The most beautiful woman in Florence : a story of Botticelli

First Title Value for Searching:

Personal Author:

Palombo, Alyssa

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

309 pages ; 21 cm.

Genre:

Biographical fiction.

Historical fiction.

Love stories.

Summary:

"A girl as beautiful as Simonetta Cattaneo never wants for marriage proposals in 15th Century Italy, but she jumps at the chance to marry Marco Vespucci. Marco is young, handsome and well-educated. Not to mention he is one of the powerful Medici family's favored circle. Even before her marriage with Marco is set, Simonetta is swept up into Lorenzo and Giuliano de' Medici's glittering circle of politicians, poets, artists, and philosophers. The men of Florence--most notably the rakish Giuliano de' Medici--become enthralled with her beauty. That she is educated and an ardent reader of poetry makes her more desirable and fashionable still. But it is her acquaintance with a young painter, Sandro Botticelli, which strikes her heart most. Botticelli immediately invites Simonetta, newly proclaimed the most beautiful woman in Florence, to pose for him. As Simonetta learns to navigate her marriage, her place in Florentine society, and the politics of beauty and desire, she and Botticelli develop a passionate intimacy, one that leads to her immortalization in his masterpiece, The Birth of Venus. Alyssa Palombo's The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence vividly captures the dangerous allure of the artist and muse bond with candor and unforgettable passion"--

Subject Term:

Artists' models -- Italy -- Florence -- Fiction.

Painters -- Italy -- Florence -- Fiction.

Nobility -- Italy -- Florence -- Fiction.

Publication Info:

New York : St. Martin's Griffin, 2017.

Subject:

Artists' models -- Italy -- Florence -- Fiction.

Painters -- Italy -- Florence -- Fiction.

Nobility -- Italy -- Florence -- Fiction.

Florence (Italy) -- History -- 1421-1737 -- Fiction.

Biographical fiction.

Historical fiction.

Love stories.

Vespucci, Simonetta, approximately 1453-1476 -- Fiction.

Botticelli, Sandro, 1444 or 1445-1510 -- Fiction.

Medici, House of -- Fiction.

Cattaneo, Simonetta, approximately 1453-1476

Cattaneo Vespucci, Simonetta, approximately 1453-1476

Vespucci, Simonetta, ca. 1453-1476

Botticelli, Sandro, 1444 or 5-1510

Botticelli, Sandro, 1447?-1510

Bottichelli, Sandro, 1444 or 1445-1510

Di Filipepi, Alessandro, 1444 or 1445-1510

Fei-li-pei-pʻi, Ya-li-shan-te-lo tai, 1444 or 1445-1510

Filipepi, Alessandro, 1444 or 1445-1510

Po-tʻi-chʻieh-li, 1444 or 1445-1510

Tai Fei-li-pei-pʻi, Ya-li-shan-te-lo, 1444 or 1445-1510

בוטיצ׳לי, סנדרו, 1444 או 5־1510

House of Medici

Models, Artists'

Italy -- Nobility

SAILS ISBN:

9781250071507

Available:

Library	Shelf Number	Shelf Location	Status
Searching... Carver Public Library	FIC PAL	FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Mansfield Public Library	FIC PALOMBO	FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Pembroke Public Library	FIC PALOMBO, A.	FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Richards Memorial Library	PALOMBO	FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Seekonk Public Library	FIC PALOMBO	FICTION	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

"In the tradition of Tracy Chevalier's Girl with a Pearl Earring , Palombo has married fine art with romantic historical fiction in this lush and sensual interpretation of Medici Florence, artist Sandro Botticelli, and the muse that inspired them all." - Booklist

A girl as beautiful as Simonetta Cattaneo never wants for marriage proposals in 15th Century Italy, but she jumps at the chance to marry Marco Vespucci. Marco is young, handsome and well-educated. Not to mention he is one of the powerful Medici family's favored circle.

Even before her marriage with Marco is set, Simonetta is swept up into Lorenzo and Giuliano de' Medici's glittering circle of politicians, poets, artists, and philosophers. The men of Florence--most notably the rakish Giuliano de' Medici--become enthralled with her beauty. That she is educated and an ardent reader of poetry makes her more desirable and fashionable still. But it is her acquaintance with a young painter, Sandro Botticelli, which strikes her heart most. Botticelli immediately invites Simonetta, newly proclaimed the most beautiful woman in Florence, to pose for him. As Simonetta learns to navigate her marriage, her place in Florentine society, and the politics of beauty and desire, she and Botticelli develop a passionate intimacy, one that leads to her immortalization in his masterpiece, The Birth of Venus.

Alyssa Palombo's The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence vividly captures the dangerous allure of the artist and muse bond with candor and unforgettable passion.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Simonetta Cattaneo, said to be the model for some of Sandro Botticelli's finest paintings, including the Birth of Venus, was wed to Marco Vespucci in 1469. This story follows her tragically short life as she is wooed by the promise of life in artistic, learned Florence, befriended by the mighty Medici family, and receives the mixed blessing of being declared the most beautiful woman in Florence. Her story as told by Palombo (The Violinist of Venice) is a sad one, but also strikingly feminist as she fights to be acknowledged for her sharp mind and education, and scorns the attention paid to her because of her fair face. Ironically, it is an artist who sees past her looks to the curious and thoughtful woman within, and through that relationship with him she is immortalized in some of the most treasured works of the Renaissance. Though little is known of her real life, this story gathers what scraps of fact exist to build a compelling narrative that is difficult to put down. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

Simonetta Vespucci, née Cattaneo, has spent her entire young life as a celebrated beauty; however, it is her mind that she wants valued. As a young bride, she is particularly eager to embrace the learned inner circle of the Medici family of Florence, an opportunity which her new husband's connections afford her. Soon after her introduction to them, she meets an artist discovered by Lorenzo Medici, Sandro Botticelli, and agrees to have him paint her portrait. From this, an unlikely friendship develops that soon grows into something more. Though Simonetta is attracted to Botticelli, her loyalty to her husband keeps her from acting on her feelings. When faced with an unpleasant way of furthering her husband's career, Simonetta must make the choice between loyalty to her husband or to her own heart. In the tradition of Tracy Chevalier's Girl with a Pearl Earring (2000), Palombo (The Violinist of Venice, 2015) has married fine art with romantic historical fiction in this lush and sensual interpretation of Medici Florence, artist Sandro Botticelli, and the muse that inspired them all.--Shaw, Stacy Copyright 2017 Booklist