizontally, with the music facing the top of the page on one half and the bottom on the other, indicating that the pages were intended to be cut and bound as a partbook. Over the centuries, the paper has been marked, cut, torn, and chewed. Most of the surviving notation is still legible, but large pieces are missing from the pages (see figure 1). A roughly two-inch square was neatly cut out of the center of the last sheet of staff paper, on which no music was copied. All of the selections are numbered, and the names of the composers are written in the margins. The pages include only the two-voice sections of the Credo, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei from Lupus's Missa Hercules dux Ferrariae; the Benedictus from Francesco de Layolle's Missa O salutaris hostia; the Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei from Johannes Sarton's Missa Jouyssance vous donneray; and four motets by Henricus Isaac, as identified by Clausen. (3) Only one of the two voices in each of these sections appears in the "Bathtub Collection" music manuscripts. None of the Masses or motets are present in their entirety or identified by title in the manuscript. In the case of Sarton's Missa Jouyssance vous donneray, the altus part of the Crucifixus and Agnus Dei II and the bassus part of the Et resurrexit and Pleni sunt are copied on one sheet of paper, or two partbook pages. (4) (See the left margin of figure 1 for an attribution to Sarton.) The numbering of the selections indicates that there were evidently fifty-eight musical selections copied in all, but numbers 1-10 and 31-43 are missing from the manuscripts. …

Ion Beam Analysis for the provenance attribution of lapis lazuli used in glyptic art: The case of the “Collezione Medicea”

The first part of this study reports on the wide campaign for the extension of the database of both trace and minor elements concentration in diopside by means of μ-PIXE measurements and of luminescence spectra in diopside and wollastonite by means of μ-IL measurements. Diopside and wollastonite are actually two of the most common lapis lazuli-forming minerals. For this former part of the study, we analysed rocks of known provenance at the microbeam line of the LNL laboratories in Legnaro (PD) of the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN).The latter part of the paper is dedicated to the non-invasive Ion Beam Analyses (IBA) characterisation of six pieces of the “Collezione Medicea”. The collection is exhibited at the Museum of Natural History (University of Firenze) and belonged to the Medici family. It includes artworks made of lapis lazuli manufactured in the 16th and 17th centuries but there is not precise information about the provenance of the used raw material.Results on the artworks show, as expected, that the Chilean provenance of the material used for the analysed artworks has to be excluded. Lapis lazuli used for five of the analysed artworks can be ascribed to the Afghan quarry district, while one object cannot be attributed only on the base of diopside and wollastonite analysis.

The reckoning: financial accountability and the rise and fall of nations

Whether building a road or fighting a war, leaders from ancient Mesopotamia to the present have relied on financial accounting to track their state's assets and guide its policies. Basic accounting tools such as auditing and double-entry bookkeeping form the basis of modern capitalism and the nation-state. Yet our appreciation for accounting and its formative role throughout history remains minimal at best--and we remain ignorant at our peril. The 2008 financial crisis is only the most recent example of how poor or risky practices can shake, and even bring down, entire societies. In The Reckoning, historian and MacArthur Genius Award-winner Jacob Soll presents a sweeping history of accounting, drawing on a wealth of examples from over a millennia of human history to reveal how accounting has shaped kingdoms, empires, and entire civilizations. The Medici family of 15th century Florence used the double-entry method to win the loyalty of their clients, but eventually began to misrepresent their accounts, ultimately contributing to the economic decline of the Florentine state itself. In the 17th and 18th centuries, European rulers shunned honest accounting, understanding that accurate bookkeeping would constrain their spending and throw their legitimacy into question. And in fact, when King Louis XVI's director of finances published the crown's accounts in 1781, his revelations provoked a public outcry that helped to fuel the French Revolution. When transparent accounting finally took hold in the 19th Century, the practice helped England establish a global empire. But both inept and willfully misused accounting persist, as the catastrophic Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the Great Recession of 2008 have made all too clear. A masterwork of economic and political history, and a radically new perspective on the recent past, The Reckoning compels us to see how accounting is an essential instrument of great institutions and nations--and one that, in our increasingly transparent and interconnected world, has never been more vital.

