"Performing for Strangers: Women, Dance, and Music in Quattrocento Florence"

7/28/2019 "Performing for Strangers: Women, Dance, and Music in Quattrocento Florence"

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Performing for Strangers: Women, Dance, and Music in Quattrocento FlorenceAuthor(s): Judith Bryce

Source: Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 54, No. 4, Part 1 (Winter, 2001), pp. 1074-1107Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Renaissance Society of AmericaStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1261967 .

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PerformingStrangers:lomen,ance, ndAlusicn uattrocentolorence*

byJUDITH BRYCEContraryoa traditionofscholarlynsistencen theinvisibilityfFlorentineatricianwomenoutside hedomesticsphere,t can be argued uchwomendid in effecterform significant,public,orquasi-public,unctionn thenegotiationfrelationshipsetweenheRepublicndotherItalian, ndEuropean, lites. his rticleassemblesfragmentaryvidenceconcerningancingndmusicalperformanceywomendirectedowards he ntertainmentf visiting otablesn thesecondha4Fof heQuattrocento,nd usesmodern oncepts fgenderedperformancend theperformancefgenderospeculatenthenature f hatexperienceforhewomennvolved.

n the arrival of Pope Pius 11 in Mantua for the Congress of 1459,among those waiting outside the Cathedral to greet him, strategically

positioned on a specially constructed platform, were Barbara of Branden-burg, wife of Lodovico Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua, and Bianca MariaVisconti, wife of Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, the latter accompaniedby her children, including the thirteen-year-old Ippolita Sforza, and a reti-nue of "noble girls and women" (nobili fanciulle e gentildonne). Thefollowing day, Ippolita famously delivered a Latin oration to the Pope andhis entourage.' In 1471, by contrast, when the next Duke and Duchess ofMilan, Galeazzo Maria Sforza and Bona of Savoy, visited Florence with alarge following, no Florentine women (contrary to the account of the Mi-lanese historian Bernardino Corio), were among the formal welcomingparty, with Riccardo Fubini commenting that the presence of women inpublic was contrary to Florentine custorns.'

*Thanks re due tothe readers or hisournal, ncluding imothyMcGee and MichaelRocke,for heir elpfid omments, o StephenJ.Milnerfor hecking eferencesnFlorence,and toTonyAntonovics,s always, orsharing isbibliographical xpertise. ll translationsaremineunlessotherwisetated.'Piccolomini,1:417. Formalereactions o Ippolita's erformance,eeMagnani,xxiii,doc. 29, 28 May 1459,Otto del Carretto o Francesco forza.'Fubini, 171, contrasts he erroneous escription f the eventbyCorio who rewrites

Florentineocial customs n terms f Milaneseones amongthosewhowentoutto meettheDuke and Duchesswere themarriedwomen of thecity,hen heyounggirls";e matrone ela bellacit, puoi le pulcelle),with first-handccountbya Mantuan,BartolomeoBonatto,writingo LodovicoGonzagaon 17 March1471 (193). Womenwere,however, resumablyamongtheanonymous rowds lsomentionedbyBonatto:"in thecity, ll thestreets, in-dows,and roofswerepackedwithpeople" in la terra ucte e strate, enestretcoperti ranocarichide populo. Ibid., 193), andsee,too,no fewerhanthree eferences adebyGaleazzo

Renaissanceuarterly4 (2001): 1074-1107 [ 10741

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PERFORMING FOR STRANGERS 1075

Thisapparentbsence fFlorentineomen romhepublic, ommu-nalstagehascontributedothe arger iscoursenrecentiteraturenwomen'sistoryoncerninghe nvisibilityfthewomen fthe itysmer-cantileclasses,with obviouscomparisonsmade between hemoreglamorousristocraticlites elongingo othertatesnthe talian enin-sula theducal ourtsfFerrarandMilan, rtheroyalourt fNaplesandthebonnesourgeoises,hehousewives,ftheFlorentineepublic,re-quentlyresentedssubjectoa rigid atriarchalontrol nd confinedotheprivate,omesticealm.Theres,ofcourse, degreeftruthn thenotion fFlorentineatri-cianwornens ifferenceromheirristocraticisterslsewhere,utthecontrasts sometimesresentednterms hich reperhapsoostark o bereallysefulnthe ontinuingnterprisefexploringomen'sivesnRe-naissance Florence. Some patricianwomendid, after ll, havetheopportunityfmeetinguchhigh-rankingisitors.n 147 ,thevenuewasthe mbiguouslyrivatepace f heMedici alace,wherehere eremanywomenwaitingogreetheDuchess,"' ut significantumber fthem

did, ttimes,nter hepublic rena, otably ith heirnvolvementntheofficialalls rdances eld tfairlyegularntervalshroughouthe enturyand attendedyvisiting,on-Florentine,nd argely ale, lites. ichardTrexler,s sooften,ivesheeadwith hencontrovertibletatement:gov-ernmentsnew hatwithoutirlsndwomen,here asno dance"1980,236). Suchpublic ancing ill onstituteheprimaryocus fthepresentstudy,lthoughhenotionf public" ill eextendedo ncorporatexam-ples fwhat nemightermsemi-private"ccasions henwomen anced,in their wndomesticpaceorelsewhere,ith rfor isitingtrangers.Maria forza o hisfathern the ubjectf he ichlyressedlorentineomeneenduringhis ntrynto he ityn1459 Magnani,ii-xiii,oc.20, 17April). orveryimilartten-tionpaid to thepublicpresencefwomen, ee thevaluable irst-handccount f theBurgundianhronicler,eorges hastellain:atall thewindowswere adies ndyoungwomen, hodelightedhe yes f he isitorsstheynteredhe ity,orhere ereomany,and of such xcellenteauty,hat lleyes nd hearts ere aptivated"toutes enestress-toient arniesedames t debelles amoisellese aville, ont 'aornementt aspecieusite'ammusoitesyeulz es ntrans,ar nyavoit igrant ombretdesidiverseeault6ue esyeulz es'enpooient avoire esceurs istraire.20).3Seethe undamentalontributionsyKlapisch-Zuber,985 nd1990.Recentibliog-raphywhich xpands urknowledge f theparticularitiesndparadoxes fwomen'sexperiencenQuattrocentolorence ould nclude uehn; ohn;Chabot; trocchia;ndRosenthal.or xample,he atter'salanced ositionnthe ssue fwomen'sgency artic-ularlyecommendstselfnthe resentontext.ee, oo,Bryce.'BonattonFubini, 93:"dove rademolte oneper ccogliere adona."



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1076 RENAISSANCE QUARTERLY

Given he lose orrelationetweenancingndother ormsf ocialbe-havioruch svocal nd nstrumentalerformance,owever,he rticle illalsogoontoconsiderxamplesf heseatteryFlorentineomen ccur-ringnthe ame, rveryimilar,ontexts.Beforeonsideringrangefpossiblenterpretativepproacheselatingto women'sisibilitynthedance,we should avebefore ssome oncreteexamplesfthekind f nformationvailablentheQuattrocentoources,informationhichs, nfact,urprisinglyubstantial. hat mergessalong raditionffestiveancingnpublic yFlorentineomenwith hemajormomentsfthedancing ear allingetweenanuaryndJune,ndfrequentlyssociatedithmajor estivals:arnival,alendimaggio,nd hefeastf he itys atronaint,anGiovanni attista.heprincipalenue,tleastnthe ifteenthentury,ppearsohave een heMercato uovo, utPiazza ella ignoria as lsoused,with ventsn1414,1419,1421,1454,and1466glimpsedhroughhebriefescriptionsf ontemporaryiarists6such s Bartolommeoi Michele el Corazza ndGiusto 'Anghiari.nthedominio,oo,Florentine omen ubliclyelebratedheir itys eastdays, orxampleta dance or an GiovanninPisa n1441describednaprivateetterated 4JuneoGiovanniiCosimo e'Medici rom oselloRoselli howas waitinghe rrivalf he lorentinealleys.longwith herest fhis ompanions,oselli raysor hemobedelayed,sothathe ischeriirl on'to way,ecauseswearhathe eepshe om-panyntertained,nd veryones n ovewither. greatfestaas eld odayinher onorttendedy ll headiesnPisa,nd magnificentallwasheldinthe onsuls'oggia.wo rizes erewarded,nefor hewomennd heotheror hemen. heformeras beautifulcarleteaddresson y he is-cheriirl;heatter,fineat, ent o relativefmine.7

'Considerationf ocial ancingtpurelyrivateartiesndat thenearbypaswhichwere requentedy onsiderableumbersfFlorentineatricianomenwillbedeferredoanotherccasion,nd imilarly,ith nenotablexception,ancingtFlorentineeddings.'SeeTrexler,980, 35ff.,ndalso, mong numberfrecentooks nthe ity'ses-tiveife, iappeffi,articularlyhe ectionI balli" 147-53) nchap. , "I comportamentifpubblici"',ndthe elatedibliography.ccordingoDelCorazza, or xample,n26 Feb-ruary420/1,agroup fyoungitizensrganizedneventn theMercato uovo, hat sadance, ndtheynvited anywomen,ndyoungmen"unabrigata.igiovaniittadinie-cionouna. estan MercatoNuovo, io diballare, invitarono olte onne giovanigarzoni.77,and ee lso254and276).Giusto 'Anghiari'snpublishediarysextensivelyusedbyCarew-Reid.7Flamini, 07-09: Ettuctaabrigatauifanno riego Dio,chemainonpossino e-nire,ccib hequesta anciuflaeiBischirisic]non eparti,h6permiaf essanene nfesta



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This etterfferscomparativelyare pportunityo dentifyn ndividualwomannsuch context:theBischeriirl"s almost ertainlyilippa iBartolo i Noferi ischeri hose amilyelongedo theFlorentineco-8nomic litendwhomarriedilippo iLeonardo trozzin thatameyear.The caseofFilippa ischeriinks ntothe argerubject f hepublic isi-bilityfFlorentineomen,ts pportunitiesnd tsproblems,ndweshallmention er gain ater n,butfor hepurpose f thepresenttudyweshould ow oncentrateorepecificallynthose ances rganizedy hecommunenhonor fhigh-ranking,on-Florentineisitors,lthoughhepresencefthese atterould, ndsometimesid,coincidewith ventsnthe egularestivealendar.9Some dea ofthenumbernd dentityfforeignisitorsprincipallymale, ut lsooccasionallyemale),assing hroughifteenth-centurylo-renceomes rometters,romicordanze,rfromublic ecords,otablythe ibro erimonialeoveringhe econd alf f he entury.0These isitorsrange romoyaltyndnobilitytheEmperor,heKing fDenmark,heQueenofCyprus,heDukes fMilan rCalabria,ndbridesuch s ppol-itaSforzandEleonora 'Aragonantheir ay o ointheir usbands tocondottieriuch sRoberto a SanseverinondFederico aMontefeltro,ambassadors,ndchurchmen,oth opes ndcardinals.fthemany os-sible xamplesfpublic ances rganizedor rattendedy uchvisitors,two nparticularfferhe ort fdetailmostuited o ourpurposes.hesetuttaabrigata,t non verunohedi ei non ia ntabacchato;tper uoamore ggi uisuta acta nanotabileesta,ve onno tateucteedonne iquesta erra,tnellaoggia eiConsoli '6facto nomagnificoallo, tdatidoihonori,noalledonne t 'altrogli meni:quello elle onne,hefuunobello alzodechermisi,'ebbeuella eiBischeri;uello egliomeni,he fuunobellissimoappello,'ebbe nornio arente."orRoselli,ee also bid.,278ff.

