Lucrezia Tornabuoni's Letter To Her Husband

Lucrezia Tornabuoni and her husband Piero the Gouty share a series of letters between the 28th of March and the 3rd of April 1467. The letters between her and husband display the power, the control, and the say she had in the Medici. Women’s opinions typically did not matter, but Lucrezia opinion and voice was highly respected and appreciated. She wanted a marriage for her son Lorenzo that would bring more opportunities and wealth to the Medici family. Despite Lorenzo loving someone else, Lucrezia went through with finding a better wife for her son. She chose Clarice Orsini for her son, because she came from a family of many important people, and had connections to the Catholic Church. This marriage for the Medici was beneficial for them, and

strengthened their power in Florence and through out Italy.
Lucrezia relieves her stubborn side of her personality in some of the letters to her husband Piero regarding Clarice.

Her letters that describe Clarice Orsini illustrate her persistent and observant personality. It also shows that she was power hunger, in comparison to Contessina who was passive and satisfied with her husband’s accomplishments. Where as Lucrezia, took it upon herself to establish more power in the Medici rather then her husband. For example, she states” On Thursday morning on my way to St. Peter’s, I had the chance to meet Maddaleana Orsini, the cardinal sister, who was with her fifteen, going on sixteen year old daughter” (Lucrezia Tornabuoni). Lucrezia was persistent in meeting Clarice; she took advantage of the chance to meet and analyze Clarice, and see if she was in fact a good fit for her son. She had one goal in Rome, which was to find a wife for her son. Lucrezia did not waste any time in getting what she came for. In the letters to Piero, in detailed way she describes Clarice, so he can have an idea of his son’s potential wife. She was described as girl who was “ sweet in manner, not however as refined as ours, but she is very modest and could soon be led to adopt our ways…” (Lucrezia Tornabuoni). She

goes on to describe almost every aspect of Clarice from her personality to her physical features. No detail is left unsaid in her letter to her husband. For example she states, “ We could not see her bosom because of it is the custom to cover it up entirely” (Lucrezia Tornabuoni). As an intellectual, she does mention if Clarice posses brains or is cultivated like her self, which is surprising. This shows Lucrezia’s close minded side of her personality. For a modern woman like Lucrezia, she is subjected to renaissance and fifteen century thinking, which is that the most important thing women can do is bear children and continue the linage (Cardini, 16). Her letters relieve that she mainly picks Clarice because of her appearance, and her family connection to the church. Despite being a forward thinker, Lucrezia