Characterization of Paintings by Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma–Mass Spectrometry

Nondestructive analytical techniques allow replicate analysis of artwork to be performed without damage. However, these techniques can only provide information about the surface layer of an object. When information regarding the composition of the underlying layers is necessary, a sample must be collected from the artwork. In order to minimize the damage produced, micro-sampling techniques such as laser ablation have been proposed. Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA ICP–MS) is a suitable approach but its application to artwork has been focused on metallic, ceramic, and glass objects, with few studies for elemental-stratigraphic analysis of paintings. The objective of this study was to construct a laser ablation ICP–MS system for large artwork without size restriction to evaluate its capabilities for paintings. This study describes a specific optical system and an ablation cell designed for this purpose. The analysis of several paintings of known composition shows that sampling damage is hardly observable in colored layers and that it is less than the damage produced when the samples are taken manually by using a scalpel. The system has a depth resolution from 1 to 2 to 5 to 10 µm, depending on the painting technique, and the information obtained permits discovery of the stratigraphical composition. The ability of LA ICP–MS to determine very thin painting layers in a Renaissance easel painting (favored by the low detection limits of ICP–MS) was also assessed by analyzing a portrait of a member of the Medici Family attributed to Jacopo Pontormo. Results were compared with those obtained by scanning electron microscopy.

Skin disease in the Medici family and the illness of Contessina de' Bardi de' Medici: a dermatological puzzle

Skin disease in the Medici family and the illness of Contessina de' Bardi de' Medici: a dermatological puzzle

The fruit of liberty: political culture in the Florentine Renaissance, 1480-1550

In the middle decades of the sixteenth century, the republican city-state of Florence--birthplace of the Renaissance--failed. In its place the Medici family created a principality, becoming first dukes of Florence and then grand dukes of Tuscany. Fruit of Liberty examines how this transition occurred from the perspective of the Florentine patricians who had dominated and controlled the republic. The book analyzes the long, slow social and cultural transformations that predated, accompanied, and facilitated the institutional shift from republic to principality, from citizen to subject.More than a chronological narrative, this analysis covers a wide range of contributing factors to this transition, from attitudes toward office holding, clothing, and the patronage of artists and architects to notions of self, family, and gender. Using a wide variety of sources including private letters, diaries, and art works, Nicholas Baker explores how the language, images, and values of the republic were reconceptualized to aid the shift from citizen to subject. He argues that the creation of Medici principality did not occur by a radical break with the past but with the adoption and adaptation of the political culture of Renaissance republicanism.

Pseudobulbar paralysis in the Renaissance: Cosimo I de’ Medici case

Cosimo I de' Medici (1519-1574) was the first Grand Duke of Tuscany. He was one of the most important members of the Medici family. He was an excellent conqueror and a good politician. Moreover, he was able to attract and encourage artists, scientists and architects to promote Florence as the cultural capital of the Italian Renaissance. Historical chronicles report that he suffered from a stroke when he was 49 years old. Together with the acute manifestation of stroke, he displayed peculiar symptoms. He had gait disturbances and sphincter dysfunctions. His language became poor and hard to understand. His mood was very fluctuating and in the last years of his life he was a short-tempered man. In addition, he had a characteristic symptom, so-called pathological laughing and crying. The course of his disease was slow and stuttering. Taken together, these data seem to be one of the first reports of pseudobulbar paralysis. The disease of Cosimo I was probably due to a chronic cerebral vasculopathy, known as small vessels disease. We discuss this hypothesis regarding an ancient clinical case, with the support of current studies.

