Description
Grand Duke Francesco I de Medici - The Alchemist & his Great Work
Francesco I - a member of the famous Florentine family, the Medicis - was the second Grand Duke of Tuscany ruling from 1574 until his death in 1587. He had a plethora of avid interests beyond governing - including manufacturing, sciences, continuing the Medici legacy for patronage of the arts. He was also passionately interested in chemistry and alchemy and spent many hours in his private laboratory. His prized Studiolo held his curio collections of natural items and stones and allowed him to dabble in chemistry and alchemical schemes.
Discover the Alchemic world in the late 1500s through Francesco de Medici as we enter his treasure chest study in the Palazzo Vecchio, relive the unexpected in his villa garden at Pratolino and experience the grotto in the Boboli Gardens.
Speaker Bio
Freya Middleton
Australian born, Eurocentric and Italian focused, Freya wears her newly acquired Italian citizenship like one of her many much loved red jackets – with flair, passion and pride. She loves art, a good story, being surrounded by beauty, and feeds on feelings, excitement and great ideas. Florence has been her home since 2000 and being a private tour guide is her vocation. Her degrees, both undergraduate (Sydney University) and Masters (Warwick university, England), in art history provided the starting block for a lifelong love affair with beauty and the understanding that the picture really does speak a thousand words. Scholarships at the beginning provided the possibility for full Euro immersion (Rotary Youth Exchange program to Belgium, to France at the Sorbonne University, to Italy on post-graduate research scholarship), and a thirst for adventure made her stay. She tries to touch an Aussie beach once a year for a few weeks but is tickled pink to be living her life in the country of melodrama, Italy.
Constant reading, limitless curiosity and continuing attendance at independent courses make her realize that there are never enough days in the year to discover all the many fabulous things in Florence and in Italy in general.
You can meet Freya in person when you let Tuscany Tours plan your custom independent travels to Florence, Italy!
Other Info
Audience: Suitable for all audiences
Duration: about 90 minutes
Time zones:
| • US East Coast: 3:00 PM |
| • US Central Time: 2:00 PM |
| • US Mountain Time: 1:00 PM |
| • US West Coast: 12:00 PM |
| • Italy Time: 9:00 PM |
We encourage you to log on 15 minutes before the start time to get settled!
