ABSTRACT
From 1555 to 1562, Giorgio Vasari was working for the Duke of Florence, Cosimo I de Medici, on three of the most important secular decorative schemes of the sixteenth century: the mythological cycle of the Appartamento degli Elementi, the Medici istorie of the Appartamento di Leone X, and the celebration of the history of Florence in the Sala Grande in the Palazzo Vecchio. The Ragionamenti are written in the form of a dialogue between Vasari himself and Cosimo’s eldest son and heir, Francesco, and are divided into three parts, representing fictitious visits over three days to the two apartments and the Sala Grande. The historical information in the Ragionamenti provides a context for Cosimo’s role and identity as a ruler. Vasari links Cosimo the Elder’s name to a long list of commissions—paintings, sculptures, churches, villas and palaces—and mentions all the artists, adding that the quality of this patronage was worthy of a prince, rather than of a simple citizen.