Teeth of the Renaissance: A paleopathological and historic-medical study on the jaws of the Medici Family

Abstract Objectives Aim of this study is to present the radiological assessment of the dental pathologies in the Medici Family, to supply evidence of their oral diseases and to verify the efficacy of hygiene methods of the time, providing a term of comparison for other cases. Methods The Medici Project is a paleopathological and historic-medical study started in 2004, which is based on the exhumation and analysis of the skeletal remains of the Medici Family buried in the Medici Chapels of Florence. Twelve out of the 21 exhumed individuals were in a state of preservation which permitted to undergo CT and ortopantomography. Pathologic findings were organized in malformations, diffuse parodontopathy, caries, inflammations, and intra-vitam missing teeth. Dental lesion index (DLI), that is the percentage ratio of the number of damaged teeth out of the total number of examined alveoli, was calculated in all subjects, as absolute value (given as percentage value) as well as age corrected, and compared with DLI of contemporary Aragon family. Results Results are arranged for single individuals and for groups of age. The study has shown that all the adults had evident problems in their oral cavities, with values of average age-corrected DLI of 39.27 (males), 41.16 (females) and 39.84 (overall). Conclusions The presented data show that the Medici Family suffered from poor dental health, despite the use of mouthwashes and other hygienic tools, and that their DLI was largely worse than the contemporary Aragon, probably protected by the diet and particularly by fluorine assumed with waters.

The Arno Valley Landscape in Fifteenth-Century Florentine Painting

The article argues for the importance of the Arno Valley as a feature of backgrounds in paintings on pagan and Christian subjects. It shows how the Arno Valley is an expression of the benevolent participation of the Medici family in the state affairs of their native city and as a manifestation of the fear of Arno floods. The fluvial landscape was not portrayed uniformly but was adjusted according to the subject of the painting or text, revealing the impact of the Valley on the history and culture of Florence and those writers, patrons, and artists who worked to represent it. The fluvial landscape in the Nativity and Baptism frescoes by Baldovinetti and Ghirlandaio showed a view of the Arno Valley spreading in direction of neighboring Prato, a perspective differing from the view in Pollaiuolo’s paintings of Hercules, a formative tale in the early history of Florence. The zigzag shoreline of the Arno River is emphasized by Botticelli. Descriptions of the Arno River by Landino, Lorenzo de’ Medici, and Polizi...

Skeletons show rickets struck the Medici family

Skeletons show rickets struck the Medici family

Rickets in a High Social Class of Renaissance Italy: The Medici Children

AbstractExploration of the Medici Chapels in the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence revealed the burials of nine juvenile members of the Medici family (16th–17th centuries). The estimated children's skeletal ages ranged from newborns to 5‐year‐olds, showing a series of bone abnormalities, in particular diffuse periosteal new bone and bowing of long bones. The comparable pathological lesions, including porosity evident on the skull, orbital roofs, costocondral ribs and growth plates between metaphyses and epiphyses, enlargement of metaphyses and sternal rib ends, and long bone bending, are interpreted as the skeletal manifestation of rickets. The diagnosis of a metabolic disease linked to vitamin D deficiency would appear to be unexpected for children brought up at the court of a Renaissance elite class family like the Medici of Florence. Analysis of the historical and social background is particularly helpful to understand the causes of the onset of the disease in this aristocratic group. Documentary sources, supported by 13C and 15N bone collagen analysis, attest that weaning of these children took place when they were around 2 years old. With a prolonged breast‐feeding and a delay in introducing solid food in the diet, vitamin D deficiency is expected to rise considerably, in particular if the other main risk factor, namely inadequate sunlight exposition, is associated with this human milk‐based diet. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Revealing the “Secrets” of the Medici Family -no Proof as yet for Hip Dysplasia: Commentary on “Developmental Hip Dysplasia in the Medici Family”, Hip Int. 2013;23(1):108-9

Revealing the “Secrets” of the Medici Family -no Proof as yet for Hip Dysplasia: Commentary on “Developmental Hip Dysplasia in the Medici Family”, Hip Int. 2013;23(1):108-9

