Bacchus and the Florentine Spectators Yael Even

ether publicly-displayed images of mythological gods could be recognized by ordinary citizens in Renaissance is Widebatable. Whether they enabled commoners to familiarize themselves with Greco-Roman narratives is equally arguable. The present essay attempts to determine if the so-called simple but savvy members of the middle class, such as the merchants, understood not only the meaning of images of but also those of other Olympian deities. It is a case study that focuses on the unexamined emergence of open-air portrayals of Bacchus, which presented him as the god who introduced humanity to the joy of drinking wine. Publicly-displayed images of pagan deities in Ducal Florence appeared in such mythologized pageants as those commissioned by Cosimo I dei Medici. They were devised by Vincenzo Borghini and designed by and under the aegis of Giorgio Vasari (Even).! The ephemeral reliefs, grisailles and statues which were exhibited during the processions celebrating the wedding of Francesco I de' Medici, son of Cosimo I, and Joanna of Austria, daughter of Ferdinand I, in 1565-66, are cases in point. The reliefs and grisailles appeared during the entrata of the future Medici grand duchess to the city (16 December 1565). The statues were presented slightly later, during the Mascherata della Geologia degli Dei dei Gentili or the Pageant of the Pagan Gods (21 February 1565), which celebrated Joanna's union with the Medici heir. In both spectacles, the figure of Bacchus stood out and, as hypothesized below, one of the few most recognizable pagan gods by the Florentine crowds. Among the fourteen ephemeral arches along the entrata route (Fig. 1),2 the Arch of Maritime Empire, on the Bridge (Fig. 2), and the Arch of Happiness (Fig. 3), in the intersection of the via dei Leoni and the Borgo dei Greci, included temporary wine-spouting fountains (Starn and Partridge 179).3 The Arch of Happiness marked the penultimate station in Joanna's official entry, near the and Bartolomeo Ammanati's Neptune Fountain, where the public aspect of the festivity ended. It showcased Bacchus in his role as the God of Wine. Indeed, a relief or grisaille depicting the god appeared on top and in the center of the arch, underneath the statue of Happiness which rose on top of the crown. Flanked by figures of Bacchants, the image of Bacchus towered over the ephemeral fountain, which spouted not only red and white wine but also water which was apparently intended to sober up the people who had been drinking excessively. The Arch of Happiness was the only structure along the entrata route to be expressly dedicated to the Florentine commoners. It featured three inscriptions which read in translation:

1. Happiness to the People of Florence; 2. Now is the time to drink and with free foot to beat the earth; 3. Away water, the bane if wine (Starn & Partridge 179) EIRe 39.1 (Summer 2013): 59-70 60 Like the Latin captions on the twelve preceding arches,4 these were translated for the viewers by the singers and chorists, who participated in the parade. They were also discussed by the bystanders, who must have included some of the "intelligent persons of the histories" during, before, and after the spectacle (Lapini 131). It is well known that social interchanges among high- and middle­ class Florentines were common in Ducal Florence. Various contemporary descriptions, such as one by Giovanbattista del Ottonaio, indicate that citizens of diverse social standing would while much of their time in the central squares and streets of the city. According to Yvonne Elet, they included "patricians, low lifes [sic], learned men, idlers, old men, [and] clerics" (Elet 541-42). Often referred to as "bench sitters," "quelli delle panaccie" and "panaccieri," some of them spent what would appear to have been their late afternoons seated on the benches of the , the , the Loggia dei Lanzi, the , the Palazzo Medici and the . Later accounts by Agostino Lapini attest to the same phenomenon (Lapini 131). The latter asserts that the intellectual members of the Florentine society would discuss such matters as publicly-exhibited artworks in the presence oftheir semi-educated counterparts. Soon after the unveiling of 's Rape if a Sabine Woman in the Loggia dei Lanzi (1582), Lapini wrote in his diary: "three marble figures were put under the arch of the big loggia of the square," a comment that is both superficial and misleading; it does not even specifY that the figures in point formed part of a single life-size statue. This diary entry is followed by another, stating that according to the intellectuals, Giambologna's Rape of a Sabine Woman represented "the abduction of the Sabine." The specification that the were "virgin maidens who were taken by force by the Romans" appears later. Lapini's notations suggest that at the outset, he did not actually know the entire story of the abduction and its significance. When he realized that the latter was appreciated by so many spectators, many ofwhom wrote poems about it, he was eager to learn what the "connoisseurs [who were] well informed about art" had to say (Lomazzo; Starn and Partridge 16);5 and only then did he want to know more. In other words, what the diarist understood before contacting "the learned persons of the histories" was what most ordinary spectators would have understood. These Florentines, as well as Lapini, could not comprehend the programme. Only Cosimo I, his advisors, the planners of the programme, and a number of erudite members of the social elite would have deciphered (some of) the complicated ideas represented along the entrata route. The assumption that the image of Bacchus as the God ofWine on the Arch of Happiness attracted more people than its counterpart near the Arch of Maritime Empire is worth considering. The Arch of Happiness was the only one dedicated to the people, who must have been aware of it and thus eager to see it. 6 Furthermore, compared to all other arches, it depicted the fewest figures and the clearest compositions. Except for the statue ofHappiness on top ofthe arch, it did not present personifications of abstract ideas such as Fidelity and Affection (Arch of Florence); Prudence, Patience, and Vigilance (Arch of Prudence) , to mention only a few arches.