Rewriting John the Baptist: Building a history of the San Giovanni <i>edifici</i>

Abstract

From the time of the Florentine chronicler and diarist, Gregorio Dati (1362-1435), descriptions of the celebrations in honour of Florence's patron saint have been enshrined in a particular kind of laudatory narrative, designed to represent the city as prosperous, magnificent, harmonious, and revelling in divine favour. This essay will examine one aspect of the festa that emerges from those narratives and from recent archival research, and attempt to relate the city's extraordinary expenditure on its patron saint's feast day to the real and imagined benefits that flowed from it.