Skin disease in the Medici family and the illness of Contessina de' Bardi de' Medici: a dermatological puzzle

Title
Skin disease in the Medici family and the illness of Contessina de' Bardi de' Medici: a dermatological puzzle
Publication Date
2014
Author(s)
Weisz, George M
Albury, William Randall
Matucci-Cerenic, Marco
Girolomoni, Giampiero
Lippi, Donatella
Type of document
Journal Article
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Place of publication
United Kingdom
DOI
10.1111/ijd.12441
UNE publication id
une:15333
Abstract
For over 300 years, from the early fifteenth to the mid-eighteenth century, the Medici family was one of the most important dynasties in Italy. As wealthy bankers, patrons of the arts, and as the rulers of Florence throughout most of this period, the leading members of this family have attracted the attention of historians, political theorists, and students of Italian culture. The Medici family has also been the subject of medico-historical interest, as many of its most prominent figures were known to have suffered from debilitating illnesses throughout their lives. There were two lines of the Medici family, descended from the two sons of Giovanni di Bicci (1360–1429). The progenitor of the senior (primogenito) line was the Cosimo il Vecchio (1389–1464), a line that died out in the early sixteenth century. Cosimo's younger brother Lorenzo (1395–1440) founded the cadet branch, which continued until the eighteenth century and from which the Grand Dukes of Tuscany came. Although the diseases of the males in the family are better known, the illnesses of the Medici women have been less studied.
Link
Citation
International Journal of Dermatology, 53(6), p. 786-788
ISSN
1365-4632
0011-9059
Start page
786
End page
788

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