8SeeFabbri,1,37-38,105,192, nd209.By luckyhance, eglimpseilippagainsome wenty-fiveearsater,his imehroughhe riticalyes fAlessandratrozzi housestheBischeri/Strozziatchsa negativexemplumue toFilippis flightiness"cervellag-gine), ndherhusband'sailureocontrol er Strozzi,70, etteroher on,Filippo,f13September465).Afterermother'seath,ndbefore ermarriage,ilippa ento ivewithmesserMannoTemperani,ut behavednsuch way hat heyouldn't ait oget id fher' fece a'portamenti,heparveoromill' nnide evarselainanzi.bid.). nterestingly,Alessandrases he ame erb sRoselli"intabaccare"/"attabaccare")odescribeilippo iLeonardo'seelingsowardsiswife,ut gainnaspiritf riticism.ilippawaswidowedn1449 Strozzi,6, etterf4 December449).9Ciappelli,53.He raisesheproblemfdetermininghepublic/privateaturef ucheventsndthe inancialndorganizationalesponsibilitiesnvolved 50-5 .'OTrexler978.TrexlerupportseneBrucker'siew nchangesntheFlorentinetti-tude owardseceivinguch isitorsnthe ifteenthenturyI 980,304-05).



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date rom433 nd1459, he isits,espectively,f mbassadorsf he m-peror igismundith heiruites,ndofGaleazzoMaria forza,ldestonof heDukeFrancescoforza fMilan. n1459, s n omanynstances,hewomen nvolvednpublic ancing ith isitorsemainnonymous,utwehave wonamesnconnectionith he1433visit: hat fFrancesca,augh-ter fAntonio iSalvestroerristori,ndAlessandra,aughterfBardo e'Bardi ndAlessandrae'Rinuccini,s revealednthe ccount omposedlatern the enturyyVespasianoa Bisticci.Sigismundimselfas nSiena ormanymonths eforeroceedingnhisway oRomeforhiseventual oronationyPope EugeneV inMay1433.The Florentineovernment,hich addenied im ntryo the ity,wasneverthelessnvolvednnegotiations,nd nJanuary433soughtohonor is mbassadors,dentifiedyGiovanni iJacopoMorelli s a Ger-man, Hungarian,nd theGenoesediplomatndimperialouncillor,Battistaicala. InVespasiano'sords,he lorentinesdid hemveryos-sible onor,ndtoprovidehemwith ome ntertainment,nd o thatheymightee thebeautiful,hastewomen he ity ossessed,nd also tsfineyoungmen, hey ecided o hold ball.""Thevenue nthis ccasionwasPiazzadella ignoria here large tagewasconstructedith eatingov-eredn rich abricsnda displayf apestries.heyoungmenwere ivengreeniveryovered ith earlswhile heyoungwomen, aturallyllverybeautifulnVespasiano'satriotic,dealizingccount, ere edecked ithjewels2: 477-78).FrancescaerristorindAlessandrae'Bardi, he atterthennhermid-teensndalreadyngagedo Lorenzo iPallaStrozzi,reidentifiedy hewritersthemost eautifulndthemost killfulancers:consequently,hey artneredhe eadingmbassadorna trio.Vespasianoalso tresses lessandra'skill ndgracenservinghevisitors ith onfettiandwine.Atthe ndof he vening,group fyoungmen ndwomen c-companiedhe mbassadorso theirodgingstheOsteria ellaCorona nBorgo egliAlbizzi ccordingoGiovanni iJacopoMorelliO07)). The

" Forthe "Vita dell'Alexandra e' BardicompostadaVespasiano tmandata Giovannide' Bardi", eeVespasiano, : 467-99 (in particular,77 ff.).12See Giovannidi JacopoMorelli, 107-08, and Nuti, 293-97. In 1434, according oNuti,Cicala was accordedFlorentineitizenship.13Vespasiano, : 477: "feceno oro tuttee speciedeglionorisipotessino, tperdar oroqualchericreationetperch6 edessino ll'ornatissimetpudicissime onneaveva a citt etil similegliornatissimi iovani,diterminorono areun ballo." For Florentine elationswiththeEmperor, ee ibid.,2: 273-74, and alsoGregorovius,ol. 7, 1: 34 ff. rexler eminds sthatwhen FrederickII visited lorencen 1451/2on hiswaytoRome,thiswas thecity's irstimperial isitfor enturiesndhe stressests mpacton Florentine eremonial ractices. eeTrexler, 980, 259, 300, and 310, and alsoMantini,95-96.



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first mbassadorpresented ings oAlessandra nd hercompanion(Francesca?),nd theyoungwomenwerenturnccompaniedomeVes-pasiano, : 479).InlateApril 459, xtensiveestivitiesere rganizedor opePius11andmembersfhis ourt n their ay o theCongressfMantua,ndformembersfthe taliannobilityisitinglorencenconnection ith hePope'spassage. ballwasduly rganized, ith ifteen-year-oldaleazzoMaria forza sthe rincipaluest." his ook lacentheMercato uovoonMonday 0April,heday fterjoust n Piazza antaCroce, nd nvi-tations ere xtendedoyoung eople fthe itys litewhomade braveshowingntheirineryncludinguantitiesfpearlsndotherewelsTrex-ler, 978,77). On this ccasion, owever,thermore etailedescriptionssurvive, amely letter fGaleazzoMariadated he ameday, nd twoanonymouserse arrativesnterza ima.15nSforza'sstimation,round150women articipated,othmarriedndunmarried"maritata",pul-zella", donna", fanciulla"). one are dentified.fterhe ntryf thewomen, eraldedyfanfares,ame he rand ntryfGaleazzoMariahim-self Smith, : xv-xvi),ndgeneral ancing ommencednvolvinghewomen ndsixtyplendidlyressed oungmen.Twoyoungwomen henapproachedaleazzoMaria, owed,nd nvitedim odance "danza er-egrina"Rossi, 895, ine22),afterwardseading imback ohis eat theinformationnthepoem sconfirmedySforza'setter).histriowouldseem o have anced lonebecause he ther ancersredescribedsrisingandbowing heneverhey assed y lines 0-2 ).Sforzanturnnvitedpair fwomenline 6),asdid ome f he graningnorisic] inhis uite,ofwhom he nly amedndividuals the ondottiero,ountTiberto ran-16dolini line32). FromGaleazzoMaria'setter,owever, e earn fthe

"Duringhis taynFlorence,aleazzoMariawas guestf heMedici nViaLarga. swell sMagnani,iiiff., oc.20,seeHatfield.15Sforzadescribeshe vent s"oneofthefinest omen'sestivitiesthink've everseen" unade lepiubelle este edone Mo credo he evedessemay,Magnani, xi-xxiii,doc.28,30April 459toFrancescoforza). artialranscriptionsfoneof hepoemsBib-lioteca azionale entraleiFirenzehereafterNCF),Magl.VII, 121), re n Rossi 895,andrecentlynSmith, :xiv-xix.Where he ame ext savailable n both ources, havegivenpreferenceo Rossi'sreading.Another erse ccountofthe1459 festivitiess inVolpi,1907,basedon BNCF, Magl.XXV, 24, andsee alsoVolpi,1902, 12,where iaristswho men-tion these vents re isted.The 1459 festivitiesrereferredobyvirtuallyllmodern cholarswriting bout festival nd dance in RenaisanceFlorence/Italy.or examplesof thevisualrecord fevents fthis ype ee,forexample,Padovan, 1987, and Sparti."On Brandolini,eePartner,3-47. Initiallynthe ervice f theVenetians, randolinitookPolisena,daughter fGattamelata, s his first ife.He changedto theservice f Milanin 1452/3.A decade later, e died in a Milaneseprison, ccused oftreachery.



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participationn the rio-dancingfunidentifiedembersfhisownpartyas well s of he mbassadorsftheDukeofBurgundy,ne ofwhommayhavebeenSimondeLalaingwhose resencenFlorences mentionedyGeorges hastellain.Thedancingastedn hour ndwasfollowedyre-freshments,ith ilver ishes earinglaborateymboliconfectionsntheshape fvipersnd ions arriedy large umber fpagesRossi, 895,line73). GaleazzoMariawaspersonallyervedy woyoungwomenline86).In the hreeessions fdancingwhich ookplacethat ay, he sal-tarello"shighlightedsthe rincipalance, ut lsomentionedy he oetareballi uch s "lachirintana",Lioncel". belriguardo",lasperanza",Ccangiolaella", ndthe danza elre",while till thersrenot dentified(lines 30-34).Virtuallyll of henamed ancesre o be foundn the on-temporaryreatisesfDomenicoda Piacenza, ntonio ornazzano,ndGuglielmobreoGiovanni mbrosio),ll three orkingn the mbit fthenortherntalian ourts."Earliernthe isit,heMediciwomen adhad nopportunityoenter-tainGaleazzoMaria tthe amilyilla tCareggi,his imewith ingle-sexdancing,he vent eing escribedyhimas awomen'sestivity"unafes-tagliolaedone).'9 he dancers eremore ariednagethan eems ohavebeen he ase n theMercato uovo:Lucrezia ornabuoni,ife fPiero iCosimode'Medici, neofher aughters,robablyhe lder, ianca, henagednotquitefourteen,he atter'sunt,Ginevra i Niccolo" lessandri,wife fGiovanni iCosimo, audomia iJacopo cciaiuoli, ife fPier-francescoiLorenzo e'Medici, nd"ayoungwoman f he trozziamilywho, f he snot hemost eautifuln the ity,s at east urpassedyveryfew"unagiovaneiStrozi,uale e non " apiubella,,,diuesta ita, lman-

"Among imiei', dentifiedyGaleazzoMaria sdancingtFirenzuolaetween olo-gnaand Florence n 15April, re TibertoBrandolini, iero da Gallarate, edericoPallavicino,ntonio rotto,nd NiccolbdaTolentinoMagnani, i,doc. 19,toBiancaMaria forza). or imon eLalaing,eeChastellain,20,andMagnani,xii."See Smith, : 51,"Lachirintana";: 286,"Lioncello";: 283,"LaSperanza";nd2:83-84, Danzadel re."Brandolini aswell cquainted ith hework fGuglielmobreo,whohad ttendedis econdweddingyear arliern1458 Smith, :177).The difficultiesof nterpretinghe nformationndancingfferedy uch ourcesrementionedymostscholarsncludingmithndSparti. he "danza eregrina"erformedyGaleazzoMariawith wofemaleartners ay e thedance alled LaPellegrina"seeSmith, :xvi nd2:237-40, ut fSparti,9 n. 6').Themysteriousine, misseromendueli rrostindanza"(Rossi, 895,16, ine131)may eferothedance alled Rostiboli ioioso" seeSmith,:267-72, ndHeartz,60)."Letterf 3April 459from aleazzoMaria o FrancescoforzaBuser,47-48). t spossiblehat iberto randolinias lsopresentibid., 47).



