The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence

February 20, 2017
Simonetta Cattaneo, said to be the model for some of Sandro Botticelli’s finest paintings, including the Birth of Venus, was wed to Marco Vespucci in 1469. This story follows her tragically short life as she is wooed by the promise of life in artistic, learned Florence, befriended by the mighty Medici family, and receives the mixed blessing of being declared the most beautiful woman in Florence. Her story as told by Palombo (The Violinist of Venice) is a sad one, but also strikingly feminist as she fights to be acknowledged for her sharp mind and education, and scorns the attention paid to her because of her fair face. Ironically, it is an artist who sees past her looks to the curious and thoughtful woman within, and through that relationship with him she is immortalized in some of the most treasured works of the Renaissance. Though little is known of her real life, this story gathers what scraps of fact exist to build a compelling narrative that is difficult to put down.

February 1, 2017
Simonetta Vespucci, nee Cattaneo, has spent her entire young life as a celebrated beauty; however, it is her mind that she wants valued. As a young bride, she is particularly eager to embrace the learned inner circle of the Medici family of Florence, an opportunity which her new husband's connections afford her. Soon after her introduction to them, she meets an artist discovered by Lorenzo Medici, Sandro Botticelli, and agrees to have him paint her portrait. From this, an unlikely friendship develops that soon grows into something more. Though Simonetta is attracted to Botticelli, her loyalty to her husband keeps her from acting on her feelings. When faced with an unpleasant way of furthering her husband's career, Simonetta must make the choice between loyalty to her husband or to her own heart. In the tradition of Tracy Chevalier's Girl with a Pearl Earring (2000), Palombo (The Violinist of Venice, 2015) has married fine art with romantic historical fiction in this lush and sensual interpretation of Medici Florence, artist Sandro Botticelli, and the muse that inspired them all.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)