The “Gout of the Medici”: Making the modern diagnosis using paleopathology

Documentary sources show that painful joint disease afflicted several members of the Medici family, which dominated Renaissance Florence in Italy. The term frequently reported in contemporary archives to indicate these morbid episodes is “gout.” Paleopathology allows us to verify the nosological information obtained from the written documents and to clarify the nature of the rheumatological condition that afflicted the Medici.A paleopathological study carried out on the skeletal remains of several members of the Medici family buried in the basilica of S. Lorenzo in Florence demonstrated that the “gout” of the Medici was truly a uric acid gout only in Ferdinand I (1549–1609), whose left foot showed peculiar lesions. Genetic and environmental factors, with particular regard to diet, may have been involved in the etiology of this disease, which in Ferdinand was associated with diffuse idiopatic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH). DISH was observed also in the column of Cosimo the Elder (1389–1464) and Cosimo I (1519–1574); a link between the incidence of DISH and high social status, especially in terms of lifestyle and nutritional patterns, has been suggested and the present study seems to further confirm this association. Finally, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was diagnosed in Cosimo the Elder, Piero “the Gouty” (1416–1469) and Cardinal Carlo (1596–1666); as for Carlo, macroscopic and radiological findings were supported by molecular results which revealed that he was bearing the specificity HLA-DR4 predisposing to RA. The coexistence of DISH and RA attested in Cosimo the Elder can be interpreted as coincidental.In conclusion, the term “gout” as used in Renaissance texts has to be regarded as the clinical manifestation of a number of different joint diseases. In the case of the Medici family in Florence, these included DISH, rheumatoid arthritis and uric acid gout.

Developmental Hip Dysplasia in the Medici Family: Giovanna from Austria (1548-1578) and Her Daughter Anna (1569-1584)

The skeletal remains of Giovanna from Austria (1548-1578), first wife of the Grand Duke of Tuscany Francesco I (1541-1587), and their daughter Anna (1569-1584) were exhumed from the Medici Chapels in the Basilica of S. Lorenzo in Florence and submitted to anthropological and paleopathological study. The superior portion of the acetabulum of Giovanna is sloping, and reveals bilateral acetabular dysplasia. The same defect is also present in Anna, together with sacral spina bifida occulta. In both women the anatomical abnormality is limited to a deformation in the roof of both acetabulae and the femoral heads continued to articulate normally within the hip joint. The presence of bilateral acetabular dysplasia in the skeletal remains of Giovanna and her daughter Anna can be explained by a series of risk factors to which the two Medici women were exposed: female sex, practice of swaddling in the first months of life, as well as scoliosis and pelvic deformity for Giovanna and family history for Anna.

Breastfeeding and Weaning in Renaissance Italy: The Medici Children

Abstract Exploration of the Medici Chapels in the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence, Italy, revealed the burials of nine infantile members of the Medici family. Eight children were found in the intact tomb of the last Grand Duke GianGastone (1671-1737), and another child was exhumed from the Chapel of Grand Duke Ferdinando I (1549-1609). Skeletal ages ranged from newborn to 5 years, suggesting an identification with infantile members of the family. A paleonutritional study has been performed on the bone samples of all members of the Medici family exhumed so far. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis of bone collagen was used to detect the timing of the weaning process in this population. The (15)N values of the Medici children are significantly higher than those of adults, indicating that these infants were breastfed for a long time period. In particular, the levels of (15)N are high before the second year but decrease in older children, evidently after weaning, reaching the levels of adults. During the Renaissance, it was the common opinion that children should not be weaned before the second year of life. Archival documents suggest that the Medici children were never weaned before that age and, in most cases, even some months later. Combination of paleonutritional data and historical sources allowed reconstruction of the breastfeeding and weaning patterns of this aristocratic Renaissance class.

Poetry in the Service of Music: The Case of Giovambattista Strozzi the Younger (1551–1634)

Giovambattista (G. B.) Strozzi the Younger (1551–1634) occupied an important place in the literary life of Florence during the period when the Medici were consolidating their absolute rule over Tuscany. As a founder member and host of the Accademia degli Alterati he stands at the center of a web of poets and academicians who strove to bring about a closer cooperation between music, literature, and theater. Strozzi is of interest to music historians for his work in three overlapping areas. First, he provided the texts for intermedi, maschere, and other music performed in Florence from 1579 until 1608, including music celebrating dynastic events of the Medici family. Second, a number of his poems were disseminated as the texts of published madrigals. Third, G. B. Strozzi is the author of poesia per musica, poems written specifically for musical setting or as contrafacta for existing musical pieces. In this area Strozzi was influenced by the reforming and moralizing tendencies of the Congregazione dell’Oratorio. This article surveys Strozzi’s contribution in these three overlapping areas and also focuses on the poems Strozzi wrote in homage to Bianca Cappello, Francesco de’ Medici’s mistress and later his wife.