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cho avanzataapuoche, user,48).This attersveryikelyohave eenMariettaiLorenzo i Palla trozzi,hen robablyged bout en releven,thedaughterfAlessandrae' Bardiwhohad dancedwith heEmperor'sambassadorsn1433.Fiveyearsater, arietta as o besingledutfor erbeauty yMarcoParenti,ndplacednthe ame ategorysLucrezia o-nati, dmirednd celebratedyLorenzo e'Medici.20 Thesepatricianwomenwereoined y some ocalwomen"alcune illane),ndalldanced"in he lorentinetyle,erylegantly,itheaps ndquick hangesf tep"(a lafiorentina,on alti t cambietilapolita, user,48),a differentortofperformanceromhemore ourtlyndwidelym-knownances hosen or21theMercato uovo.Less han yearater,arlyn1460, nthepapalpartyseturnourneyfrom antua oRome,n a fascinatingetterecentlyublishedyWilliamPrizer,ecatchightfBianca e'Medici ancing ith odrigo orgia,hefutureopeAlexanderI, then nhis ate wenties,lready cardinalnd22Vice-ChancellorftheChurch.Apostolicrotonotaryeodoro aMontefeltroescribesheeventnsomedetailfor hebenefit fBarbara fBrandenburg,archionessfMantua.Bianca, aid correctly)o beagedfourteen,air,ively,nd gooddanceralthough,eare ounderstand,otasgood sUrsolina,neofBarbara'servants!),as nthe ompanyfheryoungerister,annina,nda group fwomen elatedo Piero ndJacopodiAndrea e' Pazzi.ThiswasthefamilyntowhichBiancawas tomarrylater hat ameyear, avingeen ngagedoGuglielmoiAntonio azzi,

"Describing possible ride orhisbrother-in-law,ilippo trozzi,MarcoParentiwrites:she oesnt ave heooks fArdinghello'sifeLucreziaonati] rmesseralla's irl[Mariettatrozzi]"ilvisonon diquelladell'ArdinghelloLucreziaonati] diquelladimesser alla Mariettatrozzi],arenti,5, etterf 7July465).YvonneMaguiredentifiesthegirl sMarietta ithoutnyfurtherdo (67). ForMarietta trozziee, oo,Martelli,1980,245-54. heeventuallyransferredoFerrara ith eruncle ndmarried ountTeo-filoCalcagnini. orLucrezia ornabuoni,ee note 1 below. orGinevra lessandrindLaudomiaAcciaiuoli,eePieraccini,:87ff.,nd1: 154-55.21SimilarntertainmentadalreadyeenofferedoSforza n 15April tFirenzuola:t(somerettyirls anced ntheFlorentine anner itheaps ndquick hangesfstep,

which ave hewhole ompanyreat leasure"siballsper lcune elle ute lmodofioren-tino,altandotfacendocambieti,icheper uta acompagnia' priso nograndeiacere.Magnani, i,doc. 19,GaleazzoMaria o BiancaMariaSforza).This asfollowedy "around ance"a "ballo etondo") ith inging.22SeePrizer,991, -4and53-54.The ettersdated romiena, February460, ndis intheArchivio i StatodiMantova, rchivio onzaga, usta1099,fols 03-04.Mythanks oProfessoravid Fallows or rawing y ttentiono this rticle.orBorgia,eeMallett.



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nephewfPiero ndJacopo,ince hepreviousummer.' The encounterinvolved othmusical erformance,o whichwe shallreturnater,nddancing hichontinueduntilbout :30,firstalletti,henaltarelli,ndfinallyheballata."24The writers also nterestedn themannerf alutationsedwith heFlorentine omen yBorgia,ndbytheother istinguishedisitor homet hem arlierhat ay, ardinal uillaume 'Estouteville,rchbishop25ofRouen ndPiccolomini'sival or hepapal iaranthe1458conclave.D'Estouteville,ncouragedy hePazzi, issedlltenwomen'n the renchstyle, hereasorgiaonformedothe talian racticeftouchingianca'shand nspite fthePazzi's nsistencehat e,too,follow heFrenchash-ion.6 One resumeshat hefamily'sagernessnthismatter,s inthewhole ncounter,s notunrelatedo actual rpotentialinancialelationsbetweenardinalssprestigiouslientsndthePazzi s internationaler-21chantsndbankers. t seems hat onsiderationsfthis ort utweighed23SeeStrozzi, 55,20July 459.ForBianca's ateofbirth, 0September445, ee

Rochon, 8-59n. 159.ForhermarriagenJune 460, ee Giusto 'Anghiari,.78v.Theoriginaleferenceas nCarew-Reid,4,butmy hankso Dr.Stephen ilner or heckingthemonth. heterms sed nthe etter,maridata",spossa",may eferoher tatus sen-gaged obemarriedutmay lsomean hat hemarriageasnotyet onsummatedrthatshehadnotyet ransferredoherhusband'souse. amgratefulo Michael ocke or oint-ing ut heseatterossibilities.ompare,oo,Vespasiano,: 478:"I'Alexandraramaritatainquell'annotnon ra ndata marito." annina e'Medici ecamengagedoBernardodi Giovanni ucellain 1461 ndmarriedim n 8June 466 seeRucellai,8).Amonghepossibleazziwomenttendinghe 460 ventre ome fPiero'seven aughters:aterina,Alessandra,ostanza, retta,ndMariettaASF,Manoscritti02, Pazzi, Donneuscite").24Trans. rizer,991,4 (fino a edoe hore emeza, rima aleti, oisaltareli,inal-mentea balata.bid., 4)."A hostile ius I describes'Estoutevilleshavingonducted is lectionampaignforhe apacyntheVaticanatrinesPiccolomini,:201-03, 05),asbeingPinguecaricod'anni"2: 1529), nd arnanteiuttostoeipiaceridell'ozio"2: 2455).For recenttudyofD'Estouteville'satronage,eeGill.26Compare osello oselli o Giovanni i Cosimo e' Medici: Iwas hinkingf om-ing o seeyou, utbecause hear hat here re adies hereat Petrioli),norder ot ogoastrayykissinghem,stheyo n France.. I decidedo await ourrrival"lodeliberava

devenirtivedere;maperch6ntendohe ostfa Petrioli)onodonne,cci6 henonmive-nisse rrato,ome i fa nFrancia, basciarle.. 6 deliberate e aspettarea venuta ua.Flamini,81n.2).21With ankingperationsnRome, yon, vignon, arseillesndBruges,he om-binedhouseholdsfJacopo e' Pazzi nd he ons fAntonio e' Pazzi rereckonedyDeRooverohave ivalledheMedici nwealthn the ate1450s 30 andpassim). ther azziassetsncludedheiregendaryonnection ith he akingfJerusalemn1099, nd theirconsequenttatusssignificantlayersnthe itualife f he lorentineepublicCiappelli,



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28thepotentialangero their omen f man fBorgia'seputation.One last xample ill uffice.he ikelihoodhat ianca ndNanninade' Mediciwere gain nvolvedsstrongutno ndividual ame s offeredby he vailableources. arco arentiescribeshe isit oFlorencenJune1465of ppolitaforzanherway outh oNaples omarrylfonso,ukeofCalabria,ldestonofKingFerrante.hewas ccompaniedyAlfonso'sbrother,ederico,ndby molte amigelle"whom arentiannot esistcomparingnfavourablyith lenostre"77). Ippolita'stayt theMediciPalace oincided ith hepublic estivitiesor anGiovanni,ut hepartyalso enjoyed heir wnentertainmentsithAmbassadorNicodemoTranchedinifferingfirst-handccount. heyhad,for xample, layed"Some f he espectableameswhichwearewont oplaynMilan. everalyoungwomen romhebest amiliesnthe itywere resent."e contin-ues: "Afterupper, hevisitors atched everal ftheseyoungwomendancingothe agpipesill fterunsetnthehouse fAntonio ePazo butinfact ucci?], here obertoda Sanseverino]sstaying:ndone coul&thavewished or etterlthoughheypologizedome, ayinghat hey idnotknowwhat lse odotoplease he uests. Furtherancingook lacelater tthehouse fGiuliano espuccinOgnissanti,ollowedy hepossi-bilityf tillmore tthe nitial enue.With uch xamplesnmind,t snow ime o eave escriptionehindinorder oexplore hatshappeningnsuch vents hichnvolvehemar-shallingfFlorentineomennto erformingith,rfor, on-Florentine,usuallymale, isitors,hethernpublic r nprivate. omen,ike citysmonumentsndother esources,refundamentalomponentsf tshonor168ff), omethingheymay ave xploitednthe ight f he rusadingealofPius I andthe ubjectnder iscussiont theCongressfMantua.28InMantua, orgia adbeennvolvedn"galantdventures"ndwas oagainnSienainMay1460atfestivitiesor baptismrom hich usbandsndothermale elatives erereportedohave een bsent. letterf ensure rom ius I followedn I I June. eeAdy,238,but lsoMallett, 8-91,who rgueshat istoriansave verreactedo this toryndconsequentlyxaggeratedorgia'seputationormmorality.29Rochon,04n.58: "poy isnareecerolcuni nesti iuochi equellinostri e a':quali etrovaronoarechieovene e eprincipalsequesta it. . . . Cenato he bero i-derobalare arechie e questeDame al logiamento elSig.rnostroRobertoncasadeAntonio ePazo, in mezzora enocte,tfeceroueste ovenetteum antaiberalita'uelseperohiedereuestinostri in la cornamusa:hemeglio on seporiadire: cusandosemeco, henon apevanohefar iu"er ontentargli."uasti, itinghe etternhis ditionofAlessandratrozzi'settersStrozzi,31), andMarrese,nherrecent dition fMarcoParenti'settersParenti,7n.59),both uggestntonioucci atherhan azzi. arenti82)remarkshat, uetocontinued ourningor isfather,osimo, iero idnotwish isvisi-tors odancentheMedici alace.



