Ferdinando Cospi | |
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| Born | Ferdinando Cospi 1606 |
| Died | January 19, 1686 (aged 79–80) |
| Resting place | San Petronio, Bologna |
| Nationality | Bolognese |
| Occupation | Senator |
| Known for | Cabinet of curiosities |
Marchese Ferdinando Cospi (1606 - 1686) was a Bolognese nobleman who acquired a large collection of natural curiosities, donated for the use of scholars to the city of Bologna in 1657.
Ferdinando Cospi was born in Bologna in 1606, son of Constance de' Medici and Vincenzo Cospi. His father belonged to an ancient Bolognese family. In December 1601, Vincenzo Cospi was involved in a fight in which he mortally wounded his opponent. Sentenced to death, he fled to Florence. He was befriended by the future Grand Duke Ferdinando I, who made him a courtier. In August 1604 Vincenzo Cospi married a great-granddaughter of Cardinal Alessandro Ottaviano de' Medici, who the next year was briefly Pope Leo XI before dying in office. Vincenzo Cospi was pardoned, and in 1606 was in Bologna, where Ferdinando Cospi was born. [1]
In 1610 Vincenzo was involved in another fight, this time bloodless, but was again forced to flee to Florence. Here, at the age of eight, Ferdinando Cospi became a page of Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. In 1616 he joined the Order of the Knights of St. Stephen, but so he would not have to serve on a galley he was made a page of the grand master, who was also the Grand Duke, and who brought him up with his children. When Cosimo II died in 1621, Ferdinando II promoted Cospi to a page of the black livery, and took him to live in the Palazzo Vecchio. [1]
Cospi’s father died in Bologna in 1624, and he inherited the family property and position. He became the representative of the Grand Duke Ferdinando II in Bologna. This involved formal diplomatic services and attendance at functions and ceremonies. He mediated between the Bolognese and Tuscan authorities, and promoted trade and the interests of Florence in Bologna. He also helped the Medicis to obtain the services of Bolognese artists. [1]
In 1637 Cospi married Smeralda di Annibale Banzi. They had just one daughter, Dorotea, although Cospi was said to have had a child in Florence whom the Granduchess Vittoria della Rovere accepted as one of her court ladies. [2]
As the value of his services increased, the Grand Duke increased Cospi’s salary and in 1641 made him bailiff of Arezzo within the Order of Saint Stephen. In 1643 Cospi escorted the new Cardinal Giancarlo de' Medici to Rome to receive his cap. In 1646 he undertook a mission to Milan to pay respects on behalf of the Grand Duke to the new governor, Bernardino Fernández de Velasco, 6th Duke of Frías. Two years later he was given the hereditary title of Marquis of Petriolo. On 9 May 1650 he became a senator of Bologna. The next year he made another trip for the Cardinal Giancarlo de' Medici to pay his respects to Mariana of Austria, the new Queen of Spain. In 1664, 1665 and 1672 he was Gonfaloniere of Bologna. [1]
In 1673 Cospi resigned from the office of senator, but continued to take part in public life. He died in Bologna on 19 January 1686 and was buried in San Petronio in the family chapel. [1]
On 28 June 1660 Cospi donated his museum to the Senate. It seems that Tatto had already compiled a short printed catalog of the collection. In 1667 Cospi printed, at his expense, a full description of the “Museo Cospiano” in five volumes. The first two described the natural history specimens and the last three covered the archaeological objects. [1]
A picture of the “Cabinet of curiosities” has been preserved. It includes truly natural specimens as well as some man-made specimens of fictitious animals such as a winged fish and a Hippocampus, half horse and half fish. In the picture, the bust of Dante Alighieri forms the centerpiece of the collection. Below and to its right is the dwarf Sebastiano Biavati, a living member of his collection, and Cospi himself stands to the right. [3] The collection was combined with a collection made by Ulisse Aldrovandi. [4] In 1743 the Academy of Sciences of Bologna Institute obtained the donation of this collection, the Naturalia Museum. [5]
The House of Medici was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Mugello region of Tuscany, and prospered gradually until it was able to fund the Medici Bank. This bank was the largest in Europe during the 15th century and facilitated the Medicis' rise to political power in Florence, although they officially remained citizens rather than monarchs until the 16th century.