The early Renaissance and vernacular culture

Why do the paintings and poetry of the Italian Renaissance--a celebration of classical antiquity--also depict the Florentine countryside populated with figures dressed in contemporary silk robes and fleur-de-lys crowns? Upending conventional interpretations of this well-studied period, Charles Dempsey argues that a fusion of classical form with contemporary content, once seen as the paradox of the Renaissance, can be better understood as its defining characteristic. Dempsey describes how Renaissance artists deftly incorporated secular and popular culture into their creations, just as they interwove classical and religious influences. Inspired by the love lyrics of Parisian troubadours, Simone Martini altered his fresco Maesta in 1321 to reflect a court culture that prized terrestrial beauty. As a result the Maesta scandalously revealed, for the first time in Italian painting, a glimpse of the Madonna's golden locks. Modeled on an ancient statue, Botticelli's Birth of Venus went much further, featuring fashionable beauty ideals of long flowing blonde hair, ivory skin, rosy cheeks, and perfectly arched eyebrows. In the only complete reconstruction of Feo Belcari's twelve Sybilline Octaves, Dempsey shows how this poet, patronized by the Medici family, was also indebted to contemporary dramatic modes. Popularizing biblical scenes by mixing the familiar with the exotic, players took the stage outfitted in taffeta tunics and fanciful hats, and one staging even featured a papier mache replica of Jonah's Whale. As Dempsey's thorough study illuminates, Renaissance poets and artists did not simply reproduce classical aesthetics but reimagined them in vernacular idioms.

Kampf um Florenz–Die Medici im Exil (1494–1512) (review)

Kampf um Florenz-Die Medici im Exil (1494-1512). By Gotz-Rudiger Tewes. (Cologne: Bohlau Verlag. 2011. Pp. xiv, 1190. euro128,00. ISBN 978-3412-20643-7.) Many years ago, there was a delightful friend, all energy and projects, who would visit my roommates and me in our college dormitory. She carried a very heavy bookbag, which, after climbing four flights of stairs, she would drop on the floor with a thud. In the bag there figured most prominently a thick biology text that she was always promising to read. One day, we played a prank on her and placed a brick at the bottom of her bookbag. Imagine her surprise one week later when we emptied the bag and revealed the brick. When Gotz-Rudiger Tewes's new book- nearly 1200 pages in Germanarrived, this reviewer's first thought was that a similar if not identical trick was being played on him by the editors of The Catholic Historical Review. All's well that ends well. The friend did read her biology book, and this admirable book by Tewes was a pleasure to read. Florence in the period from 1494 to 1512, when the Medici family was in exile and a republican regime known as the governo popolare was in control, has long been the subject of intense scrutiny, especially by scholars interested in Savonarola and Machiavelli. Tewes tells the story of this period again, but this time from the point of view of the exiled Medici and their partisans in Florence, whose story is reconstructed in exacting detail on the basis of a great deal of new evidence that Tewes has assembled and analyzed with great care. He situates his work within the field of historical network study, but his is an unusual case. Other Florentine historians have looked at the network as a tool of social advancement, as a means of preserving class dominance, as a way of controlling territory, as an instrument for seizing political power, or as a way extending influence abroad. The emphasis has been on how growing networks advanced the interests of those who belonged to them. Tewes instead studies a network that shrunk and adapted defensively during a prolonged crisis. This is not an expansive Facebook-style story, but it is no less interesting. The broad network that was established by Cosimo de' Medici in the 1420s and 143Os did not disappear after the political disaster of 1494, but in great part it became dormant. Most former partisans participated in the restored republic, whereas only a few key Florentine players remained secretly active in the Medici network, whose principals (Piero, Cardinal Giovanni, and Giuliano) continued to move freely about the Italian pensinsula. Crucial to the survival of the principals as political actors was the preservation of their wealth. Notwithstanding repeated clawback efforts by the Florentine government, the Medici continued to command resources that were substantial enough to influence the policy of successive popes and the king of France. …

A Rich History of Scientific and Educational Contributions: Celebrating 125 Years of the American Association of Anatomists