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orprestige,nd, ike hem,an bepressednto he ervicefthe tatendthe romotionndenhancementf ivicdentitys,forxample,oesGre-gorio ati:"Florenceasgirlsndwomenf uch efinementndmanners,sorespectable,irtuous,ndmarvelouslyeautifuls toappear ngels e-scendedromeaven"ella Firenze]afancitilledonne i tanta e -tilezzae dibe'costurni,neste vertudiosebelle maravigliahepaiono ngelidiscesi acielo, 19-20).Furthermore,swell sconstitutingbjectsfrealexchangeetween enntheFlorentinearriage arket,omen unctionascapital orymbolicxchangen thewiderontextftheperenniallo-rentinenxietybout henegotiationfrelationshipsith on-Florentinesocial uperiors."hepositiveeactionsfhigh-rankingisitorsorthe t-tributionf uch eactions)othe ublic isplayf he eauty,race,alents,civility,rnobilityfFlorentineomensa componentart f he itys e-sources,sclearly eeply ratifyingo the uthorsftheLibro erimoniale:"And hose rom utside he ity ere articularlympressedy he uantityofnoblewomen,he rderlinessf heyoungmen, hemannerfdancingandcelebratingith reat roprietynd civilizednjoyment.""imilarly,bothVespasianondthe nonymousoet fthe1459celebrationsee, nthe necase,Alessandrae'Bardi ndFrancescaiAntonioerristori,ndinthe ther,numberf nonymousfanciullenddonne,sspecialonduitsfor he wo-wayalbeit symmetricaltransmissionfhonor etweenhecitynd tsvisitors.heEmperor'smbassadorsn1433, havingeen c-corded uchgreathonor, ouldnotwaitto return oSiena to telltheEmperor hat hey ad een."32Thedance ymbolizesheRepublic's emporaryift f tswomen ohigh-rankingisitors,otonly or isual onsumptionthefemale odysmore isuallyvailablendance hannotherormsf ctivity),ut lsototouch, omething hich s licit nly hroughheconventionsfdance(arousal utnot atisfactionfdesire),rthroughheforms f alutation

30SeeTrexler,980,particularly36.Within he ontextffeministcholarship,nwomen sobjects fexchangeee the eminalrticleyRubinwomenre themost re-cious fgifts,"73),andalso rigarayho tresseshepoint hatwe are alkingxclusivelyaboutrelationsmongmen:"Reigning verywhere,lthough rohibitednpractice,hom(m)o-sexuality,splayedutthroughhe odies fwomen,matter,rsign,ndhetero-sexualityas beenupto nowust n alibifor he mooth orkingsfman's elations ithhimself,frelationsmongmen"172).31Trexler,978, 7:T maximegl'esterniarveosamirabilissimaaquantitdelle o-bilidonne,'ordine e'giovani,l mododeldanzare festeggiareonogni enere'onestecivilellegrezza.""Vespasiano,: 479: "sendo uto oro atto lgrandenore, areva.oro,gnidImille,per ornareSiena, narrarello rnperadoreuello vevano eduto."



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which re f uch ntensenterestothePazzi n1460 swell s tothe etter-writernd presumably,o his ddressee,heMarchionessfMantua.3Inspite fVespasiano'siberal seoftheword nobile"Alessandras"born fvery oble tock,oth n her ather'sndhermother'side,nfactamong henoblestn the ity"),4 such isitors,hethermperial,egal,u-cal,orsimplymore onventionallyristocratic,utdo heFlorentinesnsocial tatus. hecitysmercantileatriciatescharacterizedy simulta-neous ense oth f uperioritynd nferiority,fdifferencesfreeitizensina freeepublic,ndof nxiousspirationoequal, r t east ohold heirown,with egardo theirocial uperiors.ocial reditan beaccumulatedthroughhe doptionf hehonor-bearingodes nd behaviorsf he ris-tocraticultures hich redominatelsewherenthe eninsuland, ndeed,inEurope.5 On therare ccasionswhenFlorentine alenarratorssee"women tall, nd nfact equireheir isibilitynorder oconstructlessparochialmage fFlorentineepublicandentity,abituallyerceivedsmale nd thereforexclusionaryfwomen,hey aturallyave ecourseoanaristocraticiscourse hich ermitsomen'sonorableublic resence,evenCcenleine ue"out nthe treets),ouseGeorgeshatellain'soadedphrase220).Further eaningsuggesthemselvesn relationothe ublic isplayfwomen y lite amiliesrby he ommune,angingromhe ocial ndde-mographico the conomic. iappelli peaksf socializzazionerenuziale"(prenuptialocialisation)nd rites fpassage ornubile irls153 n.138;276).Although ost fournamed xamples avebeenyoungwomen l-readyngagedobemarried,eknow hatAlessandratrozzimadeuseofthe dditionalisibilityfunattachedoungwomen uring ublic estivalstoscrutinizeprospectiveaughter-in-law,aterina iFrancescoanagli:"I'llsee f canget look ther uringhe estiveeriod"ingegnerommi,'io lapotr" ederenqueste este,trozzi,29,21 December 465).Theageof hewomen ancingntheMercato uovo girls"pulzelle","fanclulle"),ndyoungwomen themarriageable,he ngaged-to-be-married,nd theyoungmarried the ctivitytself,ndvery requently

"The notion fthe icit andthereforehe llicit)nconnection ithwomen'sublicdisplayf heir odies,sclearlyxpressedyLorenzo e'Medici 175): "inwalkingnd ndancing,nd nthosehingsnwhich t spermissableorwomenoutilize heir odies ..shewas legantnd ttractive"enello ndare nelballarenelle ose he lecito lledonned'operarelcorpo .. era legante avenente).n issues fdance ndgenderna broaderhistoricalontext,owe debt o Hanna ndtoThomas.

"Vespasiano, : 474: "nata inobilissimiarenti,oslperpadre omepermadre, e'piu" obili ella itt.""See, for xample,ecker,4ff.



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the ime fyear,llemphasiseertilityndthus isplayo the ityndtooutsiderslorentineomen'seproductiveotentialhroughhich hepo-lis renewstself a particularlyensitivessuenthesenxious ecades frecurringlaguendconsequentemographicrisis.6If femaleexualityanbe convertedntohonor r ntodemographicbenefits,t an lso, rudely,econvertednto rofit.fhis1459visit, iusII remarked:thewomen'slothingeemed eryichwith nincrediblea-rietyf ocal ndforeigntyles.he whitenessf heir aces learlyetrayedtheuseofcosmetics."37t s a descriptionhich sechoed ndclarifiedyas 3' The contemporaryustom f hang'GaleazzoMari letterf30April. ingoutfitswo rthreeimes uringball nlyncreasedhe dvertisingowerof uch vents, hichnevitablyttractedninfluxfpotentialustomers.The rich lothingfthewomen,nd ndeed fthemen Piccolomini,:365),formedart f he argerestivecenewhich aw he estooningf hefacades fpalaces, hurchesndbottegheith apestriesnd rich abrics.Noneofthiswas, fcourse, purelylorentineustom,utwhereasthercenters ay ave sed t oadvertiseheirurchasingower,lorenceid o

to advertisetscommercialapability,ndcontradictoryontemporaryviewsn ostentatiousuxuryresumablyesolvedhemselvesnfavorfper-massiveness,ith umptuaryaws emporarilyuspended.39The ercato"See, for xample, erlihy.37Piccolomini,:349:Tabbigliamentoelle onne ppariva olto icco;tupendarala varietdelle esti ifoggiaocale straniera;a bianchezzaeivoltimostravahiaramenteNso di cosmetici."31Magnani, xii, oc.28. All thewomenwere bejewelledndrichlyressed,ome n

cloth fgold, omenvelvet,thersndamask,omenonetypef ilk,ome n another.nshort,onewerewearing oollen loth. iftyad allheaddressesntheFrenchtyle,llem-broideredith earlsnd ilver, ith uch inenessndelegancehattwould e difficultoexpressneselfdequately.heothers adFlorentineeaddressesrsome thertyle,llrichlydorned. ne wouldnothave elievedt f nehadnot een t" azoiate tornatissi-mamenteestite,hidedrapo 'oro, hideveluto,hidedamaschio,hide una eta, hideunaltra.nsomma,enza estitilcuni ipanno, ra iqualigline era irca inquantaon efogie i testa lte la franzese,ute icamateiperle td'argento,ontanta olideza tligiadriahedifficileosa aria xprimerlo.x altre,uali ogia itesta lafiorentina,uali dunoaltro,ute rnate iligentissimamentet n modo ncredibilechinon e haviste). eealsohis etterf17AprilMagnani,ii-xiii,oc.20),which lludeso the ich lothingndheadgear f hewomen uttoview is ntrynto he ity.39SeeHughes,0:"Sumptuaryawwasfrequentlyifted.. to allow itizensroperlyofulfilheir ivicandhighestocial) unction."hegiveshe xamplef heVenetianenatein1459,who inorderowelcomend mpresshe renchmbassadorso the ity,oted orequirellwomenn ttendanceoappearnbrightressesndwear heewelsndornamentgenerallyrohibitedy he aw." he lsomentions93) that umptuaryestrictionsn mostcities ere ess evereor oung,nmarriedirls.ee, oo,Kovesi illerby,sp.118-19.



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Nuovo, hefavoriteancingocation f hefifteenthentury,ith ts on-spicuousconcentrationf banks and botteghessociatedwithclothproduction,otablyilk, ecame shopwindow r fashionhow or heconsciousisplayf he uxuryabricshichwere entralotheFlorentineeconomynd thewealthf ts itizens,ndallthemoremportantsthecitywas unable oputona show fmilitaryr other eudal/aristocraticformsfpower,rat east odo so both onvincinglyndunambiguously.Suchdisplay,nevitablynducingmbivalencen externalpectatorspttomeditatepon he gnoble spect fmercantilectivity,nderlieshe ien-ese pope'smaliciousplayon words s he describes lorence s bothmercantileityndharlot." hefacthathe rea round heMercato ec-chio, fewminutes' alk way,was associated ith ruly ublicwomen(donnepubbliche)isplayingheir odies or aleremindss of notherseofthefemale odynthepatriarchalconomyfexchange,nd also thatprostitutionas businessun y ome f he itysmajor amilies.1Inavailinghemselvesf hemultivalentowerfwomen'sodies,hecommunityeeded o ensure sfar spossiblehe xistencefcontrolledconditionshichmade lear hedistinctionetweenhe icit ndthe llicit-womennpublic ersusublicwomen.1 Itwas potentiallyazardousn-terprise,s the itizens erewell ware,ndmale rganizersndnarratorsllevince heneedfor ontrol,ontainingheir elebrationffemale eautyboth iterallyithin rotectiveencingthe taccatohich, ith he alcolpalchettostage)nd, n1459, rich loth anopyverhead,reateshe llu-41 -verbalanguage fion f temporarycourt"),figurativelyith henonetiquettethe azzi ndtheir omen),ndthroughanguagetself.hefre-

40Piccolomini,:663: "cittmercatriceernondirmeretrice."eealso bid., :365.41SeeMazzi, 47ff.,ndalsoTrexler,981,who doptshePope's lay nwords s anepigraphohis tudyn Florentinerostitution.ee, oo,Hughes nsumptuaryistinctions"between eretrixndmatrona"92-93).42Compare he ontemporaryerrareseontextnwhichDeannaShemek indswokinds f ontrastingexualctivity:thetate-condoned,amily-oriented,ontainedexualityof awfulocietynd thepunishableransgressionsfopen nd gnobleexual ommerce"(44). Seealso rigarayI 80) onwomen'stworreconcilablebodies': ernatural'ody ndher ociallyalued,xchangeableody, hichsa particularlyimeticxpressionfmascu-

linevalues."41See,for xample, espasiano,: 477. Theanonymousoet,publishednpart yRossi, 895, peaks f he eparationf high-statusrenawithin heMercato uovofromthemass fpeople utside. he atterreneverthelesspectatorsf he ity'social riumphandbenefitromts argesses the emainsf he estiveood redistributedo them:theythrewweethingsere ndthere othe eoplewhoweremakingtremendousoise. omethrewhem o thewindows,ome o the tand,nd some owomen nd menupon theroofs"gittavanouae 1 diquelconfetto/lpopol, hefacea ngran omore./hi I gitta



