Fortune of Orpheus myth in Florence between the 16th and the 17th centuries

Abstract

The paper analyses the reception of the Orpheus’ myth in Florence between the 16th and the 17th centuries, through public and private commissions that give evidence of its vitality, its symbolic value and its originality: a victorious hero for Rinuccini; a sign of Jacopo Corsi’s wealth and of the proximity to the Medici of  the sponsor of Francqueville; a simple supporting role, in 1608, in Cosimo II wedding celebrations.