The Camera Verde. A public center for the duchess of Florence in the Palazzo Vecchio

In 1540 Cosimo I de’ Medici occupied the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, initiating a period of extensive alterations to the former Priors’ palace to render it an appropriate ducal residence. The most urgent works were those for the apartment of his consort, to insure that she had both an adequate level of comfort and a setting for the reception of visitors that reflected her newly-established court persona. The public function of the Quartiere di Eleonora was clearly of primary importance as the first work undertaken was the creation and decoration of the duchess’s audience hall, the Camera Verde. Since the 1893 publication of a 1553 palace inventory, this space has generally been misidentified as Eleonora di Toledo’s bedroom ; a reexamination of the inventory reveals that it was in fact the most public space in her suite. Further documentary research permits reconstruction of the appearance and furnishings of this saletta, when it was the scene of Eleonora’s remarkable financial activities in her role as manager of household accounts and Medici estates.Edelstein Bruce. The Camera Verde. A public center for the duchess of Florence in the Palazzo Vecchio. In: Mélanges de l'École française de Rome. Italie et Méditerranée, tome 115, n°1. 2003. Représentation et identité en Italie et en Europe (XVe–XIXe siècle) pp. 51-87