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quentrecurrencef thetalismanic ord, nesto,mphasizeshe icit,controlledspectfwomen'sexuality,hile hedescriptionf hem san-gels n/fromaradise4 attemptso desexualize hem ltogether.hebourgeoisransformationf he ourtlyraditionhich s thepredominanttone f uch verse arrativeoes,however,lso llow hepoet o ndulgefairlyomfortablynspeculations tothe roticpportunitiesffordedythe vent. uringhe irstance essionnApril 459: love iedmore hanoneknot"45 presumablyurelyrommale erspectivebut uch en-timentsre afeguardedndennobledy heirssociationith he levatedrealmsf ourtlyove.naprivateetter,owever,heneed o maintainucha facadertodeployuch mythsabsent,ndRosello oselli espondsothememoryfFilippa ischeriancingtPisa n 1441 n a text ointedlydescribeds "writtennbed" nd ccompaniedy roticatin erse, hilefewweeks fterhe ncounter ith ianca e'Medici, hebehaviourfRo-drigoBorgiaduring ienesefestivitiesromwhichmale relatives erereputedlybsent,edto a transgressionffragileehavioralormsndcodes.6

It sof oursehat ense ffragilityhich artlynformsheargelyeg-ative iew fcontemporaryoralistsnd churchmenndancing, viewwhichwouldhave ermeatedhe onsciousnessf llpractitioners,emaleandmale.Domenico avalca ttacked omenwhodestroyedhe ouls fyoungmenwith heirongs nd seductive ances.1 MorebalancedwasSaintAntoninoierozzi,he itysrchbishoprom 446 until isdeathn1459 ustweeksfterhe isit fPius 1. orAntonino,ance ndothern-tertainmentserenotmortalinbutmere anitiesnda waste ftime,althoughetoowarnedhat mortalinmay nsue y ccident,ither e-causeofsomeconsequent vil,orthroughheperversityfhumanintention,swhen omeone,eeingwomen ancing,s inducedodesire

allefinestre,hi lpalchetto/chi l tettollefernminemaschi. ossi, 895,17, ines 58-61).This gains a detailo befoundnGaleazzoMaria'setterf30AprilMagnani,xii).44E.g. ossi, 895,12, ines 7-42.41"Amoretrinseiu' 'unnodo" ibid.,ine 4).See, oo, mith, :xvii.'Comparenote 8 above orMichaelMallett'seservations.rrespectivef hehistori-cal truth fwhat occurred n Siena, however, ossipand rumor perateto formcontemporarypinion, onstitutinghistoricaleality.47Cavalca,hap.XXVIL259-69, De vani, dissolutealli, canti" ndchap.XXVIII,269-75, De molte agioni,he ncocibiasimanouesto eccato, come ueste allatricifanno ontra utti-sette agrimentiellaChiesa."



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them.48(Here," s Rosello Roselli rreverentlyaid,describing ilippaBis-cheri, isParadise"qui e'el paradiso, lamini, 08).The same sense offragilitylso undoubtedlynforms heexaggeratedexemplarityfAlessandra e' Bardi s she spresented yVespasianona bi-ography which works overtime to offer an idealized image of acomparativelyecent olden geof female omportment hich s now ost:I((their resseswere notlow-cut s they retoday, ut had highnecksandwerevery eautiful ndelegant"nonerano e veste oro,scollate ome sonooggi,ma accollate etvenustissime t ornatissime,: 478). On feast ays,Alessandra'smotherwould take her to visit onvents: shewas not in thehabit ofdoingwhatmostwomennowadays o, namely,nstead ftakingtheir aughterso visitholywomen, hey ake hem oweddings nd dancesandsuchvanities,ndthey otogreatengthso hiremasters o cometo thehouseto teach hemdancing, otthinkinghat espectable omenought olearnotherthings hanbeingable to move their eet n timetomusic."49Alessandra'sdancing, ccording oVespasiano, lthoughnpublic for hegreater ood of thecity!), tayedwithin he imits fpropriety,ignity,ndhonor,withregularlyecurringdjectives uch as CCpudica ) and CCpudicis-sima" modest) tanding uardover henarrative. oralbeauty ombinedwithphysical eauty s an obsessiveeitmotifnhisdescription.Inspite fVespasiano's isapprovalfthefashion or ancingessons orwomen from rofessionalsnd his nsistencehatAlessandra e' Bardihadbeen welltaught, pparently yhermother2: 474 and 479), wemust s-sumethat ome,andpossibly gooddeal of nstructionnd rehearsal entinto thesuccessof thepubliceventsnparticular,oth norder o upholdcivichonor, nd to ensure hat ndividuals nd their amilies id not loseface.This raises ssuesrelatingo thetraining rocesses ndergone yFlo-rentine irls ndyoungwomenbeforedancing ntheMercatoNuovo.The1459 event eems ohavehada clearcompetitivelement oit,withdancers

" "Etuttavialpeccatomortaleub sservier ccidents,causa iunqualchemale henepossa onseguireper aperversityell'intenzione,ome ccade uando ualcuno allavista idonne hedanzino ienepinto desiderarle."itedbyMartelli,994, 3n.50.Onreligiousttitudesodance, ee lsoCiappelli,47-48.

'Vespasiano 2: 474: "nonneusavaquellousavano epiu" e tempinostri,he inluogodimenarle vicitare e santissime onne, emenanoallenoze et ballietallevanit etmettonograndissimitudii ncasa di farvi eniremaestri,heinsegninooroballare tandare tempo,et nonpensinoall'onestissime onneconvenirsiltro, he imparare porre piedisecondo isuoni."



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(bothmale ndfemale?)ubjectoa selectionrocess."Was uch rainingworthwhilenvestment,herefore,ndwereuch kills egardeds neitherexceptionalor nomalousn thedaughtersftheFlorentine ercantileelite? lessandratrozzi,till esearchingaterinaanaglisa possibleridefor er on,Filippo, oughtnformationrom eighborsuch sCostanza,wife fPandolfoucci, andwhen askedf he irl ad nythingncouthabouther,he aidno,that hehasherwits bouther,nd knows owtodance nd ing"edomandandoe 'aveva elzotico, icemi ino,clMl'ei'desta, sa ballare cantare,trozzi,64,31August465).Thishas he ingofa toposused ndescribingndmeasuringhequalities f uchyoungwomen ndbringso mind hemuch arlierxample fMeaMorellib.1365)) whowasverykillednsingingnddancing,ndwouldhave ervedgueststtable sdeftlysayoung ersonccustomedoperformingimilarservicestweddingsnd imilarvents."" swehave een,he racefulerv-ingoffestive ood nddrink,swell s expert ancing nd theelegantperformancefreverentialestures,ere llrequiredfthewomen er-formersf1433or1459.

AccordingoTimothy cGee,norecord asbeenfoundf n officialdancingeachermployedy he ommune,hilenformationn teachersfromrivateourcessstill elativelycarce.1 Who,for xample,aughtheyoung aughtersfcathedralrganistntonio quarcialupi,escribeds5'Trexlerites ietrobuonihowas,nturn,choed yCambin ayinghat heyoungmen ndwomenwhowerehosen erethemostpt tdancing"Trexler,980, 35n.72).From el Corazza omesn nterestingetail, amelyhatwomen ould ct s danceudges:(Ctheylectedour omenwhohadto udge hewomen'srizendthey adto sit n a moreelevatedositionikeudges. imilarlyheylected udge odecide nthemen's rize. heformerrizewas wardedothe aughterfFilippo.. dAmerigoelBene, nd heatterothe onofBernardoherardi"Elessonouattroonne he vessinogiudicare'onore elledonne, stettonosedere lte omegiudicatori;cosf lessonohi vesse giudicareuellode'giovani. uellodelledonne ieronollafigliuolaiFilippo.. d'AmerigoelBene,quello e'giovanilfigliuoloiBernardoherardi,76,2 February1420]).TheMagi.VIL1121poet pecificallyeferso some fthedeselectedat east sregardsancing), ho reseated nthe idelines:women orwhom ancings nappropriatehetherhroughge,pregnancy,rbecauseheyrewidows"donne henon ono tte ballare er empo pergrossezzavedovato.mith,:xv).ComparemitEsranslation.51GiovanniiPagoloMorelli,53: sapea erfettamenteantaredanzare,arebbeer-vito unamensa 'uomini di donne oslpulitamenteome iovanesoepraticonozzea similiose."52SeeMcGee,1988,210 n. 18.Ciappelli, 51,mentionshe inancialontributionfthe ommunesregardsestiveventsrganizedor oreignisitors.n connection ith1459, ee he nformationrovidedyBenedettoei (67)whichmightuggesthatransac-tions,ncludinghe aymentfdancingeachers,ould e ocatedn the rivateccountsfthedesignatedfestaioli.



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stunningancersn a letterf8July 455from inevra lessandrio herhusband, iovanni iCosimo e' Medici?53hristianelapisch-Zuberor-trayslorentinessharboringuspicionsboutunknown en nvitedntothehome s teachers"thewolf n the old",l uponell'ovile),ut hedoesofferneor two oncretexamplesf pecialistsndance,music,nd ing-ing sbeingmployedywell-offamilies.rancescoi Matteo astellani,for xample,chasomeone oteach ance o hisdaughtersged even ndten))7 July 460),theteacher's ame nthis asebeing piffero-player54calledBernardoiSanti.It s worthwhileausing ith heCastellaniistersor moment.heirmother as LenadiFrancescoiPieroAlamanni,rancesco'secondwife,whomhemarriedn1448.Maria, he ldest aughter,asbornnMarch1450,MargheritanDecember 453, nda thirdhild,Ginevra,nApril551456. As nthe ase fFilippa ischeri,ucks on our idefor,nadditionto the parseeferencesntheir ather'sicordanze,heymergerombscu-rityn at east wo ther ccasions hichrerelevantoour ubject.irstly,inAugust469,nearlyenyearsfterhe ancingessons, arco arenti,n

search f wife or isyoungerrother-in-law,orenzo trozzi,mentionsthem,fonly o dismisshemmmediatelyngrounds hich emain n-clear: Then here'srancesco astellani'second aughter:he irst,ho sengagedormarried?],s not nattractiverospect,nd hey ay he econd""For your nformation,wentto Fiesole with Pieroand Lucrezia, ndAgnolo dellaStufa nd thesingers f San Giovanni.And therewas a finefesta nd as for hedaughters fserAntonio,don'task ["they anced" is deleted]for heyperformedmiracles, hings ut ofthisworld,which ent hespectators ild with nthusiasm,ndwe stayed o longthat twastwohours after unsetbeforewe gotbackto Florence" Avisoti homeandammoa FfiesolePieroetla Lucrezia AngniolodellaStufa chantori i San Giovannie anno fatto na bellafesta le fanciulle e serAntonionondomandare cassato: ballaro"] he annofattomiracolie chosedeH'altromondocheinpazzava hiunceVera,chesterno anto vedere he eradu'oredi notte nanti onassimo Firenze.Giacomelli,267 n. 30. The girlswereGinevra,Maria,and Lucreziaborn n 1445, 1446, and 1448 respectively.ita (b. 1450) was presumablytilltooyoung seeParigi, 3-54).""Fa dare delle ezionidi danzaaflefiglie i 7 e 10 anni"(Klapisch-Zuber, 984,789 n.68). For thefull eference,owever,eeCastellani, 995, 105.Mythanks oTimothyMcGee

whowas able to disprovemy nitialspeculation hatBernardomighthave been one ofthemusicians n theemployof theSignoria, lthoughhe indicates heexistence, arliern thecentury,fan officialpiffero-player,anti di Gherardo,possiblyBernardo's ather. orthemoraldangers fdancing ndfencingchoolsforyoungFlorentinemales, eeRocke,158-59.One such danceschool was actually unbya known odomite ibid.,161 and note75).55See Castellani1992, 16, 19,and2 1. Francesco's irst ife,Ginevra i PallaStrozzi,wasthesister-in-lawfAlessandra e' Bardiwhom wehave seendancing n Piazza dellaSignoriain 1433.



