What was daily life like during the Renaissance? To find out more, all you have to do is visit the BeGo Museum – Benozzo Gozzoli Museum in Castelfiorentino, where a series of events titled “The Art of Living. Customs, traditions, and society in the time of Benozzo Gozzoli”, a project born from the collaboration between the Municipality of Castelfiorentino, the museum’s scientific directorate, the Fondazione Teatro del Popolo, and the Associazione Sveliamo la Marca.
Through a series of thematic explorations, the series aims to provide a vivid snapshot of daily life during the Renaissance, drawing inspiration from the frescoes on the two tabernacles created by Benozzo Gozzoli and preserved at the BeGo, a precious figurative record of the traditions prevalent in society at the time.
The first event is scheduled for Sunday, April 12, at 5:00 p.m., featuring “Women’s Fashion in the Time of Benozzo Gozzoli,” presented by Paola Panichi of the Sveliamo la Marca Association, an organization that has been actively committed for many years to promoting the artistic heritage of the Castello area. The event will offer an in-depth look at women’s clothing in the 15th century, exploring elegance, symbolism, and social codes: precious fabrics, garments, and accessories were not merely expressions of aesthetic taste, but true indicators of status, belonging, and identity. By comparing these with the depictions in Benozzo Gozzoli’s frescoes, it will be possible to reconstruct the customs and traditions related to dress, capturing the interplay between fashion, society, and representation in Renaissance culture.
The program continues on Friday, May 8, at 5:00 p.m., with “Convivio 500 – Food and Ephemeral Displays at Renaissance Banquets,” a lecture by scholar Luca Priori. The talk will focus on the aristocratic custom, which developed in Italian courts, of presenting dishes on the table in a way that created veritable gastronomic spectacles, in pursuit of sophisticated aesthetic ostentation. Pies, game, roasts, stews, stuffed pastas, and cakes of various shapes alternated with dancing, music, and moving structures—all governed by precise rules of etiquette. An ephemeral yet substantial experience, an investment that secured dynastic alliances and consensus while celebrating the glory of beauty.
The series concludes on Friday, June 12, at 5:00 p.m., with “Living the Renaissance – Domestic Furnishings in Siena from the 15th Century to the Mannerist Era,” curated by scholar Marilena Caciorgna. The presentation will focus on the analysis of certain pieces of domestic furniture, such as chests and headboards, to convey the variety of a figurative culture that developed in Siena between the 15th and 16th centuries and was intended for the decoration of living spaces, with particular attention to the bedroom – a privileged space within the palace, closely linked to the celebration of marriage and the perpetuation of the lineage.
“We are delighted,” says Franco Spina, Councilor for Culture, “to present this series of lectures on the theme of living in the Renaissance, in close dialogue with the frescoes by Benozzo Gozzoli. This initiative stems from the collaboration between the City, the Bego Museum, and the Sveliamo la Marca association, in partnership with experts and prestigious institutions. “The Bego,” continues Spina, “in keeping with its cross-cutting and accessible nature, thus pursues its goal of being an active space where alternative models of social participation are developed, along with moments of new conviviality and a symbolic site linked to the local area. A museum where culture is produced above all through its relationship with the community. A museum beyond the museum, a place for the city, a place for people”.
“With this series of events,” notes Maria Cristina Giglioli, President of the Fondazione Teatro del Popolo, “the museum aims to promote a renewed interpretation of Benozzo Gozzoli’s frescoes, focused on highlighting not only their high artistic value but also the concrete, everyday dimension they convey. By exploring themes related to the customs, traditions, and social practices of the time, the aim is to foster a greater connection between the contemporary public and the heritage preserved at the BeGo, recognizing in these works a living testimony capable of engaging with the present and offering tools for understanding our cultural history”.
“In the frescoes of the BeGo’s tabernacles,” notes the museum’s scientific director, Serena Nocentini, “Benozzo Gozzoli acts as a chronicler of his time: precious garments, furnishings, and food rituals are not mere details, but evidence of a careful study of 15th-century society, capable of transforming sacred painting into a rich narrative of everyday life”.
All events will take place at the BeGo – Benozzo Gozzoli Museum, located at Via A. Testaferrata 31 in Castelfiorentino. Admission is free; reservations are appreciated via email (info@museobenozzogozzoli.it) or by phone during opening hours at + 39 0571 64448.
For more information: www.museobenozzogozzoli.it
