Tuscan concerns and Spanish heritage in the decoration of Duchess Eleonora's apartment in the Palazzo Vecchio 1

After Eleonora di Toledo's marriage to Cosimo de’ Medici in 1539 the ducal couple moved to the former Palazzo della Signoria. There a new court had to be created, appropriate models for which were found in Spain and Spanish Naples. Court artists decorated ducal apartments in the palazzo's old wing; in particular Eleonora's rooms received much attention. Their decorative programme of famous women is still in situ on the second floor of the Palazzo Vecchio. Eleonora was brought up as a Spanish noblewoman and introduced Spanish customs and devotional practices in Florence. She was praised as a worthy follower of Queen Isabel the Catholic by Domenico Bruni and may well have regarded herself as a ‘new Isabel’. Eleonora seems to have taken considerable interest in the decoration of her apartment and chapel, which can be seen as a synthesis of her Spanish cultural heritage and the political concerns she shared with her husband.