San Marino. The unknown story of Simonetta Cattaneo
The Movimento Rete organizes an evening entitled “Love, art, beauty and a tragic end. The unknown story of Simonetta Cattaneo”.
Simonetta Cattaneo Vespucci. “The diva Simonetta – la sans par”. Perhaps few know his name, but everyone has seen his face shine in Botticelli’s “Venus” and “Primavera”.
We will talk about her, about this beautiful girl of the fifteenth century and her sad story, in which RETE organized for the International Day against violence and gender.
Guest of the Movement will be Giovanna Strano, author of the book “La diva Simonetta – la sans par” (AIEP Editore) where the atmospheres of fifteenth-century Florence are re-proposed, a historical period singular for the cultural richness and political effervescence that characterize the flowering of the Municipalities and Lordships. The artistic exuberance of the society of the time crowned a true story, hidden in documents of the period, buried in archives and libraries, and veiled in the works of art by Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, Benozzo Gozzoli and other great masters. It is the story of a young woman, Simonetta Cattaneo Vespucci, loved by Giuliano and Lorenzo de ‘Medici, but also by others, such as Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici and by Botticelli himself. The figure of the master emerges clearly in the novel and Simonetta is the inspiring muse of the most important works, including the “Venus” and the very famous “Spring”.
Simonetta is a fragile girl from a small provincial town. An arranged marriage, for the good of the family; an absent husband, a perverse father-in-law. Elements that counterbalance the splendor of the Medici court, where she is loved, envied, hated, also for her secret love with Giovanni and for the admiration of the greatest artists of the time.
An explosive mix that will lead to her death at just 23 years old.
If it hadn’t been for the fame of the paintings that immortalized her and for the curiosity of the writer Giovanna Strano, her true story would have remained unknown. The thought of this initiative goes to Simonetta, to the many women of literature and the arts such as Francesca da Rimini, Pia de ‘Tolomei, Artemisia Gentileschi, and to the many women of today who are victims of domestic violence, in all its brutal nuances, the thought of this initiative goes of network. But also the commitment to that cultural promotion that is functional to a change of mentality of our whole society.
The presentation of the book, in the presence of the author, will be held on Saturday 20 November, at 5.30 pm, at the multipurpose room in Murata (above the bank).
The conversation is led by the journalist Angela Venturini.
Citizenship is invited.