the thanksgiving tour
November 26-29, 2024
Florence
Florence has the largest collection of artefacts and illustrations of the Americas than any other European country. On this tour, we will explore the role of Medici Florence in the discovery of the New World. You will see early Medici maps of New Spain in Palazzo Vecchio, explore navigation technology used by Amerigo Vespucci in the Galileo Museum, hunt for a bronze turkey by Giambologna in the Bargello Museum, and look at Indigenous artefacts from the Medici collection in the Museum of Ethonography.
palazzo vecchio
We begin our tour in Palazzo Vecchio, where we explore maps of the New World in Cosimo I de’ Medici’s Guardaroba Nuova.
museo galileo + museo bargello
Next up: The Galileo Museum. We learn why Medici Florence was an epicenter of navigation technology, and how explorers like Amerigo Vespucci used astrolabes and quadrants on journeys to the New World.
Third stop is the Bargello Museum, where we will hunt for a bronze turkey amongst other exotic birds by the famed sculptor Giambologna.
Our last stop on the tour is the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, where we will look at Indigenous art from the Americas that was part of the original Medici collection.
museo di ethnology
reserve the tour
Alexandria has been studying Art History for nearly 20 years. With a PhD in Renaissance Art History from Stanford, an MA from Harvard Graduate School of Design, and a BA from Berkeley, she lives and breathes all things Renaissance Florence.
She teaches art history in Florence where she also holds the position of Associate Scholar at the Kunsthistorisches Institute. She is committed to making art history accessible, engaging, and fun for all people of all ages, cultures, and backgrounds.