Rescuing Florence. Stories of a Renaissance City under Siege (1529-1530)
Thu, Feb 27
|SFU Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue
A talk by Dr. Emily O’Brien on how Michelangelo and the sacrifices of Florence’s citizens helped save the city’s Renaissance treasures during the 1529 siege by imperial troops backed by their ally, the Medici pope Clement VII. Reception to follow
Time & Location
Feb 27, 2025, 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. PST
SFU Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, 580 W Hastings St, Vancouver, BC V6B 5K3, Canada
About the Event
The Dante Alighieri Society of BC in Vancouver and SFU’s Graduate Liberal Studies
invite you to a talk by Dr. Emily O’Brien
"Rescuing Florence. Stories of a Renaissance City under Siege (1529-1530)"
Thursday, 27 February 2025, 6.30 pm-8.00 pm (PST)
Reception to follow
About the talk: In October 1529, gunfire erupted near Florence, marking the start of a grueling ten-month siege by imperial troops, backed by Medici Pope Clement VII. When Florence surrendered in August 1530, the Medici regained power, ruling as dukes for two centuries. . Despite its significance, the siege of Florence remains understudied by scholars; and for broader audiences, it is usually crowded out by the monumental triumphs of the age: the intellectual and artistic achievements of Boccaccio and Brunelleschi, of Machiavelli and Michelangelo and others who together forged Florence's reputation as cradle and jewel of the Italian Renaissance. And yet, the stories of the siege are,…