Cosimo I de' Medici was the second Duke of Florence from 1537 until 1569, when he became the first Grand Duke of Tuscany, a title he held until his death.
The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was an Italian monarchy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1859, replacing the Republic of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence. In the 19th century the population of the Grand Duchy was about 1,815,000 inhabitants.
Cosimo III de' Medici was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1670 until his death in 1723, the sixth and penultimate from the House of Medici. He reigned from 1670 to 1723, and was the elder son of Grand Duke Ferdinando II. Cosimo's 53-year-long reign, the longest in Tuscan history, was marked by a series of laws that regulated prostitution and May celebrations. His reign also witnessed Tuscany's deterioration to previously unknown economic lows. He was succeeded by his elder surviving son, Gian Gastone, when he died, in 1723.
Ferdinando II de' Medici was grand duke of Tuscany from 1621 to 1670. He was the eldest son of Cosimo II de' Medici and Maria Maddalena of Austria. He was remembered by his contemporaries as a man of culture and science, actively participating in the Accademia del Cimento, the first scientific society in Italy, formed by his younger brother, Leopoldo de' Medici. His 49-year rule was punctuated by the beginning of Tuscany's long economic decline, which was further exacerbated by his successor, Cosimo III de' Medici. He married Vittoria della Rovere, a first cousin, with whom he had two children who reached adulthood: the aforementioned Cosimo III, and Francesco Maria de' Medici, Duke of Rovere and Montefeltro, a cardinal.
Cosimo II de' Medici was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1609 until his death. He was the elder son of Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Christina of Lorraine.
Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1587 to 1609, having succeeded his older brother Francesco I.
Virginia de' Medici was an Italian princess, a member of the House of Medici and by marriage Duchess of Modena and Reggio.
Giuseppe Maria Crespi, nicknamed Lo Spagnuolo, was an Italian late Baroque painter of the Bolognese School. His eclectic output includes religious paintings and portraits, but he is now most famous for his genre paintings.
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Giovanni Battista (Giambattista) Foggini was an Italian sculptor active in Florence, renowned mainly for small bronze statuary.
Leopoldo de' Medici was an Italian cardinal, scholar, patron of the arts and Governor of Siena. He was the brother of Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany.
Ferdinando de' Medici was the eldest son of Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Marguerite Louise d'Orléans. Ferdinando was heir to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, with the title Grand Prince, from his father's accession in 1670 until his death in 1713. He is remembered today primarily as a patron of music. An excellent musician himself, he attracted top musicians to Florence and thus made it an important musical center. Through his patronage of Bartolomeo Cristofori, Ferdinando made possible the invention of the piano.
Vittoria della Rovere was Grand Duchess of Tuscany as the wife of Grand Duke Ferdinando II. She had four children with her husband, two of whom would survive infancy: the future Cosimo III, Tuscany's longest-reigning monarch, and Francesco Maria, a prince of the Church. At the death of her grandfather Francesco Maria della Rovere, she inherited the Duchies of Rovere and Montefeltro, which reverted to her second son, Francesco Maria, at her death. She was later entrusted with the care of her three grandchildren. Her marriage brought a wealth of treasures to the House of Medici, which can today be seen in the Palazzo Pitti and the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.
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The Altoviti are a prominent noble family of Florence, Italy. Since the medieval period they were one of the most distinguished banking and political families appointed to the highest offices of the Republic of Florence, friends and patrons of Galileo Galilei, Vasari, Raphael, and Michelangelo. They had a close personal relationship with the papacy. Through a predominant endogamous marriage policy they established alliances with dynasties of principal and papal nobility as the Medici, Cybo, Rospigliosi, Sacchetti, Corsini, and Aldobrandini.
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