This exhibition is the result of collaboration between the Soprintendenza per il Polo Museale Fiorentino and the University of Florence (DIPINT, Dipartimento Interistituzionale Integrato dell’Azienda Ospedaliero Sanitaria di Careggi). Enhanced by the fine catalogue published by Sillabe, the aim of the exhibition is to probe the subject of private devotion in the great Florentine families of the past, especially from the female point of view, considering the Martelli family in particular depth.

On this occasion it will be possible to visit places, rooms and areas of Villa La Quiete which are normally not visible to the public, opened for a special itinerary during the period of the exhibition. Similarly, the Museum of Casa Martelli can be visited along an entirely original itinerary, which is the opposite of the normal one.

THE CASA MARTELLI SECTION
The section of the exhibition hosted in Casa Martelli begins with an introduction to the history of devotion in Florence. This addresses the particular worship which the Medici family and the Florentine nobility devoted to the saints that were their fellow citizens and to the Santissima Annunziata, displaying evidence of their devotion to the image through the rituals and ceremonies held in the sanctuary and the donations made to it.
The exhibition continues with the illustration of the more private aspects of worship, spirituality as it was experienced in the domestic environment of the aristocratic residences – expressed through the possession of reliquaries, books, small portable altars and devotional images. This worship was addressed to the great Florentine saints, and above all to the female saints, the most prominent among them being Maria Maddalena de’ Pazzi (Florence, 1566 – 1607; can. 1669), Caterina de’ Ricci (Florence, 1522 – Prato, 1590; can. 1746), the illustrious forbear of  the Caterina who married Niccolò Martelli in 1802, and Giuliana Falconieri (Florence, (1271(?) – 1341, can. 1737).
This subject, closely bound up with the Martelli family whose proximity to the Florentine Curia was decisive in the last centuries of its history, has its perfect setting in several rooms of the residence. Indeed, Palazzo Martelli conserves extensive evidence – in addition to what Caterina de’ Ricci brought in her dowry – documenting this affinity of life choices and religious devotion which was shared even by the last members of the dynasty. To be interpreted in the same light is the decision of the last of the Martelli, Francesca, who bequeathed her entire estate to the Basilica of San Lorenzo and the Florentine Curia.
Alongside these aspects, and again within the city context, is the civic and familial celebration of devotion to several sainted and venerable ladies, some of whom had founded monastic orders and who shared noble extraction.  Completing our insight into the close relations between these female figures and contemporary society is the attention devoted to them by the clergy and the faithful in spheres ranging from care to education. Special attention is paid to the Marian cult, retracing the pilgrimages to the Holy House of Loreto through the impressions and comments of visitors. In conclusion, the exhibition focuses on the collecting of sacred objects, an authentic world of treasures to be discovered, including the display of a collection of wonders – works and objects of exquisite craftsmanship that bear witness to a lesser-known ambit of collecting.

THE SECTION OF VILLA LA QUIETE
The section of the exhibition set up in a series of rooms in Villa La Quiete explores the origins and characteristics of an important strand of female devotion in Florence between the seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries.
Villa La Quiete housed  an ancient institution of religious inspiration founded by Eleonora Ramirez de Montalvo in the middle of the 17th century: a community of women mostly of noble origins who wished to live freely in seclusion and prayer, without taking vows. They also played an educational role for the girls entrusted to their care by families who wished them to be trained in Christian morals so that, when they came of age, they would be able to decide whether to get married or take vows. The founders and key figures behind this institution were Eleonora Ramirez de Montalvo (Genoa, 1602 – Florence, 1659) and the Grand Duchess Vittoria della Rovere (Pesaro, 1622 – Pisa, 1694); the former was the leading spirit behind the congregation and the author of its constitutions, while the latter was its mother superior and “patron”.
This section extends over a number of rooms, including the church and the lower choir. Displayed in the church, as well the works of art that were already present, are several exhibits related to the two figures mentioned above – in addition to the memorial monuments devoted to them which are located in the church – and also to the life of the institution in the seventeenth century. Then, in the lower choir, we can admire the works commissioned by Vittoria’s granddaughter Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici, the last of the Medici who was profoundly attached to La Quiete, and several artefacts of outstanding artistic and documentary value for the spirituality of the Montalve.

UNPUBLISHED WORKS
The exhibition itinerary includes a great number of original works illustrating the history of the Martelli family and its commissions, such as the magnificent Martelli Cross, recently restored, and presented here with a hitherto unpublished critical evaluation and attribution. Also present is the splendid and unknown Saint Augustine writing on the Heart of Saint Maria Maddalena de’ Pazzi, by Cosimo Ulivelli, and the moving Portrait of Sister Diomira Allegri by Carlo Dolci, which has left for the first time the silent shelter of the walls within which it has been conserved up to now. Then there is the extraordinary precious Monstrance, dating to around 1619, made of silver and precious stones by Jonas Falck, bearing the coats of arms of Ferdinando I de’ Medici and Christine of Lorraine and originating from the Convent of Santissima Annunziata. In addition there are ex votoes and Agnus Dei images provided by numerous lenders, public bodies and Italian private collections, as well as articles from an extraordinary and original collection of sacred objects, medals, veils, berets, reliquaries and small holy theatres, that is, fascinating dioramas featuring sacred scenes.