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))56one isworse. The eldest,Maria,married iovannidiNiccol6 Cavalcandthat ameyear,while n 1473 Margheritamarried ernardino,ne of thesonsof thefamily'sawyer, ttoNiccolini,who had been a majorfigurenFlorentineublic ife Castellani, :29). Amongthe atter ouple'sweddinggiftsppears o havebeen one ofthefewsurvivinglorentinehansonniersf57thisperiod.What is also interestingn Parenti'setters his discussion fsuitableand unsuitable ridesnterms f rustichezwrgentilezza. he specificon-text s that fa Florentineridedestined or manliving ndworkingntherather ifferentocial environment f theKingdomofNaples,butone isalso tempted o relate he terms f sucha debateto socialtransformationsandshifts ithin lorentineocietytselfnthecourse fthecentury.om-ingfrom patrician amily"patrician"nFlorentineerms),withdancingand musicalskills,Margheritand hersister,whatever heir therfaults,werepresumably ot amongthe"rustiche"n the senseoflacking ocialgraces.8To returno thematterfdancing eachers,nd the vailabilityf ndi-vidualswithparticularancing, r ndeed,musical kills or mploymentnhouseholdson a casualbasis,we havetheexampleofa certain serLina"whomGiovannidi Cosimode'Mediciwasbeing ncouragedo seein 1445as being n expertnthesematters,ndwell known o Italianrulersnclud-ingtheDuke ofUrbino.9 Moreconcretely,rankD'Accone has locatedaharpplayer amedMariotto i Bastianodi Francesco, eclaringherentingofa roomfor hepurpose fteaching ancingnhistaxreturnf1440 Ofparticularnterest,owever,sthetantalizingnformationbouta school etup byGiuseppeEbreo da Pesaro ndFrancesco i Domenico da Venezia n

16 Parenti,97,11August 469: cci la seconda imesser rancesco astellani;aprima,h' maritata,onpiace verunmodo, la seconda icono he peggio."57Thesongbook,onsistingargelyfuntextedrenchhansons,as ocatedntheNic-colini amilyibrarynFlorencentil he ighteenthenturynd s now nBerlin,taatlicheMuseen, 8.C.28 (Census-Catalogue,: 59-60).The debate ontinuess to whetherhemanuscript'srovenancesNeapolitanrFlorentine,ith avidFallows,993, rguinghelatter. is conclusioneceivesurtherupportromWarmington."Giovanni iappelliommentsntherelativeatenessf heirmarriages,ithMariaagednineteenndMargheritawenty.e surmiseshat he ize f heir owries ay inallyhave vercomehedisadvantagesf heiramily'sarginaloliticaltatusn this eriod rperhapsheyoung omensack fbeautyCastellani,:30 andn. 137).'9ThewritersCarlo, llegitimateonofCosimo e'Medici, 2July44 fromerrara(seeRossi, 893,15, ndPieraccini,:78).6OD'Accone,992, 63n. 8.



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1467with he im f eachingance ndmusic o both exes,itherntheirownhomesor inpremises ented or hepurpose.61The most minentmastersftheQuattrocento,uthors ftheprincipalsurvivingance manualsof theperiod,Domenico da Piacenza,GuglielmoEbreo,andAntonioCornazzano,all associatedwith the northern taliancourts, eem notto haveoperated n Florence, utLorenzode' Medici at-tended heMilanesefestivitiesor hewedding f ppolita forza n 1465 inwhich ll threemen were nvolved, nd his nterestn thedanceculture fhisday s attested yhisown work s a choreographer,amely hetwo basse-danze included n Guglielmo'smanualDe pratica eu artetripudii ulgareopusculum. fourthmaster, iuseppeEbreoda Pesaro, neofwhosedancesalsoappears n someof themanuscriptsfGuglielmo'smanual,was,how-ever,n contactwith Lorenzo n the ate 1460s, theperiodwhich aw theformer'sroposed aunchof thedancing chool mentioned bove.It is throughonnections fthiskind thatmore ophisticated otionsof thecontemporaryrtofsocialdance with tsdeveloped and gendered)setofaestheticriteria, usthavepercolated ownthrough lorentinemer-cantile ociety.62or Florentine omen,however,here emained problemof availablefemale ristocraticmodels,giventhepreponderance fmalesamongvisitorso thecity nd Florentinewomen's essermobility s com-paredtomen. In this ense,the brief esidence fIppolitaSforza nd herladies nFlorencenJune1465musthaveprovided comparativelyare p-portunityo a relativelyestricted umber f women from hecity's ocialelite.63 ne might lsospeculate boutthepresence,nIppolita's ntourage,

61SeeVeronese,1-57.6'For he riteriaaiddown y uccessiveasters,ee he reatisesublishednSmith, .For riteriaegulatingomen'serformance,ee he Capitulumegulare ulierum"f heDePraticaeuArte rupudiiyGuglielmobreoibid., : 141-42), nd lsoFranko,sp. 4-45.ForLorenzo'snvolvementndance,eeMcGee, 988,Padovan,992, ndGargiulo.eealsonote 3 above.63Parentihooses ohighlightederico 'Aragona, ingFerrante'second on,ratherthanppolita:hedances ery ell,nd sfavouredy llthewomen ndby hemen, nd hebrideooks thim, nd talks nd danceswith im, sthough e were god" danzamoltobene, lagratiai tutteedonne degl'uomini,lasposaoguata, ragionadanza oAlui,chepare hella egga n uo ddio. 2,22June 465toFilippondLorenzotrozzi).nNa-ples, ppolitawas erymuch dmiredfor avingreatedwonewdances ased n Frenchchansons. isMajestyheKing eems o havenoother leasurexcepto seeher ance ndalso ing"'sifece ssai mmirareeraver acto uy allinova opra uicanzuni rancesiesuafantasia,he a Maestide Renonhave ltro iacere,6 ltro,aradiso onpare he rove,se nonquando avededanzare t nche anthare.'antoro. 3). See alsoSouthern.



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ofGuglielmobreohimself,nown o have ttendedhenewDuchessnNaples.4Timothy cGeehas nvestigatedhe nteresthownnLorenzo's ed-dingnJune 469byGuglielmo,yGiovanni breo, nd alsobyFilippusBussus rFilippo i Biandrate hotaughthe hildrenfthe ondottiero,Robertoanseverino,rincef alerno,mongthers.n a letterf OApril1469,which san mportantndicatorf ontemporaryractice,ussus f-fered o come o Florenceight rtendays nadvance ftheweddingoteach orenzo, iuliano, ianca,ndNanninatheattery henwivesndmothers),some oble, eautiful,nddignifiedballi' nd basse anze', itfor eople fyour levatedtatus atherhanust nybody."6'hebride,Clarice rsini, as lreadyaving ancingessonsnRome.' Theprepara-tions or ancingt thisweddingand ndeed ther lorentineeddings)involvedmanymorewomen hanustthose elongingo the mmediatefamily,owever,s we know rom detailedontemporaryescriptionndas wecansurmiserom remark adebyMarcoParentio hisbrother-in-law:"Theywant oorganizehebiggestvent hat lorence asever een,andhavemade he rrangementsccordingly.heywillneed large umberofyoungmen ndwomen obe involvednthefestivities.61Inshort,tseems hatweddingsrovidedomeofthepractice,nd the raining,ormore ublic ccasions,othntermsfdancingndof he ervingffestivefood nddrink.As we have een, nd as wewouldndeed xpect,nFlorentine,sinothersocieties,ancing, inging,nd theplayingfmusicalnstruments,re-quentlyppear sa trio fcloselyelatedctivities,othnthepublic ndtheprivatevents escribednour ources. he next ectionfthis tudywill oncentratenmarshallinghe venmore ragmentaryvidence hichreveals hemusicalkills nd activitiesf ndividual lorentineatrician

64 See Smith,1: 178 and, lesscertainly, : 71, for he movements f AntonioCornazzano.65McGee, 988, 21,doc. V:"alcuniignorili,elli tdignissimialli tbasse anze,i-

quali onoproprieossedegnie asignoriome iti oy,t nondaognipersona."t snotknownfBussus idgoon tofulfilhis olenrelationotheMediciwedding.66See the etter f Francescoi Filippo ornabuonio Lorenzo e'Medici, January1469 ibid., 02).67Parenti,78, etteroFilippotrozzi,1April 469:T' desideranocosl rdinano ifareamaggioresta he isia fattamaia Firenze: questo isogna ran opiadigiovanidonne a far esta."or he ontemporaryescriptionf he estivitiesyCosimoBartoli,eeibid., 47-50.



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womennthis eriodnd hewaysnwhichhese kills ere eployednre-lation to visitors to the city.68The sacred auds in itssimplest monophonic)formwould,one cansafelyssume, ecentral othevocalrepertoirefvirtuallyveryone,maleorfemale,whethermusically rained r not.69 urthermore,he cantasi ometraditionmeant he existencef a repertoirehich panned hetworealmsofsacred and secular,withsacredtexts et to secular music (and the re-verse)." Lucrezia Tornabuoni's aude are in thistradition, ut in March1445,notlongafter ermarriageo Pierode'Medici inJune1444we findRoselloRoselli uggestingo herbrother-in-law,iovannide'Medici,thatcertain erFrancesco eachhera pieceofsecular(?)music sentbyRoselli,while nApril he is reporteds having earned monophonicballata thesamepiece?), eemingly ritten ytheorganist ntonioSquarcialupiwhoenjoyed loserelations ith heMedicithroughoutis ife."Althoughhereis no concrete vidence,musicologistsendtoassume hat quarcialupiwasan important igureor hemusical rainingftheMedicifamily.2 Thiscer-tainly eemsa fair ssumption n the case of Lucrezia'seldestdaughter,Bianca,whom we find erformingor isitors n thepositive rgan n sev-eral occasions in the late 1450s and early1460s. To entertainGaleazzoMaria Sforza n theMedici Palace inApril1459, for xample,Cosimo de'Medici "had one ofhisgranddaughterslaya pipe organwhichwasverypleasant o listen o ... in fact he hasplayedevery aysince havebeenhere."" Indeed,Sforzaremarked ohisfather n thedegree f"intimacy"(domestichezza) xperienceds a guestoftheMedici, udgedprecisely y

"For the ection hich ollows,have ound he ollowingtudies n women's usic-makingnlightening:euls-Bates; owers nd Tick inparticularhe rticle yH. M.Brown); oskoff-,nd Pendle.