Celebrating 125 years of history of the American Association of Anatomists will be a highlight of the Experimental Biology 2013 annual meeting in Boston, MA, April 20–24, 2013. The celebration will be exciting to witness and participate in! Do not miss the celebration. For its part, the editorial office of The Anatomical Record will publish articles that highlight contributions to anatomical sciences during the next 12 months in the Journal, leading up to the Experimental Biology 2013 meeting. Launching the articles is a historical perspective of the “The Anatomical School of Padua,” one of the most ancient in the world. Human anatomy buffs ought to delight in the pearls of history that are provided by the authors, Andrea Porzionato, Veronica Macchi, Carla Stecco, Anna Parenti, and Raffaele De Caro, all of whom are from the University of Padua, Italy. Professor De Caro is Director of the Department of Human Anatomy. The historical perspective begins by introducing Bruno da Longobucco (c. 1200–c. 1286), who is most likely the first Professor of Anatomy and Surgery at the University of Padua. His introduction is followed by a chronology of renowned professors of anatomy and surgery the likes of whom few universities can boast: Andreas Vesalius (1514–1564), Realdo Colombo (1516–1559), Gabriel Fallopius (1523–1562), Hieronymus Fabricius ab Aquapendente (1533–1619), Julius Casserius (1552–1616), Johann Wesling (1598–1649), Johann Georg Wirsung (1600–1643), and Giovanni Battista Morgagni (1682–1771). Morgagni's contributions include his inaugural lecture on medical education, Nova Institutionum Medicarum Idea, delivered in 1712. His lecture emphasized the importance of a solid foundation of knowledge of preclinical and clinical aspects of medical science. Morgagni's educational message is as relevant today as it was 300 years ago. Numerous foreign scholars studied at the University of Padua, such as, Thomas Linacre (1460–1524), Werner Rolfinck (1599–1673), Thomas Bartholin (1616–1680), Olof Rudbeck (1630–1702), and William Harvey (1578–1657). The anatomical theater, University of Padua. Dr. De Caro and Dr. Albertine, November 2008. Medallion that commemorates Fabricius' anatomical theater, University of Padau. Medallion given to Dr. Albertine by Dr. De Caro, November 2008. “The Anatomical School of Padua” provides insights about many of the giants of our field. Did you know that Vesalius was charged with murder in 1564 for dissecting a nobleman whose heart was reported to be beating by some witnesses? Fortunately, on many levels, Vesalius' sentence was commuted to a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Another insight is that Fabricius, as a physician, treated the Medici family, Galileo Galilei, the Duke of Urbino, and the King of Poland. The article is enriched by 13 figures that show statues or portraits of the anatomy professors of greatest contribution and renown, as well as features of the University of Padua. Palazzo Bò is the ancient building that houses the iconic anatomical theater that revolutionized teaching of human anatomy (see Fig. 6B in the article). Fabricius (1533–1619) led construction of the anatomical theater. The theater was used until 1872. Those who have had the honor and privilege to enter the anatomical theater will attest that its six concentric galleries are stunning in design and proximity to the epicenter: the dissection table (Figure 1 of this editorial). The theater can hold 300 people, all standing no farther than 30 feet from the dissecting table. I was awed during my visit, for which I thank Professor De Caro. Figure 2 in this editorial is the medallion that Professor De Caro is famous for presenting to guests of Fabricius' anatomical theater. My hope, and that of authors Andrea Porzionato, Veronica Macchi, Carla Stecco, Anna Parenti, and Raffaele De Caro, is that you will enjoy the historical tour that launches articles featuring approaches to advance medical education, unravel mysteries of biology, and lead discoveries and advances in human health and disease.

Florența ȋn timpul lui Lorenzo Magnificul

Abstract The ancient city of Firenze is, for more people, the most beautiful place from Italy. A active political life, a splendid architecture and great artists marks the history of this city. In Middle Ages, Firenze was conducted by the Medici's family. Bankers, politicians and patrons of artists they played a significant role in the history of the city, of Italy and even of the Europe. In this short article we do a little voyage in the Firenze ruled by Lorenzo the Magnificient.