The Bookseller of Florence: Ross King (1434)
Ross King, author of The Bookseller of Florence
Even in their own time the people of fifteenth-century Florence realised that they were living in a ‘Golden Age.’ In this episode we travel back to 1434 to meet a character who was at once fascinating and ubiquitous: the fabled ‘Bookseller of Florence’, Vespasiano da Bisticci
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In February 1434, a young boy made his way over the Ponte Veccio, bridge that spans the River Arno in Florence. Weaving a path through the jostling crowds of people, he walked up the Via dei Librai (the Street of the Booksellers) arrived at the door of Michele Guardicci’s shop.
It was his first day of work. His name was Vespasiano da Bisticci and he went on to become one of the most powerful and well-connected people in fifteenth century Italy, one of the great movers and shakers of the Renaissance: a bookseller, an intelligence gatherer, a writer, but above all, a bibliophile in the last great age of the manuscript.
Vespasiano would have probably carried on his schooling rather than starting work so young but his father, a wool merchant, had recently died, leaving the family in considerable debt. Education became a luxury they could no longer afford and young Vespasiano had to earn money to make ends meet.
However, Vespasiano continued learning and in many ways he had a better education in the discursive, erudite world of the bookshop and the piazza next door which was a popular meeting place for intellectuals.
He met all the great scholars of the day, many of them saw his potential and helped him to forge a career as a manuscript specialist – something he achieved within just a few years, making him the go-to expert for anyone creating a library.
Our expert tour guide on this journey is the Renaissance specialist Ross King, who has written several bestselling books on the history of art and culture. He has spent the previous four years writing The Bookseller of Florence, Vespasiano da Bisticci and the Manuscripts that Illuminated the Renaissance, bringing to life the incredible story of the man at the heart of Florentine culture in the golden age of the fifteenth century. Vespasiano documented his own life and the wonders around him in his Memoirs so he is both the source and the subject of King’s fascinating book.
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Click here to order Ross King’s book from John Sandoe’s who, we are delighted to say, are supplying books for the podcast.
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Show notes
Scene One: February, Vespasiano da Bisticci begins work in the bookshop of Michele Guardini.
Scene Two: June Pope Eugenius IV arrives in the city having fled Rome in terror for his life.
Scene Three: Cosimo de’Medici returns to Florence after a year-long exile in Venice.
Memento: The manuscript copy of Cicero’s Letters to Friends produced in Vespasiano’s workshop for the Hungarian scholar Janus Pannonius.
People/Social
Presenter: Violet Moller
Guest: Ross King
Production: Maria Nolan
Podcast partner: Colorgraph
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About Ross King
Ross King is a renowned expert on the Italian Renaissance. He is the author of numerous bestselling and acclaimed books include Brunelleschi’s Dome, Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling, Leonardo and the Last Supper and Mad Enchantment: Claude Monet and the Painting of the Water Lilies. His love of Renaissance Florence, which he has been studying, writing and lecturing about for over twenty years, made Vespasiano’s long-forgotten story – never written about before – an irresistible next subject.
Fifteenth-century Florence
This vivid recreation shows how small Florence was and how it was arranged on the banks of the River Arno. Nuremburg Chronicle, via WikiCommons
Fifteenth century faces
All images used with permission
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Click here to order The Bookseller of Florence by Ross King from our friends at John Sandoe’s Books.
A riveting portrait of the man who sold many of the books that drove the Renaissance, who knew where manuscripts were, arranged for copies to be made and trod carefully among rival ruling faction. Surprisingly, though a purveyor of knowledge, he was not a fan of the printing press. (John Sandoe’s)
Featured image from Colorgraph