69SeeWilson,ndalsoBarr."On the antasi omeradition,ith ecentibliographicaleferences,eeD'Accone,1992,262 andn.6,275-76, nd lsoWilson, 60,165-66,nd170-80."Letter f23March 445 seeD'Accone, 992,266n. 18),andalsothat f17April1445,Ugodella tufa oGiovanni iCosimo Pieraccini,: 81). Somemusicologistsakethepoint hat ucreziaearnedhepiece nonly hree aysnstead f hree ays goas theItaliannfactuggestscl)compiuto'apararedlsono").OnSquarcialupi,eeforxample,Parigi,hap. , "Eamico rganista",9-67, ndGiacomelli hoprovides ore ecentibli-ography.orLucreziaornabuoni,eeLevantini-Pieroni;artelli,994;Tornabuoni978,1992and1993.

72See,for xample,Accone, 1992, 70andn.27.73Perrens,49n. 1, etter f19April oFrancescoforza: Feasonare nafighola iPiero uofigliolonoorgano ocave sic], heeraunazentilosadaoldire.. laqual osaperb'ha factognidldopocYiosonoqui."Five rgansppearnthe nventoryf he on-tents f Lorenzo e'Medici's ooms rawn pon hisdeathn1492 Parigi,0-21).Much



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thepresencefthewomen.4 Perrensiews heserrangementss "a matri-monial verture"n thepart f theMedici 149). Althoughheeventsdescribedrecede ianca'sngagementoGuglielmoe'Pazzi, hisnterpre-tationeems nlikely.tdoes,however,ppearo confirmhat erformanceordisplayywomen,reven urelyhe act f heirresence,s ntimatelylinkedo thenegotiationfrelationshipsmongmen.Earlynthefollowingear, henmembersfthePapalCourt gainstopped ffnFlorence ntheir ayback oRome fter heCongressfMantua, ianca layedhe rgan or ardinal uillaume 'Estouteville,sweknow romhe mportantetterublished yWilliam rizer. he loca-tion, in alla,"may onceivablyeferothe aladelPapaor djacentoomsof hat art f he antaMariaNovella omplex here he opehimself ashoused. eodoro a Montefeltro'seportoBarbarafBrandenburgasun-reservedlyomplimentary:sheplays tverywellwith ine hrasesndproportionsnd mpressivehythm." heorganheplayedater hat ayforRodrigo orgia,tthe xpress ish fherPazzi n-laws,sdescribedslocatedin amera,"ossiblynBorgia'sodgings hich erepparentlyotin SantaMariaNovella,nd the nstrumentsspecificallydentifieds onegiftedoAntonioquarcialupiyKingAlfonsofNaples s a token f helatter'ssteem.6 Having uned he nstrument,nd assisted yher isterwork as beendonerecentlyn Galeazzo'smusicalnterests,.g.Prizer,989; Welch; ndMacey. erformingpportunitiesayhave tartedery arly orBianca ndNannina. c-cordingo a suggestiveetter rom iero e' Medici o hisfathern1455fromhebaths tMacereto:Here nless e are athing,llour imestaken pbydancing,ingingndplay-ing . .. If Bianca nd Nannina ad beenhere, ne of themwouldbound o havebeenmistressf eremoniesor hewomen'section f hebaths"Qui e dallo tare elbagnon-fuori on s'attendee none ballare hantare sonare . .. Se la Biancha la Nannina ifussanotate onpotevamanchareheunadi orononfussetataa madrinaelbagno elledonne, ieraccini,:82-83).Their ix-year-oldrother,orenzo,s describedyPieron thesame etters "Lord f heBaths"Signioreelbagno).74Perrens,48n.4, etterf19April:Ma moltomagiore'usarea domestichezaonmiche gli a n faretareedone uedove o sto." nthis onnection,ee lso he heme fdo-mestichezzantheettersublishedyMagnani,vi-xvii,ocs 3 and24,25April, rancescoSforzaoCosimode'Medici, nd30April,heBishop fModena nd otherso FrancescoSforza.imilarly,n1457theDuke nstructsrancescoicodellaMirandolaotreat is onin a "domestic annerndfamiliarly,o ongers a guest"uringheatter'sisit o Ferrara(Lubkin, 6)."Trans.Prizer,991,3-4, nd see bid., 3: "sonabenissimoumbonissimiontiheporporcioneemisuravantazata."16Parigi2 1)says hat ositivergans ere ransportablefnot oo arge. rizer efersothe ources or quarcialupi'sisit oNaplesn1450 1991,4 n.2),and ee lsoGiacomelli,266.



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Nannina, hooperatedhe ellows, ianca erformedwopieces ameds"Fortuna"nd"Duogl'angoseus"Deuil ngoisseuxSorrowndanguish]),followed ya third,antalizinglyescribed s "tropo ingulare"Prizer,1991,53-54).Thesecondnamed iece anbeidentifiedsbeing ytheFranco-Netherlandishomposer illesBinchoisc. 1400-1460), ndwasoriginallysettingfone oftheCent allades fChristineePizan."Thefactsstrikingnthepresentontext,ndonecanonly egrethat herereno real roundsorrguinghat iancamightave een ware hathewasperformingpiece ased n a poem omposed y woman. here s noth-ing o uggesthathe ang ccompanyingerselfn the rgan,ut athert18seems hat erperformanceaspurelynstrumental.t svery robable,however,hat he lso knew euilangoisseuxn tsvocalguise, ince tap-pearsmonghe hansonsranscribednthemanuscriptiftedyher athertoPiero iArcangeloe' BonaventurifUrbino,robablyuringhe atter'sdiplomaticmission o Florencen1451,a copy fwhich resumablye-mained ith heMedici amily.'Infact,ocal erformancelsohad tsplace hat ay.Afterhe ancing,which as lreadyeendescribed,nd supper,ianca gain layedhe r-ganbeforeingingcanzonettaithNannina. third,nidentifiedoungwomanoneofthePazzidaughters?ee note 3 above), hen angbyher-selM,"Mourn uer hiantesoussement"therondeau,Moncuer hantsjoyeusementMyheartingsoyffilly]),gain yBinchois,ndagain resentintheBonaventuri anuscript,aisingssues fperformanceracticengeneralndof talian erformancesnFrenchnparticular,hichontinueto exercise modern MUSiCologiStS.80The mportancef he nformationrovidedyTeodoro a Montefel-tro'settersemphasizedy he ontrastingcarcityf ther elevantources,

"This earlyoem, neof numbern the ubjectfwidowhood,sno.VI of he Centballades"seeChristineePizan, :7). See alsoWillard,4,and54.For he ompositionyBinchois,eeforxample,ehm,5-46,with four-voiceersionn46-47.Bonnie .Black-burn's eviewf 1995BinchoisymposiumnNewYork efersoapaper yLianeCurtisn"Dueil ngoisseux"Blackburn,84-85)."Forkeyboardersionsnthemid-centuryuxheimrgan ook,eeKemp, 20-21,andJones,33.79Wiffiarn Prizer 991,5 n.6) makeshe onnection ith hismanuscriptow n theVatican ibrary,S Urb.Lat. 1411. Inhisrole sprocuratoreo Federico aMontefeltro,Bonaventurippearsohave isitedlorence ith he ask fnegotiatingnew ondottaorhis mployerseeFranceschini,60-61, ndMoranti,4 n. 19).80Suchquestionsre learly eyondhe cope andexpertise)f hepresenttudy.nperformancessues aisedy heetter,eePrizer,99 . On the roblemsurroundingtalianperformancenFrench,eeLitterick,allows, 989, nd lsoFallows, 993, nwhich econ-cludes nthe asis f he etterublishedyPrizerhat the renchong epertoryas ulti-



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althoughhe ack f vidence eednotnecessarilyblige storegardheseFlorentineomen'smusicalkills s uncommon." he letterrom ico-demoTranchedinio Francescoforza,ited arlierpropos fthevisit fIppolita forza ndFederi& d'AragonanJune 465,revealshat heformer'sesidencentheir atal ome nce gain ave hedaughtersfLu-crezia ornabuoninopportunityoperformor igh-rankingisitors:assoon sthey ave aten, iero's aughtersillplay ariousnstrumentsntheDuchess'shamber"Disnato hehaveranoe sonera'arechijnstru-menti er efiglioleePiero nCamera eMadona,Rochon, 04n.58).This ort f ocial itual ould ave een amiliaro ppolita ho,when hewas ust ight ears ld,hadherselfungFrenchongs orRene', ukeof12Anjou, isitingavian1453.As n the ase fdancing,otoo nthe ase fmusical erformance,hequestion fwomen'srainingnQuattrocentolorence eeds o be ad-dressed. s hasalreadyeen uggestedn relationo the audsrepertoire,much olovocalmusic erformedyboth exeswouldhavedependednoral ransmissionatherhan na more ophisticatedusicaliteracy.orpolyphonicocalmusic, owever,ndparticularlyornstrumentsuch sthe rgan,he ute, ndtheviola, rainingasrequiredndconsequentlysome utlay fmoney. swith ancing,hiswasanexpense hich omeFlorentine en, t east,were reparedocountenancenrelationo thewomenntheir ousehold. ndnotonly or Biancade'Medici, utforless xceptionaloungwomen,s we cansee fromxamplesrom he r-chives ited yChristianelapisch-Zuber:n 1419Doffo pinipaidoutfour lorinsoa singingeacheror isdaughter,imona "unmaestro icanto hensegnaantarellamiafigliuolaimona"), hilen1477Barto-lornmeoassettiaidfor rganessonsor isdaughter-in-law'sherewascertainlyo lackofpotentialeachers,etweenlorentinemateursndprofessionals,rnon-Florentinerofessionalsuch sthe ingersttheBap-vated nd ppreciatednFlorencen1460" 55).See, oo, bid. 8-49,whereedescribeshesongsn Urb. at.141 which ecalls "amessyittleongbook")sbeinginoften ismalreadings ithmiserablyncompetentexts nda few scriptionshat redemonstrablywrong.t soneof hosemanuscriptshat verybodyrobably ishes idnot xist."

"The evidence fmusic-makingywomentprivateartiesemainsobeexplored.See,forxample,he etterfBraccioMartellioLorenzo e'Medici ated 7April 465 nDel Lungo, 2-42.82Southern,85. ppolita'srother,aleazzoMaria, ccordingo the atter'sutorn1452when i'spupilwasthe ame ge, ismaking oodprogressn his ingingessons. ehas earntight renchongsnd veryayearns ew nes"attendeenissirnod mpararecantaret imparatocto anti rancesionidini mparae ialtri. rizer,989,151).83 Klapisch-Zuber,984, 89n. 68.



