My first two afternoons in Florence last week have been really inspiring. I had the chance to meet some members of the cultural association called “Comitato Amerigo Vespucci a casa sua” whom I’ve been in touch with by email from the UK. Not only I was invited to the presentation of their book I Quaderni Vespucciani, but one of the members also guided me around Borgo Ognissanti to see the Vespucci places (Ognissanti church and San Giovanni di Dio hospital)
The Comitato Amerigo Vespucci was founded a couple of years ago by Florentine historians, geographers and amateurs with the purpose of promoting the figure of Amerigo Vespucci with a view to the celebrations of 2012 (500 years from Amerigo’s death). The society is variously involved in organizing conferences and cultural events in order to spread the knowledge of Amerigo, his travels and discoveries. This is also the aim of the Comitato’s publication I Quaderni Vespucciani.
On Tuesday I visited Ognissanti church in order to see the Vespucci chapel in flesh. Once there I also realized that there are numerous family tombs in the building: one is on the floor next to the chapel while the others are located along the transept of the church. They are all clearly recognizable as Vespucci tombs because they display the family coat of arms with golden wasps that appears (twice) also on the sides of the chapel. Just off the square where the church stands there is the 'Spedale San Giovanni di Dio founded in early 1400 by Simone Vespucci. Apparently the house of the early Vespucci became part of the 'Spedale (hospital) although today there is no trace of what the house looked like. We can only gather an idea from the following XIX century drawing that shows the entrance to the structure:
(Google images)
The sites were really interesting although none of the original settings of the house were visible. This confirms that research has to be carried out in archives in order to find out more about the family properties in Borgo Ognissanti. It will also be interesting to investigate the relation Vespucci-religious orders and their patronage in church related environments. Ognissanti church was connected to the order of the Umiliati. What was their relation (if any) with the Vespucci? We know that the family moved to Borgo Ognissanti at the beginning of the XIV century. Is it possible to establish some sort of connection between the family and the religious order since then?
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