I Ginori in Spagna e Portogallo tra XVII e XVIII secolo

commercio globale, diplomazia artistica e collezionismo tra Italia e Penisola Iberica

Abstract

This article discusses for the first time the collecting activities of members of the Ginori family in the Iberian Peninsula during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Because some of them were Florentine consuls, they also acted as envoys on behalf of Cosimo III, which enabled them to develop a profound ability to use works of art as diplomatic instruments. The abundant unpublished documentation found in the Archivio Ginori Lisci makes it possible to correct, clarify, and deepen our understanding of the family’s trade relations, which previous scholarship had developed mainly based on the Mediceo del Principato fund of the Archivio di Stato in Florence. In addition, this essay examines the import of artworks by the Ginori from the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese monarchies for their Florentine residence. Some of these works are still preserved today and are introduced here for the first time, with particular attention to their artistic display in the Palazzo Ginori from the moment of their arrival in Italy.