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tistry,heCathedral,r Santissimannunziata,anyfthem ecruitedyFlorentine erchantsntheLowCountriesndversed,nemightuppose,inboth he ecularndthe acredepertoiresfNorthernurope,s well sbeing apable f upervisinghepronunciationfFrenchexts."D'Acconeamentshe ack f nformationoncerninghe ormal usi-caltrainingf male] lorentinesn this eriod,ven nCathedralchoolsand monasteries:No reportsfthe ypicalmusical urriculumave ur-vived, ut tseems easonableo assume hat olmizationndmethods fvocalproduction,hebasicprinciplesfmensural otationndperhapseven ome lementaryounterpointere aughtoyoungsters"I 992,280).Asregardsay mateurs,he xample eofferss that fGuidoMachiavelliwritingo hisfather,iccolo',n1505about essonsn"'singing,layingandwriting-part ounterpoint"'ith artolomeoegliOrgani, succes-sor fSquarcialupisCathedralrganist280-8 ).Wecanadd morenformationn women'smusical raining,tleastwithin religiousontext,hanksoKateLowe'swork nthenuns ftheBenedictineonventfLeMurate. er ource, late ixteenth-centuryis-toryf he onventyGiustina iccolini,evealshentroductiony neofthenuns f rainingnplainsongeliveredy wopriests,ndthe ommu-nitys raduationo"polyphonicinging,earningounterpoint,he ules fharmony,ndeverythinglse bout he rt f inging"Lowe, 16).Apor-table rganndanorganist erentroduced,ndthe rganistaughtomeofthenuns. n 1461, nun atelyrrived rom iterbo ecame hoirmis-tress,nd herconsorelleained xpertisensingingMasses ndVespers.Giustinalsomentionshe mploymentf ingingeachers.n 1480,dur-ing formalisit othe onvent,erraresembassadorsndotherdignitariespraisedoth henuns' rgan-playingnd inging,neof he isitorseport-ingback toDuke Ercoled'Estethat hewomenwere omparable ithcontemporaryale hapel hoirs"bastariad unacapella,"Kent, 995,358). TheDuke himselfisited eMurate nhisway oRome nApril1492."Three earsater,owever,nMay1495, avonarola as odescribethenuns'musicalctivitiesssatanicLowe, 16).Wehave omebackfull

84See, forexample,DAccone, 1961, 307-58, and 1992, 259-90. See also thequotationin note53 above.DAccone, Strohm, nd othersmention hehiring fJeanCordier, ne ofthemostfamoussingers f theperiod.See, forexample,TommasoPortinario Piero di Co-simoin February 467 citedbyStrohm 37). The itinerant atureof themusicprofessionwas an obviousaid to thegeographical iffusion nd circulation fmusic.Strohmmakes aparticular ointof theBruges,Naples,Florencetriangle138). See alsoMcGee, 1999.81Perini, 2. In RichardTrexler'sormulation,hewomenofFlorentineonvents unc-tion as "liminalbridgesbetweendifferentpowers,serving o disarmvisitors nd permitcommunication etweenmales" 1980, 236).



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circle othehazardsnvolvednwomen erformingortrangersndthe n-evitableinkingffemaleerformanceith emaleexuality.The nature ffemale erformances hazardousut,nevertheless,ithinpreciselymale-) efinedimits s sometimesociallycceptable,ndevenpoliticallyndeconomicallydvantageous,anbeseen ssimplyonstitut-inga conscious and/or nconscious)patriarchalmanipulation ndexploitationfwomennwhich he atterrepositionednd,more nsidi-ously, ositionhemselves,sobjects. he"visibility'fFlorentineomeninsuch ontexts ay e somewhatreaterhanhasbeen raditionallyr-gued, ut hererefew roundsor laiminghat uch isibilityonstituteda challengeo the ocial tatusuo, remainingather ithin he irstf hefourategoriesfperformancend nter-genderelationsroposedyEllenKoskoff,amelyerformancehat confirmsndmaintainshe stablishedsocial/sexualrrangement"IO). Evenfweare emptedoadopt differentperspectiverom hich oview he ctivitiesescribednthistudy,amelyasofferingpportunitieso beexploitedywomen hemselves asem-powering o somedegree problemswill arise.Forexample,theexploitative alegazehaseffectivelyominated uch fthis rticle,utwhathappensfweshifthe mphasiso thewomennvolved?xposure,howeverrief,othe ompanyfpowerful,ometimeslamorous,xotic,revendangerousmen,from he dolescentonof theDuke ofMilan toCountTiberto randolinindCardinal odrigo orgia, rings omenformfunaccustomed,et ociallyanctioned,isibilityhichs,poten-tiallyt east, pleasurablexperience,ngenderingsense f elf-worthswell sa sense fthepower ftheir emininity.his s a powerwhich asbeenregardedshighlyroblematic,venllusory,rommodernerspec-tive, ut t scertainlyseductive otion orBianca'smother,ucreziaTornabuoni,hose alome spreciselyuch powerfulemale igure"Iknewhowtodance owell hat heKingwants ogiveme half isking-dom"),whom er uthormust evertheless,erhapseluctantly,elinquishasconstitutingnegativexemplum."

" 1' hosaputontalmododanzare/he I remezzo l reamemivuoldare" "VitadiSanctoGiovanni aptista,"tanzaOCKXV, nTornabuoni,978,193).Thepoetofthe1459ball eaves s nno doubt s tothe onventionalassive/activeenderivision hichsimpliedn his ext:therere hosewho re re ooked tandthosewho ook, hosewho redesiredndthosewhodesire"chi mirato chifisso ltri uarda/chi vagheggiatochivagheggia.mith,:xvii), hereasornabuoni'sancing omansdominant ith hemale)spectatorsn thrall:she xploiteder ommandf he rt fdancingo the ull. don't e-lieve hat nyof thosepresent ouldhavebeenaware fthey ad beenset on fire,ocaptivatedere hey yher eautyndherwonderfulancing"etnon asciava far essun



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Intheirublic r emi-publicerformances,hesewomenwere layingfor ightakesinrelativeerms),ivingsthey id na society hich adpassion orudgingndranking,practicenwhichheywere hemselvesinvolved,utwith high egreef nternalizationfthemale-dominatedgenderorms f heirociety."Wemightmagine,orxample,nelement(perhapsstronglement)frivalrymongheparticipantsnd their ela-tivessregardshe ventsntheMercato uovo whowereelectednthefirstlace,whowere hemost eautiful,hebest orn,hebest ressed,hebestdancers, ho dancedfirst ith hemostmportantisitorndwhoplayedhehonorableole fhandmaido thedistinguisheduest rguests- but uch ompetitionasmost ften een iewed sservingnd ustain-ingmalehegemony,ithwomen solated rom neanother,opelesslytrappedn thediscoursesfpatriarchyelatingogenderoles."Theprivategenda fBiancade'Medici, erformingopleaseCardi-nalsD'EstoutevillendBorgia,maywellhavebeendominatedychieflymale oncerns thefurtheringfherbrotheriuliano'scclesiasticala-reer r ofhernewfamily'susinessnterests but ven more ersonalagenda, or xamplenterms f dentityndself-worth,usthavebeenstronglynfluencednd haped yhegernonicaleviewsndvalues, othsecular ndreligious."Hersister annina's utburstna lettero theirmotherated12July 479:"don't e born woman fyouwant o haveyourwnway"non ivolenascereerninahivuole are suomodo), fferswhats, tpresent,rare xamplefFlorentineomen'sonsciousnessftheir wn ubjectonditionsBut hat eemingenial f gencysa toposbelgiuoco/hefussildanzarepartenente./tati arebbonredonnungran oco,/entitonon 'arebbonuelle enti,/anto ontentitavano dmirare/esuobellezze 'I suogentilballare. ornabuoni,978,191,stanza XXX).On themale aze ndwomen'so-be-looked-at-nessn amodernontext,eeMulvey.`Alessandratrozzi ffersnexamplef hisort f nternalizationsmanifestednherlettersoher ons.Nannina e'Medici's usband,ernardoucellai,emarkedhatmotherswere appiero show heiraughterso tenmen han o onewomanseeKent, 983, 36n.7).

"AccordingoIrigaray,uprootedromheirnature',hey olonger elate oeachotherxceptntermsfwhat heyepresentnmen's esire,nd ccordingo theforms'hatthismposespon hem. monghemselves,heyre eparatedyhis peculations"I 88).'9Pius11mentionsmeeting ith osimode'Medici n hisreturnourneyoRomeearlyn1460during hich he atterequestedcardinalateor isgrandsonPiccolomini,1:661).9'This,Nanninis nly xtantetter,sunfortunatelymittedrom atriziaalvadori'sedition fLucrezia ornabuoni'sorrespondence,ut eePieraccini,:147.Surprisingly,PieracciniescribestasrevealingCopia ieccellendentiment



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which erhaps ides he xtentowhich here asroom ormanoeuvrentermsf the tretchingrmanipulationfgender ules, ules requentlypromotedy his ocietyutnevernrealityniformlypplied r adheredto.The attractivergumentnfavourfrestoringo women degree fagency,ndtherebyounteractingheirrevailingresentationntermsfhelplessassivity,anperhapsecautiouslyntertainedut emperedy l-lowingorts xistencerimarilyithinhe atriarchalrena.ReturningoRichardrexler'semarkited ear hebeginningf his tudy,amelyhat"Withoutirlsndwomen,here asnodance," emightrgue or femalemanipulationfthisnecessitynorder ogaingreaterccess o thepublicarena ndgreaterossibilitiesfwhatmight ave een xperiencedsper-sonalfreedomntermsfdancingnpublic paces "enpleine ue") ndfloutingurrentumptuaryaws y nhancingheirubliclyisplayedod-ieswithewellery,uxurylothing,ndmakeup,heatteroted ritically,swehave een, yPiusH."Biancade'Medici, ilippa e'Bischeri,lessandrae'Bardi nd herdaughter ariettatrozzi,r ndeed lessandracalaplayinghe itle oleinSophocles'lectranGreeknthe amilyalacen1493, re ll ilentstothenaturef heirxperiencefperformance,nd ny onsiderationf hatperformancesa vehicle or specificallyemaleelf-expressionouldbepurelypeculative.2 Onethingheymust ave hared as n awarenessftheirulture'snsistencenthe hinine ividingirtuouserformanceKo-skoffsPublic erformanceithoutompromisingoral tanding,"-7)fromtsoppositeSalome), haste isplayorat least he ppearancefchastedisplay)from latant xhibitionism,nd order rom isorder.Alessandrae'Bardi,t eastnthemale) ecordhat as ome ous, tandson one ide f hatine: ilippa ischeri,ustedfteryRosello oselli,ndcriticizedearsater yAlessandratrozzis a transgressiveoman anger-ously utofmalecontrol, robablytands n theother.9'usthowthissymbolicolarizationelatesonecessarilyomplexived ealities,bscuringanelementfpersonalegotiationnd gencynthe art f ither oman,remainslusive.UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL

" For he nterpretationf he xperiencefperforminghe gendered)elf ssimulta-neouslyoercivendenabling,ee,fornstance,arlson, 73-74, iting e Certeau. ordiscussionf he ater oucault'sotion fresistancend ts dvantagesnd imitationsorfeminism,eeMcNay,8ff."ForAlessandracala, eePesenti,nd lsoA. Brown. erperformancesdescribednscarcelyisguisedroticermsy neof he pectators,ngelo olizianoPesenti,54).93 Seenote above.

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"Performing for Strangers: Women, Dance, and Music in Quattrocento Florence"