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GIAN GASTONE DE MEDICI IN BOHEMIA
Abstract
Between 1697 and 1708, Prince Giovanni Gastone de Medici (or Gian Gastone) and Anna Maria Francesca of Saxe-Lauenburg, his consort, resided in Bohemia in the hopes of conceiving a child and perpetuating the Medici dynasty. Despite the ultimate failure to produce an heir and Gian Gastones return to Tuscany alone, his Bohemian stay was nevertheless of great cultural, political, and diplomatic importance. The study will analyze the impact of the stereotypes on the theme of Gian Gastone in Bohemia. In both the historical and popular literature, Gian Gastone, during his time in Bohemia, is described as immoral and of a melancholic nature. These views of Gian Gastone were part of an effort of historians under the new Lorrain dynasty in Tuscany (and J. R. Galluzzi in particular) to distinguish the new rulers from their Medici predecessors by pointing out the previous dynastys flaws. Historians and writers in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (F. Orlando, G. Baccini, G. Conti, E. Robiony, G. F. Young and H. Acton) did blame the last Medici for failing to produce an heir, and thus letting the country fall into the hands of foreigners. This study focuses on the theme of aristocratic culture and analyzes the behavior of Gian Gastone and Anna Maria Francesca in this context.
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References15
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