This building, the Strozzi Palace in Florence, is getting ready to open in September a special exhibition to feature the works of Ai Wei-Wei, the Chinese activist/artist. From "The Florentine," the English language newspaper we have this announcement:
"Flagship installation Reframe will consist of 22 large rubber inflatable lifeboats attached to the windows of Palazzo Strozzi's facade. This powerful comment on the desperate plight of refugees who risk their lives to reach Europe by crossing the Mediterranean is representative of the overall theme of the exhibition: the artist hopes to raise awareness about our contemporary international humanitarian crisis."
This magnificent palazzo might never have come about had it not been for the tireless activities of Alexandra Strozzi, the mother of the actual builder, Filippo Strozzi. Alexandra married Matteo Strozzi in 1422. They had eight children together, of whom five survived into adulthood. Matteo was exiled from Florence in 1434 when the Medici came back to consolidate their power and Matteo died a year later in Pesaro, likely of the plague.
Alexandra then returned to Florence and began a lengthy career of her own, that of managing the family's property interests. She oversaw the work of the tenant farmers, collected rents, and paid the taxes. She had no male relatives of her own; her father-in-law was already gone and Matteo's other male relatives had voluntarily chosen exile in 1434.
Eventually Alexandra's sons had to be sent away also; because their father had been a legal exile, their prospects were not considered very good. The sons, especially Filippo, learned the banking and cloth merchant business with their first cousins in Naples, eventually amassing an even greater fortune than they.
The sentence of exile was finally lifted from Filippo (and his brother Lorenzo) in 1466, and he returned to Florence, where he began to acquire the many properties needed to assemble the site for his greatest undertaking, the Palazzo Strozzi.
We know of this remarkable story because Alexandra wrote letters to her sons while they were in exile. She was an acute observer of the political and social life in Florence in the mid 15th Century, and she was determined to preserve their property and prestige despite their adverse circumstances.
"Selected Letters of Alexandra Strozzi," bilingual edition, was translated by Heather Gregory, who has helpfully provided us with and introduction and notes. It's available through the University of California Press.
